************************************ REPUBLICAN PRIMARY **********************
Trump Announces Bid to Win back White House
Former President Donald Trump on November 15, 2022 launched his third presidential campaign. He told a boisterous crowd at Mar-a-Lago during the day that U.S. was in a "state of decline" under Joe Biden and he would lead the nation to make it "great and glorious" again.
Haley is the First to Take on Trump
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley on February 14, 2023 said in a 3-and-1/2-minute video that she was running for presidency to provide "a new generation leadership".
******************* TIM SCOTT
Tim Scott Joins Republican Primary
Sen. Tim Scott on May 19, 2023 became the second South Carolinian to announce presidential bid in 2024 election as the lone GOP African-American Senator filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. He will formally launch his campaign on May 22, 2023 at his alma mater, Charleston Southern University.
Tim Scott dropped out of the race on November 12, 2023.
******************* TIM SCOTT
******************** RON DESANTIS
Ron DeSantis Enters Republican Fray
Florida Governor became the first politician to join the presidential race on Twitter as he announced his bid on May 24, 2023 on Twitter Space hours after filing paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on intention to run in the presidential polls.
DeSantis Unveils Tough Immigrant, Border Policy
Badly lagging in opinion poll behind Former President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on June 26, 2023 unveiled his policy on immigration and border security at a Texas border community, Eagle Pass, that centered on the old tactics that Trump had adopted in his first term, but with the pledge of a better follow-through. DeSantis said that he would ban birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants, complete the border walls, force migrants to stay outside the U.S. as their cases proceeded through the country's byzantine immigration system and require employers for tougher verification of employees' work eligibility.
DeSantis Bows out
After a humiliating second place finish in Iowa Caucuses, it was clear that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was looking for an honorable exit. That moment arrived on January 21, 2024, two days before the nation's first Primary in New Hampshire, as DeSantis called it quits and endorsed his onetime bitter rival Donald Trump.
******************** RON DESANTIS
************** MIKE PENCE *********
Pence Challenges Former Boss, Joins the GOP Primary
Former Vice President Mike Pence on June 7, 2023 joined the race to win the Republican Primary and subsequently challenge President Joe Biden in the general election.
Pence Bows out
Out of luck, shunned by Donald Trump-brand right-wingers and rejected by major donors, Former Vice President Mike Pence on October 28, 2023 called it quits.
************** MIKE PENCE *********
Miami Mayor Becomes the Third Floridian to Join Presidential Primary
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez on June 14, 2023 filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to seek the Republican Party nomination for president. He announced his candidacy on June 15, 2023, and described it a "generational" endeavor. Suarez became the mayor in 2017 only as the second Cuban-American to become the chief steward of Miami--the first one was his father, Xavier Suarez--and was reelected in 2021.
Will Hurd Jumped into Republican Primary on June 22, 2023.
Hurd Drops out, Endorses Haley
Will Hurd's long-shot presidential campaign fizzled out as soon as it started and it was almost a sure thing from the get-go that he would bow out of the race. The day of reckoning for Hurd came a little over 100 days after the launch of his campaign. On October 9, 2023, Hurd, while suspending his campaign, endorsed former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
IOWA: Trump Scores a Blowout Victory in Iowa
Former President Donald Trump won convincingly in the January 15, 2024, Iowa Caucuses, with Ron DeSantis finishing second, Nikki Haley finishing third and Vivek Ramaswamy finishing a distant fourth.
Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out of the race on January 16, 2024 and endorsed Trump. His fluster-bluster approach and complaining nature reminds political observers about Dante's Inferno that describes hell in which "wrathful and sullen" will swim forever in the "black sulkiness" of the River Styx. Inflammatory and unfounded rhetoric so qualifies.
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Trump Emerges Winner
Former President Donald Trump made history as the first Republican presidential candidate to win Iowa and New Hampshire. Trump, who's facing 91 criminal charges, defeated Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in the January 23, 2024, first primary in the nation.
SOUTH CAROLINA: Trump Wins Primary
In a clean sweep, Former President Donald Trump won Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and on February 24, 2024, South Carolina. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, only remaining contender in the Republican Primary, was electorally thrashed in her own state.
