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Biden ‘not confident’ of peaceful power transition if Trump loses election

washington — President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he was not confident about a peaceful transfer of power in the United States if Republican Donald Trump loses the Nov. 5 presidential election.

“If Trump loses, I’m not confident at all,” Biden said in an interview with CBS News when asked whether he thought there would be a peaceful transfer of power after the vote.

“He means what he says. We don’t take him seriously. He means it. All this stuff about if we lose there’d be a bloodbath,” Biden added.

During a March campaign appearance in Ohio, Trump warned of a “bloodbath” if he fails win the election. At the time Trump was discussing the need to protect the U.S. auto industry from overseas competition, and Trump later said he was referring to the auto industry when he used the term.

Trump has falsely claimed he won the 2020 election against Biden and was criminally charged in Washington and Georgia with illegally trying to overturn the results.

Biden dropped out of the campaign last month after fellow Democrats called for him to step aside following a poor debate performance against Trump that raised questions about the Democratic president’s age and health.

Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris, has since captured the Democratic nomination and is running against Trump.
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Are vice presidential picks game changers for US elections?

Now that both the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates have selected their running mates, the question is whether those picks will actually help boost the campaigns’ chances of winning the November election. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias looks at the historical relevance of vice presidential candidates and what Tim Walz and JD Vance bring to their respective tickets.
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Dueling political rallies in one of US oldest cities

The two U.S. presidential tickets are set. Vice President Kamala Harris named her running mate Tuesday. But the presumed Democratic Party nominee wasn’t alone making news in one of America’s oldest cities, Philadelphia, in the northeastern state of Pennsylvania. That’s where we find VOA’s Senior Washington Correspondent Carolyn Presutti.
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US presidential campaigns focus on battleground states with three months before vote

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Successful Democratic presidential ticket would reverberate in Minnesota

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Kamala Harris’ VP choice, Tim Walz, ‘happy’ to be labeled a liberal

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Harris selects Tim Walz as her running mate

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris announced Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate Tuesday, capping off a whirlwind sequence of events since President Joe Biden endorsed her to be the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee less than three weeks ago. Harris and Walz will kick off a seven-state trip to some of the biggest battleground states in the election. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report.
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Harris selects Tim Walz as running mate for US presidential run

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Kamala Harris is now Democratic presidential nominee

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris, a daughter of immigrants who rose through the California political and law enforcement ranks to become the first female vice president in U.S. history, formally secured the Democratic presidential nomination on Monday — becoming the first woman of color to lead a major party ticket.

More than four years after her first attempt at the presidency collapsed, Harris’ coronation as her party’s standard-bearer caps a tumultuous and frenetic period for Democrats prompted by President Joe Biden’s disastrous June debate performance that shattered his own supporters’ confidence in his reelection prospects and spurred extraordinary intraparty warfare about whether he should stay in the race.

Just as soon as Biden abruptly ended his candidacy, Harris and her team worked rapidly to secure backing from the 1,976 party delegates needed to clinch the nomination in a formal roll call vote. She reached that marker at warp speed, with an Associated Press survey of delegates nationwide showing she locked down the necessary commitments a mere 32 hours after Biden’s announcement.

Harris’ nomination became official after a five-day round of online balloting by Democratic National Convention delegates ended Monday night, with the party saying in a statement released just before midnight that 99% of delegates had cast their ballots for Harris. The party had long contemplated the early virtual roll call to ensure Biden would appear on the ballot in every state. It said it would next formally certify the vote before holding a celebratory roll call at the party’s convention later this month in Chicago.

An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted after Biden withdrew found 46% of Americans have a favorable view of Harris, while a nearly identical share has an unfavorable view of her. But more Democrats say they are satisfied with her candidacy compared with that of Biden, energizing a party that had long been resigned to the 81-year-old Biden being its nominee against former President Donald Trump, a Republican they view as an existential threat.

Already Harris has telegraphed that she doesn’t plan to veer much from the themes and policies that framed Biden’s candidacy, such as democracy, gun violence prevention and abortion rights. But her delivery can be far fierier, particularly when she invokes her prosecutorial background to lambast Trump and his 34 felony convictions for falsifying business records in connection with a hush money scheme.

