Closing summary
We’re now closing this blog – but join us for all the latest speeches, news and reaction from the second day of the Democratic national convention in our dedicated blog:
Thanks for following along so far. Here is a recap of the key developments of the day so far:
Barack Obama will deliver a “forceful affirmation that [Kamala] Harris is the right leader for the moment” during his speech on Tuesday night at the Democratic national convention, an adviser to the former president told CNN. A source familiar with Obama’s prepared speech told the Washington Post that he will “affirm why Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are precisely the leaders the country needs right now, lay out the task in front of Democrats over the next eleven weeks, and bring into focus the values at stake in this election and at the heart of our politics.”
Michelle Obama will address the convention shortly before her husband Barack takes the stage. The couple’s endorsement of Harris in July was seminal in securing the Democratic presidential nomination for the current vice-president, helping to bypass a potentially ugly internal fight.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr. and his running mate, tech lawyer Nicole Shanahan, are considering dropping out of the race and supporting Donald Trump, Shanahan said. In a interview on the End Tribalism in Politics podcast that aired today, reported by the Washington Post, Shanahan said: “There’s two options that we’re looking at and one is staying in, forming that new party, but we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and Waltz presidency because we draw more votes from Trump. Or we walk away right now and join forces with with Donald Trump and explain to our base why we’re making this decision.”
The US Secret Service was checking into bomb threats made at “various locations” in downtown Chicago where the Democratic national convention is taking place, AP reported. A threat was emailed to the Fox 32 Newsroom which said pipe bombs were placed at four hotels in downtown Chicago, including the Nobu Hotel, the Hotel Chicago West Loop and the Hyatt House Chicago in West Loop and the University District, the outlet reported.
Chicago police said there was a “brief breach” of security fencing “within sight and sound of the United Center” on Monday evening, where the DNC is being held. Some 13 protesters were arrested on charges ranging from criminal trespass and resisting and obstructing an arrest to aggravated battery of police officers. The pro-Palestine demonstrations have brought thousands to the city.
Donald Trump delivered remarks on Tuesday in Howell, Michigan, a city with historical links to the Ku Klux Klan and where white supremacists marched through the streets last month and chanted “We love Hitler. We love Trump.”
Stephanie Grisham, a former White House press secretary under the Trump administration, will speak at the Democratic national convention today to show her support for Kamala Harris.
Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, will attend a campaign rally in Wisconsin today where she is scheduled to deliver remarks at around 8pm Central Time.
Updated
Bernie Sanders, meanwhile, will focus his remarks on the US economy.
“Bottom line: we need an economy that works for all of us, not just the greed of the billionaire class,” Sanders plans to say, in a preview of his speech that his press office shared with journalists.
Here’s more:
These oligarchs tell us we shouldn’t tax the rich; we shouldn’t take on price gouging; we shouldn’t expand Medicare to cover dental, hearing, and vision; and we shouldn’t increase Social Security benefits for struggling seniors.
Well I’ve got some bad news for them.
That is precisely what we are going to do, and we’re going to win this struggle because this is precisely what the American people want from their government.
Kamala Harris has also been discussing plans to propose a federal ban on price gouging on food and groceries and lowering the cost of education and childcare. She is no longer promoting Medicare for All, which she initially had co-sponsored with Sanders, as part of a broader shift toward the center. But she has been promoting strengthening Medicare, and expanding other health programs that area already in place.
Here’s more on her platform:
Updated