MICHIGAN PRIMARY Offers Warning Signals to Trump, Biden
In the February 27, 2024, Michigan Primary, Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden easily won. However, as the results show, Trump still struggles to get traction with suburban voters, especially college-educated women. For Biden, a north of 100K votes cast "UNCOMMITTED" reflect a deep disenchantment with Biden administration's handling of Israel-Hamas War.
D.C. Primary: Haley Bags First Win
In the Washington D.C. primary held March 3, 2024, Nikki Haley won with a convincing win.
Trump Wins North Dakota Caucus
Former President Donald Trump won the North Dakota caucus on March 4, 2024.
SUPER TUESDAY: Trump Bags Texas, Other States, Closes in on Clinching Nomination
After March 5, 2024, Super Tuesday, it's clear that the nation will witness a repeat of 2020 presidential election that many have dreaded. Former President Donald Trump won handily. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley suspended her campaign.
Trump, Biden Become Their Parties' Presumptive Nominees
After the Primaries in Mississippi, Georgia and Washington on March 12, 2024, President Joe Biden and Former President Donald Trump clinched their respective parties' nomination, setting up a rematch between the two deeply flawed and unpopular candidates and the first electoral slugfest between two presidents since 1912.
******************** TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
Trump Shot at a Pennsylvania Rally
Two days before the party convention at Milwaukee where Former President Donald Trump is to accept the Republican presidential nomination, the presumptive party nominee has been shot. Trump was addressing the crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024 when a would-be assassin tried to assassinate the former president from the rooftop of an adjacent building. A bullet pierced the upper part of his right ear. Trump was evacuated, with two streaks of blood seen flowing down on his face, by the Secret Service. As he was being evacuated, Former President Donald Trump was seen pumping his fist and urging his followers to "fight!". As additional information poured in later in the evening, it was reported that the gunman was shot to death by the Secret Service and a rallygoer was killed too. Two others were critically injured. President Joe Biden said that there was no place of violence in the country. Later in the evening, Trump was on Truth Social giving his perspective of the assassination attempt and his campaign reported that he was doing fine.
Biden Addresses the Republic, Calls for Lowering the Temperature
A day after an attempt to assassinate Former President Donald Trump had roiled the 2024 election landscape, President Joe Biden on July 14, 2024 addressed the nation from the Oval Office. In a six-minute speech, President Biden said that the means for change lied in the ballot, not in the bullet. He also called for lowering the temperature. President Joe Biden had a brief telephone talks with Former President Donald Trump hours after assassination attempt on his life on July 13, 2024. President Biden called that brief conversation good.
Former President Donald Trump arrived at Milwaukee on April 14, 2024, barely 24 hours after he had been targeted by a gunman, as the Republican Party Convention was set to go on full swing July 15, 2024 through July 18, 2024.
Additional information emerged a day after 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania positioned himself on the roof of a manufacturing plant, AGR International, and shot at Former President Donald Trump who was addressing a boisterous crowd in the adjoining Butler Farms Show ground. The Secret Service killed Crooks. In the crowd, one attendee was killed and two critically injured. Former chief of Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company Corey Comperatore was killed trying to save his wife and daughter. David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, were critically injured.
Trump Assassination Attempt a Security Failure, DHS Chief Says
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on July 15, 2024 said that the attempted assassination of Former President Donald Trump had marked a significant "security failure", but he had "100 percent confidence" in the U.S. Secret Service and its embattled leader. Mayorkas also announced a review of the security failure at Trump's July 13, 2024, rally at Butler, Pennsylvania with an external expert leading it.
Cheatle Has No Plan to Resign
The chief of the U.S. Secret Service is facing call for resignation, but Director Kimberly Cheatle has said on July 21, 2024 on the ABC News that she has no plan to resign. Director Cheatle is subpoenaed to appear before the the U.S. House Oversight and Accountability Committee led by James Comer, R-Kentucky. U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, whom President Biden has tapped for the position in August 2022 after a 21-year stint in the service before joining PepsiCo in 2021 as a senior security executive, will appear before the committee on July 22, 2024.
Bipartisan Fury against Secret Service Director at the House Hearing
It was a bipartisan wrath, some pointed criticism, some unhinged attacks, some personal insults such as Rep. Pat Fallon mocking the U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to go back and guard the Doritos, alluding her previous stint as a security executive at PepsiCo before starting her job at the helms of the agency in September 2022. At the end, the July 22, 2024, testimony was a grueling question and enough berating of the Director Kimberly Cheatle for the security failure on July 13, 2024 when an assassin's bullet pierced Trump's right ear at a Pennsylvania rally. At the end of hours-long hearing on July 22, 2024, it became clear that the chief of the U.S. Secret Service had lost the confidence of Democrats and Republicans alike.
