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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Helen Sullivan (now); with Chris Stein,Coral Murphy Marcos, Maanvi Singh, Léonie Chao-Fong and Sammy Gecsoyler (earlier)

Biden says ‘history is in your hands’ – as it happened

Kamala Harris United States Donald Trump Joe Biden Indianapolis North Carolina Oval Office

This blog is closing soon. You can read our full story on Biden’s address at the link below:

Washington Post opinion writer Jen Rubin compares Biden to Liz Cheney, once the third-highest ranking Republican in the House, who lost her seat after staunchly opposing Trump:

Updated

The ex-wife of Kamala Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, has defended the vice president against sexist criticism of her lack of biological children; when she married Emhoff in 2014, Harris became stepmother to his two children.

In a statement quoted by CNN, Kerstin Emhoff said she was “grateful” to have Harris in her blended family:

These are baseless attacks. For over 10 years, since Cole and Ella were teenagers, Kamala has been a co-parent with Doug and [me].

She is loving, nurturing, fiercely protective, and always present. I love our blended family and am grateful to have her in it.

Video of Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance calling Harris, and others, “a bunch of childless cat ladies” in 2021, has recently resurfaced, drawing widespread criticism of its own.

In his 2021 interview with then Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Vance said:

We are effectively run in this country, via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too. And it’s just a basic fact if you look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC – the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children. And how does it make any sense that we’ve turned our country over to people who don’t really have a direct stake in it.

Here is Biden’s speech in a nutshell:

1. Biden delivered a short, poignant speech focused on the weight of the office. “In this sacred space, I’m surrounded by portraits of extraordinary American presidents,” he said in the beginning of his speech. “Thomas Jefferson wrote the immortal words that guide this nation. George Washington showed us presidents are not kings.”

2. He passed the torch to Kamala Harris and expressed his support. “This sacred task of perfecting our union is not about me, it’s about you,” Biden said, and then turned the focus to his vice-president, who is now the most likely Democratic nominee. Biden commended Harris for her work, calling her an “experienced”, “tough” and “capable” candidate.

3. Biden reminded people of his legacy and his plans to call for supreme court reform. Biden said that over the next six months, he will focus on “lowering costs”, growing the economy, and fighting against gun violence and the climate crisis. He also said that he will call for a supreme court reform, calling it “critical to our democracy”.

Bernie Sanders doing some Trump fact checking here:

Before Biden’s announcement on Sunday, more than 30 Democratic members of Congress had called on the president to drop out of the race following his disastrous debate performance last month. In the days leading up to the announcement, polls showed an increasing number of Democrats believed Biden should step aside as Donald Trump’s narrow lead in the race began to grow.

Early surveys taken since Sunday suggest a neck-and-neck race between Trump and Harris, but the vice-president already appears to be in a slightly stronger position than Biden was. Even as polls indicate a tight race, Biden expressed confidence that Americans would choose to preserve democracy this November. Quoting the Declaration of Independence and founding father Benjamin Franklin, Biden made the time-honored argument for American exceptionalism.

“America is an idea, an idea stronger than any army, bigger than any ocean, more powerful than any dictator or tyrant. It’s the most powerful idea in the history of the world,” Biden said. “That idea is that we hold these truths to be self-evident. We’re all created equal, endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights: life, liberty, pursuit of happiness. We’ve never fully lived up to it, to this sacred idea, but we’ve never walked away from it either, and I do not believe the American people will walk away from it now.”

It was a message that echoed Biden’s campaign slogan in 2020, which framed the election against Trump as a “battle for the soul of the nation”. That battle remains ongoing, Biden said, and it will now be up to the American people to decide how it will end.

Joe Biden addressed the nation Wednesday to explain his historic decision to withdraw from the presidential race, delivering a reflective and hopeful message about the need to begin a new chapter in America’s story.

“I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America’s future all merited a second term, but nothing – nothing – can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition,” Biden said in the Oval Office.

“So I’ve decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. It’s the best way to unite our nation. You know, there is a time and a place for long years of experience in public life. There’s also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices – yes, younger voices. And that time and place is now.”

The speech came three days after Biden stunned the country with the announcement he would abandon his presidential campaign less than four months before election day. As he contemplated the legacy of his five decades in public life, Biden pledged to keep working to better Americans’ lives as he concludes his first – and now only – term as president. Some Republican lawmakers have suggested Biden should resign rather than finish out his term, but the president firmly rejected those calls on Wednesday.

More now on the House approving, in a rare unanimous vote, to pass legislation to form a task force to investigate the security failures surrounding the Trump assassination attempt on 13 June.

The legislation passed by a vote of 416-0.

“Protecting the safety and security of our nation’s leaders is a responsibility that transcends party lines,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said.

The task force will be composed of 13 members and is expected to include seven Republicans and six Democrats. It will be tasked with determining what went wrong on the day of the attempted assassination and will make recommendations to prevent future security lapses. It will issue a final report before 13 December and has the authority to issue subpoenas.

House committees have already held three hearings focusing on the shooting. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned Tuesday, one day after she appeared before a congressional committee and was berated for hours by both Democrats and Republicans for the security failures. She called the attempt on Trump’s life the Secret Service’s “most significant operational failure” in decades, but she angered lawmakers by failing to answer specific questions about the investigation.

Democrats also voiced support for the task force, saying what happened in Butler was a despicable attack that never should have happened.

“We need to know what happened. We need to get to the truth. We need to prevent this from ever, ever happening again,” said Representative Jim McGovern, D-Mass.

Obama thanks Biden for 'lifetime of service'

Former US president Barack Obama has thanked Biden for a “lifetime of service to the American people”.

Obama has notably not so far endorsed Harris as the Democratic candidate.

Pelosi: Biden is on right side of history and future

Nancy Pelosi, the speaker emerita, says that Biden has shown he is on the right side of both history and the future. In a statement released after Biden’s Oval Office address, she called him “one of America’s most consequential presidents”:

Tonight, we saw President Joe Biden – one of America’s most consequential presidents – show that he is not only on the right side of history, but on the right side of the future.

America has been blessed by the wisdom and magnificent leadership of President Joe Biden as he has protected our democracy and led our nation with progress, hope and unity. President Biden has truly made a tangible difference in the lives of the American people.

With love and gratitude, I salute President Biden for always believing in the possibilities of America and giving people the opportunity to reach their fulfilment.”

Schumer thanks Biden for 'great act of patriotism'

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer has responded to Biden’s address, thanking him and saying his decision to withdraw “is a great act of patriotism”:

“At least five quality polls out this week have gauged Vance’s image, and each shows that more people dislike him than like him. They show he is between two and nine points underwater,” the Washington Post writes, in a piece asking whether the Republicans are about to have buyer’s remorse.

The risks were clear from the outset, the Post writes: “Vance didn’t pack the same base-expanding potential as other candidates (such as Sen. Tim Scott, Sen. Marco Rubio and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum). And Vance’s only campaign — for Senate in 2022 — was nothing to write home about. Despite winning, he polled as unpopular and performed significantly worse than any other statewide Ohio GOP candidate.”

Vice-presidential picks are usually more popular than the presidential candidates who pick them, the article notes.

JD Vance polls show he is least-liked pick for Veep since 1980

Hello, this is Helen Sullivan taking over the Guardian’s live US elections coverage. I’ll be with you for the next while.