“Given that unique voice of a new generation, of a prosecutor and a woman when fundamental rights, especially reproductive rights, are on the line, it’s almost as if the stars have aligned for her at this moment in history,” said Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California, who was tapped to succeed Harris in the Senate when she became vice president.

A splash in Washington before a collapse in the 2020 primaries

Kamala Devi Harris was born Oct. 20, 1964, in Oakland, California, to Shyamala Gopalan, a breast cancer scientist who emigrated to the United States from India when she was 19 years old, and Stanford University emeritus professor Donald Harris, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Jamaica. Her parents’ advocacy for civil rights gave her what she described as a “stroller’s-eye view” of the movement.

She spent years as a prosecutor in the Bay Area before her elevation as the state’s attorney general in 2010 and then election as U.S. senator in 2016.

Harris arrived in Washington as a senator at the dawn of the volatile Trump era, quickly establishing herself as a reliable liberal opponent of the new president’s personnel and policies and fanning speculation about a presidential bid of her own. Securing a spot on the coveted Judiciary Committee gave her a national spotlight to interrogate prominent Trump nominees, such as now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

“I’m not able to be rushed this fast,” then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions said during a 2017 hearing as Harris repeatedly pressed him on potential conversations with Russian nationals. “It makes me nervous.”

Harris launched her 2020 presidential campaign with much promise, drawing parallels to former President Barack Obama and attracting more than 20,000 people to a kickoff rally in her hometown. But Harris withdrew from the primary race before the first nominating contest in Iowa, plagued by staff dissent that spilled out into the open and an inability to attract enough campaign cash.

Harris struggled to deliver a consistent pitch to Democratic voters and wobbled on key issues such as health care. She suggested she backed eliminating private insurance for a full government-run system — “Medicare for All” coverage — before releasing her own health care plan that preserved private insurance. Now, during her nascent general election campaign, Harris has already reversed some of her earlier, more liberal positions, such as a ban on fracking that she endorsed in 2019.

And while Harris tried to deploy her law enforcement background as an asset in her 2020 presidential campaign, it never attracted enough support in a party that couldn’t reconcile some of her past tough-on-crime positions at a time of heightened focus on police brutality.

Joining Biden’s team — and an evolution as vice president

Still, Harris was at the top of the vice presidential shortlist when Biden was pondering his running mate, after his pledge in early 2020 that he would choose a Black woman as his No. 2. He was fond of Harris, who had forged a close friendship with his now-deceased son Beau, who had been Delaware’s attorney general when she was in that job for California.

Her first months as vice president were far from smooth. Biden asked her to lead the administration’s diplomatic efforts with Central America on the root causes of migration to the United States, which triggered attacks from Republicans on border security and remains a political vulnerability. It didn’t help matters that Harris stumbled in big interviews, such as in a 2021 sit-down with NBC News’ Lester Holt when she responded dismissively that “I haven’t been to Europe” when the anchor noted that she hadn’t visited the U.S.-Mexico border.

For her first two years, Harris also was often tethered to Washington so she could break tie votes in the evenly divided Senate, which gave Democrats landmark wins on the climate and health care but also constrained opportunities for her to travel around the country and meet voters.

Her visibility became far more prominent after the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that dismantled Roe v. Wade, as she became the chief spokesperson for the administration on abortion rights and was a more natural messenger than Biden, a lifelong Catholic who had in the past favored restrictions on the procedure. She is the first vice president to tour an abortion clinic and speaks about reproductive rights in the broader context of maternal health, especially for Black women.

Throughout her vice presidency, Harris has been careful to remain loyal to Biden while emphasizing that she would be ready to step in if needed. That dramatic transition began in late June after the first debate between Biden and Trump, where the president’s stumbles were so cataclysmic that he could never reverse the loss of confidence from other Democrats.

Headed to the top of the ticket

After Biden ended his candidacy July 21, he quickly endorsed Harris. And during the first two weeks of her 2024 presidential bid, enthusiasm among the Democratic base surged, with donations pouring in, scores of volunteers showing up at field offices and supporters swelling so much in numbers that event organizers have had to swap venues.