Secret Service Director Resigns
A day after a brutal grilling and berating by Republicans and, although on a milder scale, by Democrats at a House panel hearing, it was too much for U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to carry on with the sacred duty of protecting presidents, former presidents and other high-profile public figures after taking personal responsibility for the July 13, 2024, security failure related to the assassination attempt against Former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally where the would-be assassin was within 157 yards from the stage where Trump was delivering speech, eventually leading to the much anticipated resignation on July 23, 2024.
Acting Director of Secret Service Expresses "Shame" over Security Failure
On July 30, 2024, U.S. Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate testified at a Congressional hearing over the security failure at Trump's July 13, 2024, Pennsylvania rally. Rowe said that the significant security failure on that fateful day made him ashamed. Abbate told the lawmakers that the gunman's 2019 social media posts included anti-migrant and antisemitic statements.
Acting Director Publishes the Inquiry Report that Cites Several Failures
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. on September 20, 2024 said that the agency would draw lessons from multiple failures that had happened in the run-up to July 13, 2024, assassination attempt on Former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. The internal report was a five-page summarized version made public on September 20, 2024 after more than two months of investigation launched by the Secret Service in the aftermath of July 13, 2024, assassination attempt.
******************** TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
**************** REPUBLICAN PARTY CONVENTION (July 15-18, 2024) AT MILWAUKEE
Trump Becomes Official Nominee, Picks Ohio Senator Vance as Running Mate
On the first day of the convention, July 15, 2024, presumptive nominee Former President Donald Trump received the mandate from the convention delegates to win the Republican Party's nomination for presidency. Trump picked Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his vice presidential nominee.
Day 2 Theme Security: Speakers Conflate Migration with Crimes
Speaker after speaker on July 16, 2024, second day of the Republican Convention at Milwaukee, spoke, without any evidence, of the peril of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. and linked their presence to rising crimes. Nobody could propagate that untruth better than Sen. Ted Cruz. Taking the stage on the second day, he rued that he had spent in living rooms of many victims who had been killed by illegal immigrants. GOP critics have pointed out that the legal immigrants and natives are more likely to commit crime than illegal immigrants.
Vance Accepts Party's VP Nomination, Tells His Story of Rust Belt's Hardscrabble Life
U.S. Senator J.D. Vance on July 17, 2024 accepted Vice Presidential nomination of the Republican Party. Senator Vance, in a prime-time address, gave a touching journey of his upbringing in Ohio impacted by poverty and drug. The nomination completes a full cycle of a former "Never Trumper" who has once called the top of the ticket "America's Hitler" and proudly stated that he has not voted for Trump in 2016 election, instead choosing a third candidate.
Trump Shows the Party is His
Former President Donald Trump on the penultimate day of the Republican Party convention on July 18, 2024 accepted the party's nomination for the U.S. presidency for the third time. In a 92-minute speech, Former President Trump displayed somewhat a softened rhetoric and proved that he had complete control over the Regan's party. The Republican convention also showed tremendous display of party unity. Trump said that "I'm not supposed to be here today", alluding to the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania five days ago. He also invoked the age-old saying of what made the Republic strong, resilient and vibrant: "We are one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all".
The key issues speakers and party platform emphasized on during four-day convention included border crisis and immigration, crimes and safety, national security and inflation.
**************** REPUBLICAN PARTY CONVENTION (July 15-18, 2024) AT MILWAUKEE
************************************ REPUBLICAN PRIMARY **********************
Democrats Upend the Primary Schedule
The long-held tradition of Iowa Caucuses to launch the presidential nomination is being thrown out by the DNC's rule-making arm in favor of giving more voice to the party's core constituency: African Americans. In 2024, the primary season will begin with South Carolina, according to the decision taken by the Democratic Party's rule-making committee on December 2, 2022. On December 1, 2022, President Joe Biden asked in a letter for the revamp of the party's primary calendar to better represent the say of party's core constituencies. Now, the recommendation of the party's rule-making panel goes to DNC which usually follows the recommendation. The recommendation throws away the position and stature of Iowa as a catapult to the race for the White House since 1972, followed by the first-in-the-nation primary state that New Hampshire had held since 1920.