CNN polling expert says that recent polling has JD Vance as the least-liked pick for VP candidate since 1980. He is the first to have a net negative favourable rating – the polling average shows Vance on -6 points:

Updated

What we learned from Joe Biden's address to the nation

In a rare speech from the White House’s Oval Office, Joe Biden elaborated further on the reasons why he ended his campaign to serve another four years as president. Age was at the center of his remarks, with the president saying: “I’ve decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation.” So, too was the threat to the country’s democracy he believes Donald Trump poses – though he never used the former president’s name. “I’ve made it clear that I believe America is at an inflection point, one of those rare moments in history when the decisions we make now determine the fate of our nation and the world for decades to come,” the president added. He repeated his endorsement of Kamala Harris, calling her “tough” and “capable”, and vowed to pursue his own policies during his remaining time in office, including reforming the conservative-dominated supreme court.

Here’s what else happened this evening:

  • Biden’s family members, including first lady Jill Biden and his son Hunter Biden, were by his side in the Oval Office as he delivered a speech that marked the beginning of the end of his long career in politics.

  • Photographers in the Oval Office captured the president in the final moments before he delivered his pivotal remarks, and as he greeted his family afterwards.

  • Trump rallied in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he spent much time insulting Harris.

  • The House unanimously approved creating a taskforce to investigate the assassination attempt against Trump.

  • Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Congress that Israel is aiming for “total victory” in Gaza. Six protesters were arrested during his speech in the Capitol, while clashes broke out between police and demonstrators outside.

Updated

House unanimously approves establishing panel to investigate Trump assassination attempt

The House has unanimously voted to create a bipartisan taskforce to investigate the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

The panel will be composed of seven Republicans and six Democrats, and will have the power to issue subpoenas. It is tasked with understanding the circumstances of the shooting at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, holding to account agencies involved in securing the event and ensuring no such attack happens again.

“Protecting the safety and security of our nation’s leaders is a responsibility that transcends party lines. Today, the House approved the establishment of a bipartisan task force to thoroughly investigate the attempted assassination of Donald Trump,” Republican speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement.

“The task force’s mission is clear: to determine what led to the inexcusable security failures, ensure accountability and make certain no such lapses ever happen again.”

Updated

Photographers in the Oval Office captured images of Joe Biden’s interactions with his family and his final moments before delivering the consequential remarks:

Updated

The New York Times has published a photograph of Donald Trump watching Joe Biden’s speech as he flew back from North Carolina:

He spent much of his rally in Charlotte attacking Biden and Kamala Harris.

Jill Biden thanks president's supporters, says 'it’s time to put that trust in Kamala'

In a handwritten note posted on X, first lady Jill Biden thanked everyone who rooted for her husband, and called on them to support Kamala Harris:

Joe Biden’s extended family was in the Oval Office as he delivered the speech that marked the start of the final phase of his long political career.

The White House pool reporter covering the address saw first lady Jill Biden, his son Hunter Biden, his daughter Ashley Biden and granddaughters Finnegan Biden and Naomi Biden Neal in the room. Longtime advisor Mike Donilon and press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre were there, too.

While he was audible to those watching on the television, the pool reporter noticed that it was very hard to hear him in the room. After he finished speaking, Jill Biden stood next to him at the Resolute Desk, and the president said: “This has been the honor of a lifetime.”

'History in your hands': Joe Biden says 'time for younger voices' as he urges Americans to unite to save US democracy

In a speech marking both the conclusion of his re-election campaign and the beginning of the end of his more than five decades in politics, Joe Biden warned America that the fight for democracy was far from finished.

While he never said Donald Trump’s name aloud, his speech focusing on the accomplishments of his term and vows to keep fighting for his priorities was heavy on references to what he believes is the existential threat the Republican candidate poses to the country’s values.

“It’s been the honor of my life to serve as your president, but in the defense of democracy, which is at stake I think, is more important than any title,” Biden said, and noted that when he took office, the country was recovering not just from the economic and health crisis caused by Covid-19, but also, “the worst attack on our democracy since the civil war”.

He then described America as at a turning point:

I’ve made it clear that I believe America is at an inflection point, one of those rare moments in history when the decisions we make now determine the fate of our nation and the world for decades to come.

America is going to have to choose between moving forward or backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division. We have to decide, do we still believe in honesty, decency, respect, freedom, justice and democracy? In this moment, we can see those we disagree with, not as enemies, but as fellow Americans. Can we do that? Does character in public life still matter?

In a tacit acknowledgment that he is not the man to win this election – something that polls warned was possible for months, and which became much clearer after his disastrous performance in the first debate with Trump – Biden said: “There is a time and a place for long years of experience in public life. There’s also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices, and that time and place is now.”

“History is in your hands,” Biden told the country, in the final minute of what may be his last address from the Oval Office.

Updated

In the final words of his speech, Biden reverted to familiar themes from his now concluded presidential campaign and thanked Americans for giving him the opportunity to serve.

Biden often talks about his childhood in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Claymont, Delaware, but this time also mentioned his stutter, which has troubled his public speaking throughout his life.

“My fellow Americans, it has been the privilege of my life to serve this nation for over 50 years. Nowhere else on earth could a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Claymont, Delaware, one day sit behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as president of the United States,” Biden said.

He concluded with these words:

Great thing about America is, here, kings and dictators do not rule. The people do. History is in your hands. The power is in your hands. The idea of America lies in your hands. You just have to keep faith, keep the faith and remember who we are – we’re the United States America, and there is simply nothing, nothing beyond our capacity. We do it together.

So let’s act together, preserve our democracy. God bless you all. And may God protect our troops. Thank you.

Updated

As he closed his speech, which lasted for about 11 minutes, Joe Biden again alluded to the threat that he believes Donald Trump poses to America’s democracy.

Saying that the choice of president is “up to you, the American people”, the president referenced a comment made by founding father Benjamin Franklin to indicate that he believes the fate of the US system of government is on the line:

When Ben Franklin was asked, as he emerged from the convention going on, whether the founders have given America a monarchy or a Republic, Franklin’s response was: a republic, if you can keep it … whether we keep our republic, is now in your hands.

Updated

Biden reiterates Harris endorsement, calls her 'tough' and 'capable'

Joe Biden repeated his endorsement of Kamala Harris that he made right after ending his re-election campaign earlier this week, saying the vice-president is prepared to take his place.

“Now, in just a few months, the American people choose the course of America’s future,” the president said.

“I made my choice. I made my views known. I would like to thank our great vice-president, Kamala Harris. She’s experienced. She’s tough, she’s capable. She’s been an incredible partner to me and a leader for our country. Now the choice is up to you, the American people.”

Updated

Biden announces support for reforms to supreme court

The president went to say that he will continue fighting for his priorities in his final six months in office, then made a bit of news: he wants to pursue reforms to the supreme court.

During Joe Biden’s term, the court’s six-member conservative supermajority has handed down decisions that he and his Democratic allies have strongly objected to. These include their 2022 ruling overturning Roe v Wade and allowing states to ban abortion and their decision a few weeks ago giving Donald Trump partial immunity from federal charges related to trying to overturn the 2020 election.

“I’m going to call for supreme court reform, because this is critical to our democracy,” Biden said.

Biden says 'the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation'

Joe Biden said that though he believes he has done well enough to merit a second term as president, he will step aside to let another candidate lead.

“I’ve decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That’s the best way to unite our nation. You know, there is a time and a place for long years of experience in public life. There’s also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices and that time and place is now,” the president said.

Moments earlier, he said:
“I revere this office, but I love my country more.”

Updated

Biden began by noting he was sitting at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office and referencing presidents past who have held the office.

“In this sacred space, I’m surrounded by portraits of extraordinary American presidents. Thomas Jefferson wrote the immortal words that guide this nation. George Washington showed us presidents are not kings. Abraham Lincoln, who implored us to reject malice, Franklin Roosevelt, who inspired us to reject fear. I revere this office, but I love my country more,” Biden said.