The Harris campaign now believes it has a renewed opportunity to compete in Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina and Georgia — states that Biden had started to abandon in favor of shoring up the so-called “blue wall” states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

“The country is able to see the Kamala Harris that we all know,” said Bakari Sellers, who was a national co-chair of her 2020 campaign. “We really didn’t allow the country to see her” four years ago. Sellers said: “We had her in bubble wrap. What people are seeing now is that she’s real, she’s talented.”

Yet Democrats are anticipating that Harris’ political honeymoon will wear off, and she is inevitably going to come under tougher scrutiny for Biden administration positions, the state of the economy and volatile situations abroad, particularly in the Middle East. Harris has also yet to answer extended questions from journalists nor sit down for a formal interview since she began her run.

The Trump campaign has been eager to define Harris as she continues to introduce herself to voters nationwide, releasing an ad blaming her for the high number of illegal crossings at the southern border during the Biden administration and dubbing her “Failed. Weak. Dangerously liberal.”

The Republican nominee’s supporters have also derisively branded Harris as a diversity hire, while Trump himself has engaged in ugly racial attacks of his own, wrongly asserting that Harris had in the past only promoted her Indian heritage and only recently played up her Black identity.

His remarks are previewing a season of racist and sexist claims against the person who would be the first woman and the first person of South Asian heritage in the presidency.

“I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black,” Trump said while addressing the annual convention of the National Association of Black Journalists. “So, I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?”

In her response, Harris called it “the same old show — the divisiveness and the disrespect” and said voters “deserve better.”

“The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts,” Harris said at a Sigma Gamma Rho sorority gathering in Houston. “We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us.”
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Harris to select running mate for US presidential run

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What is an open convention?

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Despite security concerns, TikTok still plays key role in 2024 race

Washington — Despite national security concerns about TikTok – and its ties to China – the popular short-form video app is playing an important role on the campaign trail for both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. The reason, experts say, is because the platform remains a crucial tool for candidates to reach young voters. 

Trump joined TikTok in June, where he currently has 9.5 million followers on the platform, more than the 7.47 million followers on his own social media service, Truth Social. 

Capitalizing on a sudden surge in popularity on the platform, Harris created a TikTok account on July 25. Harris has amassed more than 4.1 million followers. 

On both of their respective TikTok profiles, the candidates have adopted a unique TikTok style of campaigning, making use of popular background music, editing methods, and collaborations with popular celebrities. 

Young voters 

“A huge part of the reason why Joe Biden left the race is because voters thought he was out of touch, he was too old,” said Caitlin Chin-Rothmann, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who researches the impact of technology on geopolitics. “And so, I think both Trump and Harris are trying to position themselves as very relevant, especially when it comes to that younger demographic that’s harder to reach in general.” 

In one recent 8-second video, Harris is shown shaking hands with members of the USA Men’s Olympic basketball team to the sound of a screaming eagle and the buzz of an electric guitar. Twenty-nine-year-old rapper Megan Thee Stallion calls Harris “the future president of the United States” in another video on the candidate’s account. 

Trump has made videos with famous YouTuber brothers-turned-boxers Jake and Logan Paul, simulating pre-fight confrontations before breaking to hug each of the influencers. The video he filmed with Logan Paul has more than 157 million views. 

“I’m gonna save TikTok,” Trump says to the camera while holding a framed portrait of himself. In another video with famous UFC commentator Dana White, Trump describes joining TikTok as his honor. 

Beijing backed 

TikTok was adapted for overseas use by a Chinese social media platform owned by Beijing-based company ByteDance. Over one-third of American adults, and 62% of adults under 30, reportedly use TikTok, according to a survey from the Pew Research Center.

While he was president, Trump issued an executive order attempting to ban TikTok and WeChat, describing the Chinese-originated apps as a threat to American national security given that data collection on the platforms “threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information.”

However, in an interview with CNBC in March, Trump said that while he still believes TikTok to be a national security threat, he understands that, if it were banned, a lot of young kids would “go crazy without it.”  

The former president also argued that a TikTok ban would ultimately benefit Facebook, which he described as “an enemy of the people.” After the January 6th Capitol riots, Meta suspended Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts for two years.  