Democrats Upends the Primary Calendar
DNC ratifies the changed calendars of 2024 Primary schedule on February 4, 2023 at a meeting in Philadelphia.
Biden Officially Announces that He is Seeking Re-election
In a little over three minutes of video, President Joe Biden on April 25, 2023 launched his re-election campaign, thus cementing his legacy as the oldest incumbent to seek reelection. President Joe Biden, who ran in 2020 Presidential Election on the plank of healing the "soul of America", asked Americans to give him another term to "finish the job". Biden named Julie Chavez Rodriguez as his campaign manager.
Dean Phillips Challenges Biden
Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips announced on October 27, 2023 at the New Hampshire statehouse that he would challenge President Joe Biden for the Democratic Party's ticket for president.
Colorado Case Heard at the State Supreme Court
Colorado Supreme Court on December 6, 2023 heard on whether Donald Trump could be struck down from running the 2024 Presidential Election in the state under the Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Justices had plenty of questions for the both sides. Section 3 calls for prohibiting insurrectionists from running in Senate and House races as well as from becoming President and Vice President electors, but there is no specific stipulation barring them from running as a presidential candidate.
**************************** TRUMP DISBARMENT IN COLORADO ******************
Colorado Supreme Court Eliminates Trump from Colorado Ballot
In a setback to Former President Donald Trump and in an unprecedented development that has never happened before, Colorado Supreme Court on December 19, 2023 has removed Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot. The verdict was 4-3. The court, alluding Trump's role in encouraging insurrection, ruled that the former president had violated his oath of office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
A lower court judge, Judge Sarah B. Wallace, ruled in November 2023 that Trump had engaged in insurrection on January 6, 2021, but retained him in the state's ballot as the Section 3 might not explicitly apply to the presidency. The suit was filed by six Republican and Independent voters of Colorado. The language in the Section 3 is confusing too as it pertains to "officers of the United States" who take an oath to support the Constitution. Trump's attorneys successfully persuaded the judge that the president is not an officer of the United States.
The Colorado Supreme Court has stayed on its order until January 4, 2024, or when the U.S. Supreme Court will rule on this case, whichever date comes earlier. Trump team is running short of time as Colorado will begin printing the primary ballots on January 5, 2024.
Trump's attorneys filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on January 3, 2024.
Justices to Hold Hearing Before Super Tuesday
The U.S. Supreme Court is for the first time to hear a case related to the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. The 1868 Amendment is never tested by the nation's apex court, but the January 5, 2024, decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to take the case for a February 8, 2024, hearing will insert the justices into the vortex of presidential politics in the heat of an election season unlike anything seen before. Pending the final outcome, though, the Colorado Supreme Court's December 19, 2023, verdict is put abeyance.
U.S. Supreme Court Overturns Colorado Supreme Court Verdict
In an unsigned, 13-page verdict, the U.S. Supreme Court on March 4, 2024 tossed out Colorado Supreme Court's decision to disbar Former President Donald Trump from running for presidency. The apex court opined that it would be contrary to the constitution if some states allowed Trump to run for the presidential election, while the others barred the former president.
**************************** TRUMP DISBARMENT IN COLORADO ******************
Michigan Supreme Court Lets Trump Stay in the State's Ballot
Michigan Supreme Court on December 27, 2023 ruled that Former President Donald Trump could stay in the state's ballot for Primary, thus upholding the lower courts' rulings.
Maine Secretary of State Removes Trump from State's Primary Ballot
Foreshadowing another litigious battle, Trump campaign is gearing up to file a lawsuit after Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows on December 28, 2023 has announced to remove the former president from the state's primary ballot on the Constitution's insurrection clause. Bellows' directive is on hold pending the process shaken through the court system.
Trump's attorneys filed an appeal against Secretary Bellows' directive to the Maine Supreme Court on January 2, 2024.
Austin Democrat First to Call Biden to Step aside after Debate Fiasco
The poor debate performance by President Joe Biden against Former President Donald Trump in the CNN-moderated June 27, 2024, televised debate led to calls from various Democratic quarters for Biden to drop out of the race. On July 2, 2024, Rep. Lloyd Doggett became the first Democratic lawmaker to flirt with the ideas of replacing Biden as the standard bearer of the Democratic Party in the 2024 election as he pleaded the president in a public statement to step aside to spare the nation from a "criminal", alluding Trump, who had been convicted on 34 felony counts.