Updated

Biden begins Oval Office speech

Joe Biden is now speaking from the Oval Office.

Biden to speak from Oval Office on decision to end re-election campaign

In a few minutes, Joe Biden is scheduled to begin delivering remarks on his decision to end his campaign for a second term.

The president will be speaking from the Oval Office and is expected to elaborate on the letter he released on Sunday that marked his exit from the presidential race. If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s Biden’s letter:

Follow along here for live updates from his speech.

Updated

While Joe Biden will soon elaborate on his decision to forgo a second term, Kamala Harris spent today campaigning, with a speech to a Black sorority’s convention in Indianapolis. Here’s more on that, from the Guardian’s Janell Ross:

On the fourth day, Kamala Harris spoke, again.

Following Joe Biden’s Sunday withdrawal from the presidential race and endorsement of Harris as the Democratic nominee, she delivered what has become the core of her stump speech to more than 6,000 members of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated.

Harris’s 15-minute address at the Black sorority’s biannual meeting in Indianapolis outlined what she described as some of the key accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration: eliminating some student loan debt – a mention met with resounding cheers – capping the cost of insulin, expanding lower-cost and no-cost healthcare to new mothers in 46 states, cutting child poverty in half and removing medical debt from the calculus behind credit scores.

She spoke of unfinished work that she would take on as president, including making childcare and eldercare more affordable, securing universal paid maternity leave and signing into law a bill that would restore and protect the right to abortion, which was eliminated by the conservative-dominated supreme court in 2022.

Harris also described her likely opponent’s plank as a set of grim, retrogressive ideas, which are detailed in the nearly 1,000-page policy treatise known as Project 2025. Donald Trump has denied any connection to the document, but several of its chief architects served in his first administration. What’s more, elements of the policy were included in the 2024 Republican party platform, as well as in speeches from this month’s Republican national convention.

“I believe that we face the choice between two different visions for our nation: one focused on the future, the other focused on the past,” Harris said on Wednesday. “And with your support, I am fighting for our nation’s future.”

Kamala Harris appears to have everything lined up to win the Democratic party’s presidential nomination.

There’s only one major outstanding question for her campaign: who will be her running mate? NBC News reports that the vice-president will make her pick over the next two weeks:

As the Guardian’s Robert Tait reported yesterday, it appears that three favorites have emerged for Harris:

Joe Biden’s speech from the Oval Office tonight is set to be a crucial moment in his presidency.

It is also an important step on the road to its conclusion, after Biden became the first president since 1968 not to seek re-election to a second full term. He is expected to elaborate further on that decision, and could also offer praise for Kamala Harris, who is poised to take over from his as the Democratic party’s standard bearer.

Here’s a rundown of how to view the speech, and everything that has happened since Biden’s shock announcement on an otherwise-quiet Sunday afternoon:

Updated

Biden to say 'the defense of democracy is more important than any title' in first speech since ending bid for second term

In his first speech since ending his re-election campaign, Joe Biden will depict his decision to drop out as necessary to hand power to a new generation of leaders, and bring the country together.

Andrew Bates, the White House deputy press secretary, released the excerpts before Biden’s address from the Oval Office, which will begin at 8pm:

Updated

Trump’s speech is essentially an extended attack on Kamala Harris, including using her rapid ascension as the presumptive Democratic nominee to argue that the party isn’t serious about democracy.

Since beginning her campaign on Sunday, the vice-president has won the support of enough delegates to gain the party’s nomination, but, unlike Joe Biden, she did not appear at the top of the ticket during the Democratic primaries held earlier this year. Democrats, meanwhile, have attacked Trump as a threat to democracy for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, and hope to use that to turn voters away from him.

“The guy had 14 million votes,” Trump said, referring to Biden. “So much for democracy. You know, they talk about democracy, he had 14 million votes, and they said, we’re going to give it to somebody with no votes. She had no votes.”

Trump then tried to pre-empt Democratic arguments that he is unfit for the White House because of his felony convictions.

“They get me to that position, and then their campaign says, I’m the prosecutor and he is the convicted felon. That’s their campaign. I don’t think people are going to buy it,” Trump said.

Updated

Trump whips up crowd against Harris, saying: 'Kamala, you're fired!'

You will not be surprised to learn that Donald Trump, at his first campaign rally since Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, has opened fire on Kamala Harris:

When Kamala Harris was sent to Europe to deter Russia, what a joke that was, from attacking Ukraine, how did that work out? Russia answered by launching the invasion just five days after she left, Putin laughed at her like she was nothing. She is nothing … she’s so bad for us, everything Kamala touches turns into a total disaster.

She’s destroyed San Francisco with her policies. Check out San Francisco, 20 years ago, was the greatest city in our country. Today, it’s not a livable city. She’ll destroy our country if she’s elected. So we won’t let her be elected. We can’t let that happen.

Then he predicted: “But, this November, the American people are going to tell her, no thanks, Kamala, you’ve done a terrible job. You’ve been terrible at everything … We don’t want you here. We don’t want you anywhere, Kamala, you’re fired. Get out of here, you’re fired!”

Updated

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is preparing to hold his first rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, since Joe Biden left the race.

The former president is expected to address Kamala Harris’s candidacy for president, seeking to hamper the momentum she has been able to generate with voters and donors as she quickly became the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Updated

Carmit Katzir, whose father was killed during the 7 October Hamas attacks while her mother and brother were taken hostage, was among those arrested by US Capitol Police during Netanyahu’s speech to Congress, the New York Times reports.

Katzir was wearing a shirt calling on the Israeli prime minister to “seal the deal” for the hostages’ release. She has been critical of Netanyahu’s response to the 7 October attacks, calling on him and other leaders to quickly help release those captured by Hamas.

Officers have used force and pepper spray against protesters, including those who “failed to obey our order to move back from our police line” according to Capitol Police.

They have also arrested at least six at the House galleries.

Updated

Connecticut senator Chris Murphy reacted to Netanyahu’s speech before Congress, asserting that it’s out of bounds to suggest that anyone who objects to the war in Gaza is a “Hamas sympathizer”.

“That speech was, as I expected, a setback for both the U.S.-Israel relationship and the fight against Hamas” Murphy said on X.

During his address, Netanyahu likened the thousands of protesters demonstrating at Capitol Hill to Hamas sympathizers. “Many anti-Israel protesters choose to stand with evil,” he said. “Many stand with Hamas.

Updated

As Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Congress today, demonstrators marched in Washington DC, calling on the US to end arms sales to Israel and to implement an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Our video editors have this report of Netanyahu’s visit to DC:

Updated

Here are images from around Capitol Hill today, where thousands gathered to protest Israel’s bombardment of Gaza before Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the US Congress.

Updated

Democrats announce timeline for virtual nomination of presidential candidate

The Democratic party has announced the rules for the nomination of its presidential candidate, setting the stage for Kamala Harris to be officially chosen as the party’s standard bearer in early August before the party’s convention in Chicago begins later that month.

According to rules adopted today by the convention’s rules committee, candidates will declare their intention to stand by 27 July, and then voting can begin virtually by 1 August at the earliest. Delegates will convene in Chicago beginning 19 August “to approve the Democratic Party platform, have ceremonial and celebratory votes on the nominees, and host historic acceptance speeches from the new Democratic ticket and voices throughout the Party”, the Democrats said in a statement.

Harris, who announced her candidacy on Sunday, has said she has enough delegates to win the party’s presidential nomination, and no other major candidate has come forward to challenge her.

Updated

Democratic representative Rashida Tlaib, the sole Palestinian American in Congress, held up a sign accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of genocide during his speech today.