Citing similar concerns to Trump’s, President Biden approved a bill in April that requires parent company ByteDance to sell the app to remain in the U.S. market. TikTok said it has not and will not share U.S. user data with the Chinese government and has been releasing a series of slick advertisements over the past year as the debate over its ownership has intensified, highlighting the benefit that TikTok provides to American citizens. 

Upper hand 

Arthur Herman, senior fellow and director of the Quantum Alliance Initiative at Hudson Institute, told VOA that although Trump’s and Harris’ decisions to campaign on TikTok are rational given the popularity of the app, American politicking occurring on a Chinese platform gives the Chinese government an upper hand. 

He said that TikTok, which is under the control of the Chinese government, will use its algorithm to influence the election results and “push one [candidate] who is probably going to be softer on China.” 

TikTok denies allegations that it is trying to carry out covert influence operations and has sued the federal government over the law that is forcing it to cut ties with its parent company to keep operating in the United States. 

In May, just a few weeks after the Brookings Institution released a study that said Russian state-media were boosting their use of the platform, the company said it was putting new regulations in place. Those regulations aimed to limit the reach of state media accounts. The company also pledged to release regular updates on what the platform is doing to fight back against covert influence. 

What’s next? 

Biden’s withdrawal from the race has left questions regarding the future of TikTok in the United States. Experts argue that even though TikTok’s fate is ultimately left up to the courts, a future president could try to revoke the ban or change the U.S. position toward Chinese companies. 

“No matter who wins the election in November, whether that’s Trump or Harris, they don’t have to take responsibility for the TikTok ban. Now they can say ‘that was Biden’s policy, not mine,’” Chin-Rothmann said. 

Herman is optimistic that the next president will continue to take actions against TikTok and ByteDance, and expressed hope that the United States will develop an “American version of TikTok.” 

“The most important next step is that we need an American TikTok. Let’s figure out a way in which to develop that and to turn America into high-tech leadership,” Herman said. He added that is where the real future lies. 

Katherine Michaelson contributed to this report.
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Senior economic aide Sperling leaving White House to work on Harris campaign

washington — White House senior adviser Gene Sperling is leaving his administration position to work with Vice President Kamala Harris’ election campaign as the Democrats step up efforts to challenge Donald Trump on policy issues in November’s election.

Sperling will be a senior economic adviser to Harris’ policy team. The shift was revealed by White House officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.

Sperling served both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama as director of the White House National Economic Council. President Joe Biden tasked Sperling with managing his $1.9 trillion pandemic aid package, a role in which Sperling implemented the temporary expansion of the child tax credit. He was also the White House liaison to the union and car companies during the auto strikes.

“Under Gene’s leadership, the American Rescue Plan has delivered economic relief to cities and counties across the country, protected millions of union pensions, made the largest-ever federal investment in public safety, and kept thousands of small businesses afloat,” Biden said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press.

Sperling first worked with Harris when she was California attorney general during his time in the Obama administration. He frequently consulted with her as an outside adviser when she was in the Senate. The two partnered during the Biden presidency on promoting the monthly payments for the child tax credit, among other policies.

The pandemic programs halved child poverty with tax credits that went to 40 million families and provided rental assistance to 8 million.

But Republican critics blame the pandemic aid for sparking higher inflation, an issue that has hounded the Biden administration as many voters say that groceries, housing and gasoline have become less affordable. Financial markets opened Monday with a selloff as a weaker than expected jobs report last week has raised concerns about the U.S. economy’s resilience.

The White House has maintained that the inflation was global in nature, with chief of staff Jeff Zients saying that the efforts coordinated by Sperling “produced the strongest economy in the world.”

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat, described the work that Sperling spearheaded as “generational investments” and credited him working with states to get the programs right.
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Who is Usha Vance, wife of Republican vice presidential nominee?

In the U.S. presidential election, likely Democratic candidate Kamala Harris is expected to announce her running mate Tuesday. Republican candidate Donald Trump last month chose Ohio Senator JD Vance. Vance went to law school at Yale, where he met his wife, Usha. She is a first-generation daughter of Indian immigrants who recently left her job at a top Washington, D.C., and California law firm. VOA’s Dora Mekouar has more about her. VOA footage by Adam Greenbaum.
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