Schiff's Prominence Makes His Call for Biden to Step aside all the more Compelling
Rep. Adam Schiff on July 17, 2024 became the most prominent House member of the party calling for President Joe Biden to quit presidential race and pass the torch.
Four Dem Lawmakers Latest to Call for Biden to Step Aside
Since July 2, 2024 when Austin Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett first called for President Joe Biden to pass the torch to someone else, a drumbeat of chorus was raised for Biden to quit the race, increasing to at least 30 as of the last count. The latest call emerged from a quartet of House Democratic lawmakers who had issued a joint statement on July 19, 2024, requesting President Biden to step aside from the reelection bid. The quartet includes Rep. Marc Veasey of Fort Worth, Rep. Chuy Garcia of Illinois, Rep. Jared Huffman of California, and Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, respectively.
President Biden Quits from Presidential Race, Endorses Harris
In a seismic political event that had only one historic precedent in the last half a century--but not so late in the presidential election cycle--when then-incumbent President L.B. Johnson in March 1968 announced that he would not seek reelection, President Joe Biden, who was convalescing from COVID-19 at his Delaware beach house, informed the nation on a social media post on July 21, 2024 that he was bowing out of the race, driving the 2024 presidential election to a state of uncertainty and chaos. President Biden, saying his decision in 2020 to pick Kamala Harris as his running mate the best decision of his long political life, endorsed his vice president as the Democratic Party's new nominee in a separate post on X. Vice President Kamala Harris dubbed Biden's decision as "selfless and patriotic". She also vowed to earn and win the party's nomination. No sooner had the political earthquake felt across the nation and beyond than the political scrambling underwent on the full swing on the both sides of the political aisle.
Harris Shows Fundraising Prowess, Volunteer Excitement
On July 23, 2024, the election landscape is taking further shape and going through some significant shake-out. Vice President Kamala Harris has won endorsement from key Democratic leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffress. Harris raised $100 million in the 24 hours since Biden dropped out and 58,000 new volunteers had signed for her campaign, a strong sign of voter enthusiasm.
Biden Addresses the Nation, Talks about Passing the Torch to Younger Generation
Three days after declaring on the social media, President Joe Biden addressed the nation from the Oval Office on July 24, 2024 to explain to the American people in an 11-minute address why he had dropped out of the presidential race. Biden said that he had revered the Presidency, but it's time to pass the torch to very capable and younger Vice President Kamala Harris as standard bearer of the party.
In 1972, Biden has joined the U.S. Senate at the age of 29, becoming sixth-youngest Senator, and will retire from the public service in January 2025 as the oldest U.S. President at the age of 82. President Biden is only seventh U.S. president not to seek reelection, joining the club that included the nearest past President L.B. Johnson who has announced in a national address on March 31, 1968 not to seek reelection. Other five presidents who have not sought reelection are: James Polk, James Buchanan, Rutherford B. Hayes, Calvin Coolidge and Harry Truman.
******************************* PROJECT 2025 ************************************
Key Architect of Project 2025 Steps down
On July 30, 2024, the director of Project 2025, a roadmap for extreme right and conservative ideas to be implemented by future Republican administration, stepped down from the Heritage Foundation. Before authoring the Project 2025 at the Heritage Foundation, Paul Dans served in the Trump administration as the chief of staff of the Office of Personnel Management. Heritage Foundation Kevin Roberts lauded [Heritage Foundation] Director Dans' role in giving structure and strategy to the conservative playbook, Project 2025. President Kevin Roberts reiterated that the Project 2025 remained relevant and continued to act as a roadmap for the future Republican administration. Two senior Trump campaign advisers, Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, lauded the departure of Paul Dans as they stressed that Trump had nothing to do with Project 2025.
******************************* PROJECT 2025 ************************************
Trump Insults Harris at NABJ Conference
In an opportunity that was billed as one of the best reach-outs to Black voters and seek their support, Former President Donald Trump managed to accomplish just the opposite. Republican Party's presidential candidate Donald Trump appeared at the National Association of Black Journalists, NABJ, convention at Chicago on July 31, 2024, but the Q&A session moderated by Harris Faulkner of Fox News, Kadia Goba from Semafor and Rachel Scott from the ABC went awry from the get-go, with a question from Rachel Scott whether the former president would encourage his followers to stop labeling Vice President Kamala Harris as a DEI hire had led to an acrimonious response that conflated the vice president's Indian heritage with her Black identity.