She had this to say about it:

Separately, Axios reports that about half of the Democrats elected to the House and Senate opted to skip the Israeli prime minister’s speech:

Updated

Jean-Pierre also elaborated on Joe Biden’s timeline for revealing his decision to end his bid for a second term.

The president, who had been recovering from Covid-19 at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, announced the decision with a post made on X, without warning, on Sunday afternoon. Jean-Pierre shed a little bit more light on the lead-up to that:

He met with a small group of advisers on Saturday evening and with his family, and was thinking through how to move forward. Sunday afternoon, he made that decision. It was in a very short period of time, as you can imagine. And then at 1.45 [pm], he got on the phone with some of his assistants, assistant to the president, some advisers. He let them know, and then minutes later, a letter went out.

So, it was in a very short period of time that the president was able to think about this and make a decision.

Updated

Biden wants American people to 'hear directly from him' on decision to end re-election bid, spokesperson says

Over at the White House, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is holding the first briefing with reporters since Joe Biden announced he would end his bid for a second term.

Besides a letter he released on social media, the president has not elaborated on his decision, but plans to do so when he addresses the nation from the Oval Office at 8pm ET, Jean-Pierre said.

“The decision that he made on Sunday was about putting country first, was about his party and was about the American people,” Jean-Pierre said.

“He’s going to be on camera later today, obviously, to address the American people from the Oval Office, because of this moment and how big this moment is. He wants to do that. He wants to make sure that Americans hear directly from him.”

Updated

Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that every man, woman and child in Gaza is receiving more than enough food.

“The prosecutor of the international criminal court has shamefully accused Israel of deliberately starving the people of Gaza: This is utter, complete nonsense. It’s a complete fabrication. Israel has enabled more than 40,000 aid trucks to enter Gaza. That’s half a million tons of food!” he said, wagging his finger.

According to data released by the United Nations, a total of 25,183 trucks entered Gaza before Israeli forces stormed the Rafah crossing in May, which affected both crossing points in the southern part of the enclave. The same UN data says a total of just 2,835 have entered Gaza through Kerem Shalom and Erez in the north in the months since, a fraction of the need.

In total, per UN data, 28,018 aid trucks have entered Gaza since the war began. A little more relief entered via the US-built pier, but this has not been seen as a successful effort to boost the supply of aid.

The US pier was also intended to overcome what the relief organisation Oxfam called, in a report earlier this year, Israel’s deliberate blocking of aid.

Sally Abi Khalil, the organisation’s Middle East and north Africa director, added: “Israeli authorities are not only failing to facilitate the international aid effort but are actively hindering it.”

Earlier this year, the world’s leading authority on famine, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, warned that Gaza was on the brink of famine if no action were taken.

In a report in June, the organisation’s famine review committee said that as there had been some increase in goods allowed into northern Gaza, that “the available evidence does not indicate that famine is currently occurring”.

However, they added that the risk of famine remains. They added: “The situation in Gaza remains catastrophic and there is a high and sustained risk of Famine across the whole Gaza Strip. It is important to note that the probable improvement in nutrition status noted in April and May should not allow room for complacency about the risk of Famine in the coming weeks and months. The prolonged nature of the crisis means that this risk remains at least as high as at any time during the past few months.”

Updated

The US Capitol Police now say six people were arrested for disrupting Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech in the House chamber:

Updated

Police say five who disrupted Netanyahu speech arrested, and pepper spray deployed on outside protesters

The US Capitol Police said five people who disrupted Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech from a gallery in the House chamber were arrested, while officers deployed pepper spray on protesters outside the Capitol:

Photographers on the scene caught images of Capitol police deploying pepper spay:

Updated

Benjamin Netanyahu also uses his address to praise Donald Trump, and says he wants to thank the former president “for his leadership in brokering the historic Abraham accords”.

He thanks Trump for “recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights”, for “confronting Iran’s aggression” and for "recognizing Jerusalem as our capital and moving the American embassy there”.

The status of both Jerusalem and the Golan Heights are disputed under international law.

Israelis were “relieved” when Trump “emerged safe and sound from the dastardly” assassination attempt on him, Netanyahu says.

Benjamin Netanyahu says that he is “confident” that the US and Israel will “vanquish the tyrants and terrorists” that threaten both countries.

He says that as Israel’s prime minister, he vows that Israel “will not relent” or bend, no matter “how difficult the road ahead”.

He says that Israel will continue to work with the US and its Arab partners on the “noble mission” to “transform a troubled region” full of “repression, poverty and war” into an “oasis of dignity, prosperity and peace”.

Israel will always remain the US’s “indispensable” ally, “loyal friend” and “steadfast partner” through thick and thin, Netanyahu says.

Thank you America. Thank you for your support and solidarity. Thank you for standing with Israel in our hour of need. Together, we shall defend our common civilization together, we shall secure a brilliant future for both our nations.

Updated

Netanyahu says Israel aims for 'total victory', followed by 'demilitarized and de-radicalized' post-war Gaza

Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel will achieve “total victory” and that it will settle for “nothing less”.

Total victory, he says, means that Israel will fight until it destroys Hamas’s military capability, end its rule in Gaza and bring all the hostages home.

The Israeli prime minister moves on to talk about a post-war Gaza, and says that “a new Gaza could emerge” the day after Hamas is defeated.

He says that his vision for a post-war Gaza is of a “demilitarized and de-radicalized Gaza”, adding:

Israel does not seek to settle Gaza. But for the foreseeable future, we must retain overriding security control there to prevent the resurgence of terror, to ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.

Netanyahu says that Gaza should have a civilian administration “run by Palestinians who do not seek to destroy Israel” and that a new generation of Palestinians “must no longer be taught to hate Jews”.

He notes that the terms “demilitarization” and “deradicalization” were applied to Germany and Japan after the second world war, and that applied to Gaza “can also lead to a future of security, prosperity and peace”. “That’s my vision for Gaza,” Netanyahu says.

Updated

Benjamin Netanyahu says that as Israel “defends ourselves on all fronts”, he knows that “America has our back”.

He says that the US has, for decades, provided Israel with “generous” military assistance. In return, a “grateful” Israel has provided America with “critical intelligence that saved many lives”, he says.

The US and Israel have jointly developed some of the “most sophisticated weapons on Earth” that help protect both countries, Netanyahu says.

We help keep Americans’ boots off the ground while protecting our shared interests in the Middle East.

Netanyahu says he appreciates US support but that this is an “exceptional” moment, and that military aid can “dramatically expedite” an end to the war in Gaza and help prevent a broader war in the Middle East.

He references Winston Churchill, who appealed to Americans by asking them to “give us the tools faster, and we’ll finish the job faster”.

I, too, appeal to America. Give us the tools faster, and we’ll finish the job faster.

Updated

Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is committed to returning its citizens to northern Israel, and that it would “prefer to achieve this diplomatically”.

But Israel “will do whatever it must do to restore security to our northern border and return our people safely to their homes”, he says.

Benjamin Netanyahu says Iran is “virtually behind all the terrorism” in the Middle East, and says the US is the “guardian of western civilization” that stands in the way of Iran’s “maniacal plans”.

The Israeli leader runs through the history of Iran and its relationship with the US since 1979, and says that Tehran “understands that to truly challenge America, it must first conquer the Middle East” by using “its many proxies, including the Houthis, Hezbollah and Hamas”.

Netanyahu says that standing in Iran’s way is Israel. “When we fight Iran, we’re fighting the most radical and murderous enemy of the United States of America,” he says.

We are not only protecting ourselves, we are protecting you.

He adds that Israel’s “enemies are your enemies”, adding:

Our fight is your fight, and our victory will be your victory.