Harris Receives Support from Enough Delegates, DNC Says
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison on August 2, 2024 announced that Vice President Kamala Harris had clinched the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party by receiving support from enough party delegates, creating history for a woman of color to head the ticket of a major political party.
Harris Chooses Minnesota Governor Tim Walz Her Running Mate
Vice President Kamala Harris on August 6, 2024 completed the Democratic ticket by naming Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. Democratic duo then addressed a revved-up and raucous crowd at Philadelphia.
Trump Campaign Acknowledges being Hacked
Microsoft on August 9, 2024 reported an Iranian [not explicit whether government sponsored] hacking in June 2024 that targeted a "high ranking official" of a presidential campaign. On August 10, 2024, Trump campaign acknowledged that it had been hacked. The documents leaked to the media were related to a trove of information pertaining to the internal vetting process for vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, including concerns candidly expressed by campaign officials.
Harris Unveils Populist Economic Agenda
Hours before Vice President Kamala Harris addressed a partisan crowd in North Carolina to tout what would be her administration's economic agenda, Harris-Walz Campaign made it public on August 16, 2024 with pertinent details. Reflecting the influence of progressives in shaping up her agenda, the package calls for:
* Waiving medical debt for millions of Americans
* Banning grocery "price-gouging"
* $25,000 subsidy for the first-time homebuyers
* $6,000 child tax credit per child during the first year of the child
********************* DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION **********************
DAY 1 (August 19, 2024) : Chicago Readies for Democratic Political Jamboree, Protests
Democratic National Convention is being held in Chicago August 19-22, 2024 in Chicago. The main venue is the United Center. On August 19, 2024, President Joe Biden was received with prolonged claps, applauses and screams of "Thank You Joe". President Biden gave probably his last significant public political speech, drawing the curtain of his decades-old public service that had taken him to the pinnacle of political power. Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise visit to thank Joe Biden.
Earlier, Former First Lady Hillary Clinton skewered Donald Trump and expressed gratitude to Joe Biden for passing the generational baton to Kamala Harris.
Outside, thousands of protesters marched, rallied and raised voices to demand an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and stopping supplying weapons to Israel.
Texan Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who became famous for skewering Republican Rep. Marjory Green Taylor with a six-word alliteration--bleach-bond, bad-built butch body--after being mocked for her eyelash by the Georgia lawmaker, gave an exhilarating and exhortative speech on Day 1.
Amanda Zurawski and Josh Zurawski appeared on the convention hall and addressed the convention-goers on why people should vote for Vice President Kamala Harris to restore and protect reproductive access. Amanda Zurawski was the lead plaintiff against the state of Texas on the Lone Star State's all but total abortion ban.
Day 2 (August 20, 2024): Symbolic Roll Call Pushes Harris over the Finish Line
On August 20, 2024, a raucous and celebratory United Center was filled in joy as states confirmed their approval for Harris as the Democrats' choice for president. The key attractions on the second day was the Democratic power couple Barack and Michelle Obama.
Day 3 (August 21, 2024): Walz Accepts Vice Presidential Nomination
Inspiring a packed United Center arena in Chicago, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz brought energy and enthusiasm during his acceptance speech on August 21, 2024, disseminating inspiration among the crowd with his pep-talk-style, coach-like address that had led to prolonged applauses and more frequent standing ovations. On the day three, the Democratic National Convention saw two other big names: Oprah Winfrey and Former President Bill Clinton.
Day 4 (August 22, 2024): Harris Mixes Aspiration with Admonishment during Acceptance Speech
Accepting her party's nomination for the historic run for the presidency, Vice President Kamala Harris, greeted wildly by a packed United Center auditorium, on August 22, 2024 blended her compelling biography with her political trajectory as District Attorney, Attorney-General, Senator and Vice President. She told the audience that he had only one client in her life. That's people. On the other hand, she added, Donald Trump had only one client too. It's Donald Trump himself. Accepting the party's nomination, Vice President Harris promised that she would strengthen America's international alliances, embolden NATO, make America's defense forces the most lethal and look out for the interests of American people. With the Democratic National Convention coming to a close, the party had seen its fortune from the state of being morose and dejected to the one with an uplifting and joyful message.