Benjamin Netanyahu says the international criminal court’s “false accusations” are not only libelous, but dangerous.

He says the ICC is tying Israel’s hands and preventing it from defending itself. “If Israel’s hands are tied, America is next,” Netanyahu says:

The hands of the Jewish state will never be shackled. Israel will always defend itself.

Updated

Benjamin Netanyahu thanks congressional lawmakers for their support of Israel, but says that a “minority” may have “fallen for Hamas’s con job”.

As Netanyahu has been speaking, the Democratic representative for Michigan, Rashida Tlaib, is holding up a sign that reads “War Criminal”. The other side of the sign says “Guilty of Genocide”.

Tlaib is the only Palestinian American member of Congress.

From NBC News’ Sahil Kapur:

Updated

Netanyahu claims ICC case against Israel is 'nonsense'

Benjamin Netanyahu says the international criminal court’s Karim Khan has “shamefully” accused Israel of deliberately starving the people of Gaza.

“This is utter, complete nonsense. It’s a complete fabrication,” he tells Congress.

Netanyahu says the ICC prosecutor’s claims that Israel is deliberately starving civilians in Gaza is not true, and blames Hamas on a “strategy” in which they “actually want Palestinian civilians to die” so that Israel “will be smeared in the international media and be pressured to end the war”. He says:

I want to assure you that no matter what pressure is brought to bear, I will never allow that to happen.

Updated

Benjamin Netanyahu, still on the subject of the protesters gathered near the Capitol, condemns the university campus protesters and the presidents of Harvard, University of Pennsylvania and MIT, where he is a graduate, calling them “befuddled academics”.

The Israeli prime minister says “malicious lies” are being levelled at the Jewish state, and that we are witnessing an “appalling” rise of antisemitism in the US and around the world.

Whenever and wherever we see the scourge of antisemitism, we must unequivocally condemn it and resolutely fight it without exception.

Updated

Netanyahu says protesters outside Capitol 'should be ashamed of themselves'

Benjamin Netanyahu says anti-Israel protesters have chosen to “stand with evil” and with Hamas. “They should be ashamed of themselves,” he says.

The Israeli prime minister says:

For all we know, Iran is funding the anti-Israel protests that are going on right now, outside this building.

He says that some of the protesters are holding up signs that say “Gays for Gaza”, adding:

They might as well hold up signs saying ‘Chickens for KFC’.

Netanyahu says that these protesters chant “From the river to the sea” but that “many don’t have a clue what river and what sea they’re talking about”.

Updated

Police officers are arresting people from the gallery as Benjamin Netanyahu is making his speech, NBC News’ Frank Thorp V reports.

Updated

Benjamin Netanyahu, in his speech to Congress, singles out several Israeli soldiers seated in the chamber.

The Israeli leader says these are soldiers of Israel, “unbowed, undaunted, unafraid”, and cites the Bible as saying that they “shall rise like lions”.

He says the men and women of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) come from “every corner of Israeli society, every ethnicity, every color, every creed, left and right, religious and secular”.

Updated

Democratic Senate leader does not shake Netanyahu's hand – reports

Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate majority leader, did not shake Benjamin Netanyahu’s hand as he entered the chamber, according to multiple reports.

Schumer, who has previously called for new Israeli elections to replace Netanyahu, instead nodded as the Israeli prime minister walked by, according to reports.

Updated

Benjamin Netanyahu thanks Joe Biden for his “heartfelt” support for Israel after the 7 October attacks.

Biden stood by Israel “during our darkest hour”, Netanyahu says, calling the visit one that “will never be forgotten”.

Netanyahu says he and Biden have known each other for more than 40 years, and that he wants to thank him for “half a century of friendship” to Israel.

He notes that Biden has called himself a “proud Irish American Zionist”.

Benjamin Netanyahu notes that several families of hostages held by Hamas are in the chamber, including relatives of the Bibas family, as well as families of American hostages.

The Israeli prime minister says that the pain these families have endured is “beyond words”. He vows that he “will not rest until all their loved ones are home. All of them.”

He says “intensive” efforts are under way on behalf of the hostages.

Benjamin Netanyahu says that he has come before Congress today to assure them that “we will win”.

The Israeli leader says that 7 October, the day of the Hamas attacks on southern Israel, will “forever live in infamy” as a day when “heaven turned into hell”.

Netanyahu notes that a former hostage held by Hamas, Noa Argamani, is in the gallery today sitting beside his wife, Sara Netanyahu. He says:

Noa – we are so thrilled to have you with us today. Thank you.

Updated

Netanyahu: 'America and Israel must stand together'

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, begins his speech by thanking congressional leaders and lawmakers for the “profound” honor of addressing Congress.

Netanyahu says that we stand at a “crossroads of history” while the world is “in upheaval”.

He says that in the Middle East, Iran’s “axis of terror” “confronts” US, Israel and its Arab friends. “This is not a clash of civilization,” he says.

It is a clash between those who glorify death and those who sanctify life. For the forces of civilization to triumph, America and Israel must stand together.

Updated

Benjamin Netanyahu is being greeted with applause as he enters the chamber ahead of his speech to Congress.

Meanwhile, there are reports that police have deployed pepper spray at protesters near the Capitol building.

Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Benjamin Netanyahu, has entered the gallery ahead of the Israeli prime minister’s speech.

Updated

Protests are also taking place in Israel ahead of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech in Washington.

About 200 protesters gathered outside the US embassy office in Tel Aviv, some holding signs calling Netanyahu an “enemy of Israel”, AP reported.

Netanyahu to address Congress

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will shortly address Congress today as he seeks to shore up US support for his country’s war in Gaza.

Netanyahu’s address, scheduled to begin at 2pm ET, comes as the death toll nears 40,000 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in Gaza.

Fox News has proposed a new presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris for 17 September.

In letters to the Harris and Trump campaigns, Jay Wallace, the president and executive editor of Fox News Media, proposed a debate moderated by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum to be held in Pennsylvania, Variety reports.

Wallace is quoted as saying in the letter:

We are open to discussion on the exact date, format and location – with or without an audience.

From Semafor’s Shelby Talcott:

ABC is currently slated to host a second presidential debate on 10 September.

Updated

Harris to meet Netanyahu on Thursday

Kamala Harris will not attend Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress today, but she will meet the Israeli leader on Thursday, the White House said.

Netanyahu will meet with Joe Biden in the Oval Office on Thursday before meeting separately with Harris, according to a White House statement.

Netanyahu is also expected to meet with Donald Trump on Friday.

Updated

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has arrived on Capitol Hill and greeted the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson.

“We are certainly happy to welcome our friend,” Johnson said, AP reported.

Johnson added:

Today and every day America must stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel.

Netanyahu told Johnson he has “shown great leadership”.

Updated

Elon Musk has said he will attend Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the US Capitol as a guest of the Israeli prime minister, Fox News’ Kelly Phares reports.

Updated

Thousands of protesters near Capitol ahead of Netanyahu's address to Congress

Thousands of protesters have gathered near the Capitol building ahead of a speech by Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to members of Congress.

On a stage decked with banners including one that declared Netanyahu as a “wanted war criminal”, pro-Palestinian demonstrators including the Oscar-winning actor Susan Sarandon condemned the Israeli leader’s invitation to speak before Congress.

“Shut it down,” a large group of protesters chanted as marched toward the Capitol after blocking a nearby intersection. “Bibi, Bibi, we’re not done!”

Demonstrators placed nearly 30 human-size cardboard coffins wrapped in Palestinian flags in memory of those killed in the war in Gaza.

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'We are not playing around': Harris pledges to sign abortion access into law

Kamala Harris says the country is witnessing a “full-on assault on hard-fought, hard-won freedoms and rights”, including the freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body.

Harris says we must stand together in defense of freedom and to make sure that every American can cast their ballot and have it counted.

She says that every person in the nation should be free from gun violence, and pledges to pass universal background checks, red flag laws and an assault weapons ban.

Harris says every person should be free from “bigotry, discrimination and hate”, and that she will “continue to fight for equality and justice for all”.

We who believe in reproductive freedom will fight for a woman’s right to choose. Because one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree. The government could not be telling her what to do.

Harris says that Donald Trump handpicked three members of the US supreme court because he intended for them to overturn Roe v Wade.

She says:

When I am president of the United States and when Congress passes a law to restore those freedoms, I will sign it into law. We are not playing around.

Updated

Kamala Harris says voters face a choice between two different visions for the country: one focused on the future, the other focused on the past.

Harris says she is fighting for the nation’s future – a future in which everyone has affordable healthcare, no child has to grow up in poverty, the economy works for working people, and the country has affordable childcare and elder care and paid family leave.

“We here believe in a future where all women and all mothers are safe,” Harris says, noting that as vice-president, she took on the issue of maternal mortality.

As we work to build a brighter future and to move our nation forward, we must also recognize that there are those who are trying to take us backward. You may have seen their agenda. Part of it is called Project 2025.

She warns that Project 2025 is a plan “to return America to a dark past”, adding:

Let’s be clear, this represents an outright attack on our children, our families and our future. These extremists want to take us back, but we are not going back. We are not going back.

Updated

Kamala Harris opens her keynote speech to the Zeta Phi Beta sorority by paying tribute to Joe Biden and the “extraordinary” work he has accomplished as president.

Biden is a leader with “bold vision” who “cares about the future” and who has “extraordinary determination and profound compassion” for the American people, she says.

“We are all deeply, deeply grateful for his service to our nation,” Harris says.

Harris gives keynote speech at sorority event

The US vice-president, Kamala Harris, has just kicked off a keynote address to the biennial gathering of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority, now taking place in Indianapolis.

Zeta Phi Beta is one of the sororities originating at Howard University, one of the most prestigious institutions in US higher education and one of the historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU).

Howard is Harris’s alma mater, although her sorority was Alpha Kappa Alpha.

All eyes are on Harris since she more or less clinched the position of the Democratic party’s presumptive nominee for president after Joe Biden dropped out of his re-election campaign over the weekend.

She is criticizing what she called Republican nominee Donald Trump’s plan “to return America to a dark past” of ultra-conservatism.

Updated

The FBI director, Christopher Wray, testified to the House committee that the Trump shooter googled the assassination of JFK.

He said, in addition to what we just posted: “One of the things that I can share here today that has not been shared is that we’ve just in the last couple of days found that from a review … an analysis of a laptop that the investigation ties to the [Trump] shooter reveals that on July 6, he did a Google search for, quote ‘how far away was Oswald from Kennedy?’

“So that’s a search that, obviously, is significant in terms of his state of mind. That is the same day, it appears, that he registered for the Butler rally.”

The Trump campaign rally was held in Butler county, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Donald Trump was shot by the would-be assassin, a 20-year-old local, who came within an inch of killing the former president.

Lee Harvey Oswald shot dead US president John F Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, in November 1963.

Updated

Trump shooter googled JFK assassination – FBI

The FBI director has just told the House judiciary committee that the shooter who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump just 11 days ago searched online for information about the 1963 assassination of US president John F Kennedy.

Christopher Wray is currently testifying before the committee on Capitol Hill, at the House of Representatives, where the Republicans are in the majority.

Wray just told the lawmakers that the man who tried to kill the former president earlier this month used the internet to research how Lee Harvey Oswald killed JFK, Reuters reports.

Wray said that starting around 6 July this year, Thomas Crooks, the shooter who fired at Trump, injuring his ear during a campaign event in Pennsylvania, “became very focused on President Trump and his rally” and conducted a Google search which asked: “How far away was Oswald from Kennedy?”

Crooks was killed by government snipers on 13 July after he fired eight shots from an assault rifle, hitting Trump, killing a rally attendee and injuring others, aiming from a rooftop some distance away.

Oswald shot JFK in November 1963 by firing from a book depository overlooking a road in Dallas, Texas, as the then president’s motorcade passed by.

Updated

The FBI director, Christopher Wray, is currently testifying before the House judiciary committee over the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

Wray told congressional lawmakers that the gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, flew a drone roughly 200 yards (180 meters) from the rally stage where Trump would later stand, viewing and livestreaming the footage.

The FBI recovered the drone and a controller from the car belonging to Crooks and is analyzing it, he said.

Wray, in his opening statement to the committee, said the FBI would “leave no stone unturned” in its investigation of a shooting.

Updated

March for Our Lives backs Harris in first-ever political endorsement

March for Our Lives, the gun violence prevention organization created by the student survivors of the 2019 Parkland high school shooting, has announced it is endorsing Kamala Harris’s presidential bid.

“As one of the largest youth-led movements in the nation, we are clear-eyed about the challenge ahead, and we believe that Kamala Harris is uniquely suited to meet this moment,” the organization said in a statement, adding:

We need an ardent defender of democracy, a gun violence prevention champion, and a leader who will listen to young people, give us a seat at the table, and fight for our future. We believe that Kamala Harris is that candidate and the right person to stand up for us and fight for the country we deserve.

The organization’s endorsement of Harris comes as she oversees the White House office of gun violence prevention. As vice-president, Harris has met regularly with advocates and survivors of gun violence.

Updated

Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, has said he will attend Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech today.

Schumer, in remarks on the Senate floor this morning, said he disagrees with “many of Bibi Netanyahu’s policies” but that he will attend the speech “because the United States relationship with Israel remains ironclad and transcends any prime minister or president”.

Updated

Among those organizing the main rally against Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress were Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, Jewish Voice for Peace, Code Pink, the US Palestinian Community Network, the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), the People’s Forum and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Speakers lined up to address the crowd included Jill Stein, the Green party presidential candidate, and the actor Susan Sarandon.

Protesters say they will publicly demand Netanyahu’s arrest, as requested by the international criminal court’s chief prosecutor in May. The request was later denounced by Joe Biden.

“If Biden were fit to lead, he would stop funding genocide and turn Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu over to the ICC,” Ahmad Abuznaid, an executive director at the USCPR, said in a statement.

Separate protests were also expected from Israeli groups angered that Netanyahu has failed to secure the release of more hostages. Pro-Israel counter-protesters were also expected to be present.

Updated

Thousands expected to protest as Netanyahu addresses Congress

Capitol Hill is on high alert for a day of protest from thousands of demonstrators representing a broad coalition of groups voicing opposition to Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, when he addresses a joint session of Congress.

With tensions over Israel’s 10-and-half-month war in Gaza running high, police mounted a major security operation to seal off the US Capitol from protesters long before Netanyahu is due to speak at 2pm ET.

Streets in Washington’s downtown area were closed to traffic, while officers experienced in dealing with mass protests were drafted in from the New York police department. The Capitol building itself has been ring-fenced off.

Updated

In the two days after Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race, Vote.org recorded its highest number of new voter registrations over a 48-hour period that the organization has seen during the 2024 cycle, the organization told the Guardian.

The organization said in a statement that the site saw a roughly 700% increase in daily new voter registrations during that period, totaling over 38,500. Young voters, aged 18 to 34, made up the bulk (83%) of those registrations, the organization added.

The figures recorded during the 48 hours after Biden withdrew on Sunday were higher than those recorded last September when singer Taylor Swift posted on Instagram urging followers to register to vote, which resulted in 34,000 registrations in 48 hours, the organization said.