********************* DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION **********************
Robert Kennedy Suspends Campaign in Battleground States, Endorse Trump
Infirm from the very beginning in connecting with voters, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. chose the path predicted by many political experts. On August 23, 2024, the independent candidate announced that he would only stay on ballots in Red and Blue states, but withdraw from all battleground states to give Former President Donald Trump a pathway for victory. Later in the day, Kennedy endorsed Trump.
****************** SECOND ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON TRUMP ******************
Alleged Gunman Nabbed in Second Trump Assassination Attempt
As Former President Donald Trump was playing golf at the Trump International Golf Club in Palm Beach, Secret Service agents saw the muzzle of a gun protruding out of the shrubbery, leading to firing. The alleged gunman fled, leaving behind a firearm, a backpack and few personal belonging. A little later, the alleged gunman, Ryan Routh,58, was detained in the adjoining Martin County. The September 15, 2024, assassination attempt came two months after a bullet grazed Trump's ear during a campaign rally at Butler, Pennsylvania.
Would-be Gunman Remanded in Custody as More Information on Gunman Emerges
Ryan Wesley Routh was ordered jailed on September 16, 2024 as prosecutors argued that he was a flight risk. According to media reports, Ryan Wesley Routh was waiting for several hours behind the tree line of the golf course. As Former President Donald Trump on September 15, 2024 was playing about 400 yards away, a Secret Service agent saw a gun protruding from the shrubbery and the agent opened fire towards the direction of gun's muzzle. Routh fled the scene, leaving behind a digital camera, a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope and a plastic bag containing food. Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested in the neighboring Martin County. Authorities said that he didn't fire any shot. He has been preliminarily slapped with two charges--first charge relates to illegally possessing a firearm despite two prior criminal charges related to stolen goods in 2002 in North Carolina and the second charge concerns with obliterating the serial number of a gun, a federal felony.
Trump on September 16, 2024 blamed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for explosive rhetoric leading to people trying to kill him. Both President Biden and Harris said unequivocally that violence had no place in the U.S.
Justice Attorneys to Add More Charges against Routh
The U.S. Department of Justice on September 23, 2024 asked a federal judge, U.S. District Judge Ryon McCabe, to reject bail on the ground that the alleged gunman was a flight risk. The Justice lawyers are likely to add more charges against Ryan Wesley Routh as the alleged gunman left behind notes that described in great details a convoluted plan to kill Former President Donald Trump. Routh left the notes and other items in a box that was delivered to another person who had contacted the authorities. The DOJ attorneys didn't divulge the identity of the person who had contacted authorities on the box. In addition, Ryan Wesley Routh left in his car a detailed note on venues and time of Trump's appearances in August, September and October.
Three Additional Charges Added, including Assassination Attempt
Federal prosecutors on September 24, 2024 slapped the potential Trump assassin, Ryan Wesley Routh, with three additional counts: (1) assassination attempt, (2) assaulting a federal officer, and (3) possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Earlier, he had been charged with two firearm-related counts. Now, Ryan Wesley Routh faces a total of five counts and his case has been assigned to the court of U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon.
****************** SECOND ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON TRUMP ******************
Teamsters not to Endorse any Candidate
On September 18, 2024, International Brotherhood of Teamsters announced that the union wouldn't endorse any candidate in 2024 Presidential Election. Teamsters President Sean O'Brien said that the internal polling had found that majority of the union members supporting Donald Trump, a forte of the former president to win support from Blue Collar Whites.
Democratic Candidate Kamala Harris' campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hitt noted that several retired Teamsters had addressed the Democratic Convention in Chicago last month and it was because of Biden-Harris administration that had enacted the Butch Lewis Act of 2021 to strengthen the worker pension plan.
Trump's, Harris' Economic Plans to Add Debt, Panel Reports
A 34-page report issued by Committee for Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan panel, on October 7, 2024 said that Vice President Kamala Harris' economic plan would add $3.5 trillion over the next decade to an already ballooning national debt of $28 trillion. The same report pegged the Trump plan's economic cost at an additional net increase in national debt in the range of $7.5 trillion to $15.2 trillion over the next decade.
No comments:
Post a Comment