The Vermont senator Bernie Sanders condemned Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming address to the US Congress, calling him a “war criminal” presiding over a “rightwing extremist government”.

Sanders delivered his remarks on the Senate floor on Tuesday as Congress expects Netanyahu to give a speech to Congress on Wednesday afternoon.

“Tomorrow will be unique in bringing Prime Minister Netanyahu to address a joint meeting of Congress,” said Sanders on Tuesday.

It will be the first time in American history that a war criminal has been given that honor.

Sanders said of Netanyahu:

He should not be welcome in the United States Congress.

Donald Trump has said he would “absolutely” debate Kamala Harris and that he would be “willing” to debate her more than once.

Trump, in a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, said:

I agreed to debate with Joe Biden. But I want to debate her and she’ll be no different because they have the same policies.

I would be willing to do more than one debate actually.

Trump and Joe Biden had previously agreed to two debates, the second scheduled to take place on 10 September on ABC.

But Trump has in recent days pushed for Fox News to hold the second debate instead, calling ABC “a joke”.

“I’m not thrilled with ABC,” Trump added on Tuesday:

I guess they committed but I have at least equal say, and I don’t like the idea of ABC.

Updated

The co-founder of the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS) movement has said the invitation to the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to speak before Congress confirms the US is in “full partnership in Israel’s genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip”.

Omar Barghouti, a Palestinian human rights defender who helped launch the BDS movement almost 20 years ago, said in a statement:

By rolling the red carpet for Netanyahu, a certified genocidaire, the US government is confirming to the world its full partnership in Israel’s genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip. Days after the international court of justice ruled that Israel is guilty of apartheid and that its occupation and annexation are illegal, the US is desperately trying to save the Israeli regime’s lost legitimacy, if it ever had any.

In a more just world, the leaders of the US government itself and the many US complicit corporations, particularly military manufacturers, should also stand trial for complicity in genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, and not just in Palestine.

Barghouti was interviewed by the Guardian earlier this year, when he spoke about the student-led protests demanding universities cut financial and academic ties to Israel.

Updated

American gen Z voters spoke to the Guardian how they feel about Kamala Harris’s presidential bid, why they like or dislike her as a candidate and whether they think she could beat Donald Trump, as the vice-president races towards winning the Democratic nomination for November’s election.

Read the full story: ‘I was not voting before, now I am’: gen Z voters on what they think of Kamala Harris

Republican congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky said he will not be attending Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress, writing that he didn’t “feel like being a prop” in “political theater”.

Posting to X, Massie added:

The purpose of having Netanyahu address Congress is to bolster his political standing in Israel and to quell int’l opposition to his war.

JD Vance, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, also does not plan to attend Netanyahu’s speech, according to reports.

A statement by Jason Miller, senior adviser to the Trump campaign, reads:

Senator Vance stands steadfastly with the people of Israel in their fight to defend their homeland, eradicate terrorist threats and bring back their countrymen held hostage. He will not however be in attendance for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to Congress as he has duties to fulfill as the Republican nominee for vice-president.

Updated

Mike Johnson warns of 'zero-tolerance policy' and arrests over Netanyahu speech disruptions

Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, has warned of a “zero-tolerance policy” for any signs of disturbances in the Capitol building during Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress this afternoon.

Johnson, in a letter to House members on Tuesday, wrote that there will be additional security measures and the note served as a “friendly reminder of the longstanding rules and decorum of the House”.

In the interests of all involved, we will enforce a zero-tolerance policy for disturbances in the building. All members should kindly inform their guests that any disruption of the proceedings of the House is a violation of the rules and may subject the offenders to prosecution. If any disturbance does occur, the sergeant at arms and Capitol police will remove the offending visitor(s) from the gallery and subject them to arrest.

Updated

About 200 people were arrested on Tuesday during a pro-Palestinian protest in a congressional building ahead of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress today.

The demonstration, organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, took place in the rotunda of the Cannon House office building.

In a statement shared by NBC News, the Jewish Voice for Peace executive director, Stefanie Fox, said:

For nine months, we’ve watched in horror as the Israeli government has carried out a genocide, armed and funded by the US. Congress and the Biden administration have the power to end this horror today. Instead, our president is preparing to meet with Netanyahu and congressional leadership has honored him with an invitation to address Congress.

Updated

The Democratic senator for Washington Patty Murray, who is also the president pro tempore of the Senate, will not be attending Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech.

In a statement, Murray said:

Securing a lasting, mutual ceasefire is of the utmost importance right now, and I will continue to push for one to be reached as soon as possible. I hope Prime Minister Netanyahu will use the opportunity to address how he plans to secure a ceasefire – and lasting peace in the region.

The Senate majority whip, Dick Durbin of Illinois, said in a statement that Israel’s war in Gaza under Netanyahu’s direction “is a brutal strategy beyond any acceptable level of self-defense”, adding:

I will stand by Israel, but I will not stand and cheer its current prime minister at tomorrow’s joint session.

Updated

Nancy Pelosi to skip Netanyahu's address - report

Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker, will also not be attending Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress this afternoon, the New York Times’ Annie Karni reports. A statement by Pelosi reads:

Speaker Pelosi will not be attending today’s Joint Meeting of Congress. This morning, she will join a Members meeting with Israeli citizens whose families have suffered in the wake of the October 7th Hamas terror attack and kidnappings.

Updated

Michigan congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American lawmaker in Congress, said it was “utterly disgraceful” that Benjamin Netanyahu had been invited to address Congress, adding that the Israeli leader should be “arrested and sent to the international criminal court”.

New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she plans to boycott Netanyahu’s speech this afternoon, calling the Israeli prime minister a “war criminal”.

Florida congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost said he would also skip the speech, adding that he “detest[s] what Netanyahu is doing, and I detest his leadership”.

Updated

More than 30 Democratic lawmakers to skip Netanyahu speech – report

More than 30 House and Senate Democrats are not planning to attend Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech today to Congress, NBC News is reporting.

Netanyahu is scheduled to address a joint meeting on Congress this afternoon at 2pm ET.

Updated

Biden to meet with Netanyahu in the Oval Office on Thursday

Joe Biden will meet with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in the Oval Office on Thursday, the White House said.

The two leaders will “discuss developments in Gaza and progress towards a ceasefire and hostage release deal and the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security, including countering Iran’s threats to Israel and the broader region”, according to a statement from the White House.

Afterwards, Biden and Netanyahu will meet with the families of Americans held hostage by Hamas.

Netanyahu is also expected to meet with Donald Trump on Friday, the former US president announced on his Truth Social platform.

The Israeli leader has kept a low profile since arriving in Washington DC on Monday, holding a series of small meetings with the families of hostages kidnapped by Hamas, but he is scheduled to deliver an address to a joint session of Congress later today.

Dozens of Democratic lawmakers are planning to boycott Netanyahu’s speech to Congress. Kamala Harris will not be attending, which an aide said was because of a scheduling conflict. According to his public schedule, Netanyahu will meet with the House speaker, Mike Johnson, and the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, before the speech.

Updated

Hillary Clinton, the former Democratic presidential candidate and the country’s first female presidential nominee from a major party, has said she believes Kamala Harris can beat Donald Trump despite the “sexism and double standards of American politics”.

Clinton, in an op-ed for the New York Times, wrote:

I know a thing or two about how hard it can be for strong women candidates to fight through the sexism and double standards of American politics. I’ve been called a witch, a ‘nasty woman’ and much worse. I was even burned in effigy. As a candidate, I sometimes shied away from talking about making history. I wasn’t sure voters were ready for that.

The former US secretary of state said she was “excited” about Harris, who she said represents “a fresh start” for American politics and who offers a “hopeful, unifying vision”. “She is talented, experienced and ready to be president,” Clinton wrote.

Ms Harris will face unique additional challenges as the first Black and South Asian woman to be at the top of a major party’s ticket. That’s real, but we shouldn’t be afraid. It is a trap to believe that progress is impossible.

Updated

Kevin McCarthy calls DEI attacks on Kamala Harris 'stupid and dumb'

Kevin McCarthy, the former Republican House speaker, has described attacks by his former colleagues on Kamala Harris claiming that she was hired as part of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are “stupid and dumb”.

McCarthy, speaking to NBC News’ Meet the Press NOW last night, said:

I disagree with DEI, but she is the vice-president of the United States, she is the former US senator. These congressmen saying it, they are wrong in their own instincts.

Updated

In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal earlier this month, the veteran Republican election lawyer Charlie Spies, a former counsel for the Republican National Committee, argued that the Biden-Harris team must be formally nominated by their party before any money could be shifted. Spies wrote:

If President Biden is committed to passing the torch to his vice president, and wants to be able to seed her campaign with the current Biden for President campaign war chest, he’ll first have to become his party’s legal nominee. After shuffling through the Democratic National Committee’s planned roll call vote he’d be free to drop out. Ms Harris could seamlessly slip into the driver’s seat.

Updated

Dara Lindenbaum, the commissioner of the Federal Election Commission, has said she agrees with the view that Kamala Harris can access Joe Biden’s campaign funds if she becomes the Democratic party’s nominee.

Lindenbaum, in a post to X on Sunday, wrote:

If Kamala Harris becomes the Democratic Party nominee, she gets access to the Joe Biden campaign funds.

In an interview reported by the New York Times, Lindenbaum said it was “very clear” that Harris “gets to use all the money in the account if she is the party’s presidential nominee. “In my view, this is not an open question,” she said.

Whether the Federal Election Commission complaint generates traction with the FEC remains unclear, but the Trump campaign has been looking for any way to slow down the momentum Kamala Harris has been able to generate with voters and donors after she quickly became the presumptive Democratic nominee.

The strategy, according to people familiar with the matter, has included opening new legal battles to try to prevent Harris from accessing Biden’s funds, although the complaint on Tuesday stopped short of a lawsuit.

The complaint, earlier reported by the New York Times, also argued that Harris taking over Biden’s remaining campaign funds amounted to an excessive unlawful contribution given that “Biden for President” was not an authorized committee for the Harris campaign.

The Harris campaign has viewed the FEC complaint as a spurious legal effort to throw sand in their gears, noting that the Biden-Harris committees have always been authorized committees for either Biden or Harris, according to a person familiar with the thinking.

Trump files complaint against Harris for taking over Biden’s campaign funds

Donald Trump’s campaign on Tuesday filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against the vice-president, Kamala Harris, accusing her 2024 campaign of violating federal campaign finance laws by replacing Joe Biden’s name with her own to take control of his campaign funds.

The complaint, filed by the Trump campaign’s general counsel, David Warrington, argued that the Biden campaign could not rename its committee from “Biden for President” to “Harris for President” once Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday, and roll over $91m. The eight-page complaint said:

This is little more than a thinly veiled $91.5m excessive contribution from one presidential candidate to another, that is, from Joe Biden’s old campaign to Kamala Harris’s new campaign. This effort makes a mockery of our campaign finance laws.

“Federal candidates are prohibited from keeping contributions for elections in which they do not participate,” it added.

Biden for President 2024 has shown no intention to properly refund or re-designate the general election funds it has already received. This makes them all excess contributions.

Updated

Some more comments from German chancellor Olaf Scholz on Kamala Karris. He said he had met several times with the US vice-president and called her a “competent and experienced politician”.

Scholz said it was always important for him to assess in talks whether politicians were simply saying what had been prepared for them or actually able to engage in dialogue – and in his several meetings with Harris, she had convinced him of the latter.

“She knows what she wants and what she can do,” he said on Wednesday in an annual summer news conference that touched on a wide range of topics.

Updated

German chancellor Olaf Scholz said he believed it was “very possible” US vice-president Kamala Harris would win the US election later this year, stopping short of endorsing Harris over Republican Donald Trump.

Scholz had been unusually direct in his endorsement of US President Joe Biden before the latter dropped his reelection bid last weekend and endorsed Harris as the Democrat party’s candidate to face Trump in the November election.

“The election campaign in the USA will certainly be exciting, now with a slightly new lineup and a new constellation,” Scholz told an annual summer news conference on Wednesday.

“I think it is very possible that Kamala Harris will win the election, but the American voters will decide.”

Dozens of Democrats plan to skip Netanyahu address to US Congress

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to address the US Congress on Wednesday as dozens of Democrats plan to skip the speech.

Protests over his arrival in Washington DC have already begun, including a sit-in at a congressional office building that ended with multiple arrests, according to the Associated Press.

He will speak to a joint meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives at 2pm (7pm UK time). This will be his fourth time making such an address, surpassing Winston Churchill’s record as the foreign leader who has made the most joint addresses to the US Congress.

Dozens of Democrats plan to skip the speech, many expressing dismay over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza which has killed more than 39,000 people and led to a humanitarian crisis on the ground. Presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris will not be in attendance as she is on the campaign trail outside DC but she plans to meet Netanyahu separately.

Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen told reporters: “For him, this is all about shoring up his support back home, which is one of the reasons I don’t want to attend.”

“I don’t want to be part of a political prop in this act of deception. He is not the great guardian of the US-Israel relationship.”

The Democrats planning to stay away also include Senators Dick Durbin, the chamber’s number two Democrat, Tim Kaine, Jeff Merkley and Brian Schatz, all members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as Patty Murray, who chairs Senate Appropriations.

In the House, those staying away included progressives like Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as Ami Bera, a senior member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Adam Smith, the top Democrat on Armed Services.

Smith said he never attends joint meetings but also described himself on Tuesday as “very, very opposed to what prime minister Netanyahu is doing in Israel.”

Murray normally would have presided, as the senior Senate Democrat, because Harris will not attend. Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, who leads the foreign relations committee, will replace her.

Netanyahu is due to travel to Florida to meet with Donald Trump later this week. The meeting will be their first since the end of Trump’s presidency, during which the two forged close ties.

Harris Campaign raises $126m since announcing 2024 run

The Harris Campaign has announced that, as of Tuesday evening, they have raised $126m since announcing 2024 run.

Trump to turn fire on Harris in his first rally since Biden dropped out of race

Welcome to our coverage of the US presidential race with all the major players due to speak today.

Republican nominee Donald Trump will hold his first rally since it was announced that Joe Biden will drop out of the race. The former president will appear at an event in Charlotte, North Carolina, a state that will be an important battleground in the 5 November election. He will turn his fire on Kamala Harris, who is almost certain to run against him, amid fears from his aides of a “Harris honeymoon”.

Meanwhile, as Reuters reports, the vice-president will head to Indianapolis to speak at an event hosted by the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, which was founded at Howard University, the historically Black college that Harris attended.

She hopes to tap sororities’ multi-generational network of Black women to deliver strong voter turnout for Democrats in November.

Harris held an energetic first rally as the likely nominee on Tuesday in Milwaukee, telling the crowd that Americans were “not going back” to the “chaos” of the Trump years.

Joe Biden will also be speaking. He is set to make a case for his legacy on Wednesday night when he delivers an Oval Office address about his decision to bow out of the race and “what lies ahead.”

Updated

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