Washington:

Outgoing US President Joe Biden on Friday said that he would have defeated Republican Donald Trump in the 2024 US presidential elections, but he decided to withdraw from the race mid-way for the sake of the unity of his Democratic Party.

During a press conference at the White House, he was asked by a journalist, “Mr President, do you regret your decision to not run for re-election? Do you think that that made it easier for your predecessor to now become your successor?”.

“I don’t think so. I think I would have beaten Trump, could have beaten Trump and I think that Kamala (Harris) could have beaten Trump, would have beaten Trump,” Mr Biden responded.

“It wasn’t about – I thought it was important to unify the party and when the party was worried about whether or not I was going to be able to move even though I thought I could win again, I thought it was better to unify the party,” he added.

He also said it was the “greatest honour” of his life to be the US president.

“But I didn’t want to be the one who caused a party that wasn’t unified to lose an election. And that’s why I stepped aside. But I was confident she could win,” he said.

The 82-year-old leader withdrew from the US Presidential race against Donald Trump after his disastrous performance at the presidential debate in June.

Following a lot of criticism from his own party leaders, Mr Biden decided to withdraw from the race mid-way and endorsed his running mate Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate.

Ms Harris, however, lost to Mr Trump and the November 5 elections resulted in a clean sweep for the Republican Party, which not only recaptured the White House, maintained its majority in the House of Representatives but also got a majority in the Senate.

‘Kamala Harris Competent To Run Again In Four Years’

Joe Biden said Kamala Harris is “competent” to run for the presidency again in four years, adding that the decision on this would finally be on her.

“I think that’s a decision she might think she’s competent to run again in four years. That’ll be a decision for her to make,” he told reporters.

Mr Biden made history in 2020 by appointing Ms Harris as the first ever Indian American, African American and woman as the Vice President of the US.

Mr Biden will also give a televised farewell address to the nation on January 15, five days before Donald Trump returns to power.

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she boards Air Force Two at LaGuardia International Airport, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, in New York.
| Photo Credit: AP

With less than a month to go for the  U.S. elections, Democratic candidate and Vice President, Kamala Harris, has been engaged in an unusual spate of media interviews. Ms. Harris, who has not held a formal press conference since she became the presumptive nominee for her party at the end of July, is racing to let voters get better acquainted with her.  Her Republic opponent, Former President  Donald Trump, is much more of a known quantity. While Ms. Harris seeks to more clearly define her positions,  the other side has  stepped up its efforts to crystallize their definition of her – pegging Ms Harris to the Biden administration’s policies.

In addition to responding to the Harris interviews these past few days, the Trump campaign’s recent emphasis has included making unsubstantiated claims about  Hurricane Helene, which has killed more than 200 people. Mr. Trump and his supporters have claimed that the government has run out of money for relief and that funds are being diverted to migrants rather than hurricane victims. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s chief  and several Republican lawmakers are among those who have pushed back against these claims.

With Ms. Harris acquiring a slight lead in several polls this week, her campaign is trying to show more of what she stands for, while also focusing  on who she is standing against – by continuing to paint Mr. Trump as  a danger to the U.S. Constitution and as unfit for office on the basis of his character.

 In her appearance on  The View, one of the hosts  said, “When people say they don’t know enough about her, I say, just look at the opponent.” However, there appears to be a sense in the Harris campaign that this will not be enough. Ms. Harris’s media appearances were designed to cater to different segments– including independents, undecided and Republican voters

On the Call Her Daddy podcast, whose listeners are mostly young women, The Vice President spoke about agency and reproductive rights. She did an interview with Howard Stern, whose listeners include married white males;  she appeared with a panel of women on ABC’s The View and  CBS’s  ‘60 Minutes’, which both parties’ candidates have traditionally appeared on for decades.

Last week, Ms. Harris campaigned with former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney in Ripon, Wisconsin, the birthplace of the Republican Party. This week, she signaled that she had become more moderate in her positions. On ’60 Minutes’ she provided more details about her gun ownership and said, as she has done before, that she had sought “common ground” in backing away from a fracking ban and in adopting more hardline positions  on illegal migration. On ‘The View’ she said she planned to appoint a Republican to her cabinet.

The Trump campaign meanwhile has amped up its linking of Ms Harris to administration policies.

Creating distance between herself and Mr. Biden’s policies might have, however, become harder for Ms. Harris, when she said on The View that she would not have done anything differently from the current President (with the exception of appointing a Republican to her cabinet). 

Mr. Trump, who has previously responded to his opponents with  sexist and personal insults –  called Ms Harris’s statement “Election Defying” as he referred to the “dumb women” on the show. He  also called Mr .Stern a “beta male”.

While Ms. Harris deployed Ms. Cheney, Mr. Trump deployed Elon Musk, a billionaire entrepreneur and owner of social media site X. Appearing at Mr Trump’s rally in Butler County , Pennsylvania, last Saturday, Mr. Musk said “the other side [ Democrats ] wants to take away your freedom of speech” , adding that the U.S. Constitution’s   Second Amendment (right to bear arms) was there to protect the First Amendment (freedom of expression).   

Mr. Trump’s campaign and his supporters have argued that Democrats, including Ms. Harris, want to clamp down on the freedom of expression , based on comments Democrats have made in the context of curbing misinformation and hate speech.

Mr. Musk has also taken it upon himself to drive voter registration in favour of Republicans. He announced an offer of $47 to each person who could get a swing state registered voter to sign a petition supporting the First Amendment  and Second Amendment in a swing state.

Mr. Musk recently said in an October 7 interview with Tucker Carlson that if Mr. Trump did not win in November, it would be “the last election”.  According to Mr. Musk, a Harris administration would end the notion of ‘Swing States’ by flooding them with illegal migrants, who would eventually become citizens and vote for the Democratic Party.

Mr .Trump, however, has already suggested that this will be the last election if he does win. Addressing Christians at a Florida event on July 28 he had said,  “In four years, you don’t have to vote again, we’ll have it fixed so good you’re not going to have to vote.”

Washington DC:

Weeks before his term as US President comes to an end, Joe Biden signed a new executive order today to address the problem of gun violence in the US.

“Join Vice President Kamala Harris and me as we deliver remarks on addressing the scourge of gun violence in America,” President Biden posted on social media website X.

“In order to end the problem of gun violence in America, we need to first talk about the problem of guns in America,” the President said, before he gave a sad and worrying statistic – that “The number one cause of deaths of children in America is gun violence – even more than disease or accidents.”

“It is sickening,” the President said.

Join @VP and me as we deliver remarks on addressing the scourge of gun violence in America. https://t.co/YFGOKtBV2Q

— President Biden (@POTUS) September 26, 2024

Earlier in the day, the President shared a post on his official X account stating that “Today, I’ll sign an Executive Order to crack down on emerging firearm threats like unserialized, 3D-printed guns and machine gun conversion devices.”

President Biden further said that the order will “Also direct my Cabinet to help improve school-based active shooter drills,” adding that “It is our job to do better.”

Data shows that the average number of civilian guns per 100 persons in America was 120.5 guns, which is more than double that of the next country on that list – Yemen (52.8 guns).

Today, I’ll sign an Executive Order to crack down on emerging firearm threats like unserialized, 3D-printed guns and machine gun conversion devices.

It’ll also direct my Cabinet to help improve school-based active shooter drills.

It’s our job to do better.

— President Biden (@POTUS) September 26, 2024

AMERICA’S GUN VIOLENCE PROBLEM

The United States has a serious gun violence problem, especially with an ever-increasing number of school and university shootings. According to a research conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics last year, child gun deaths in the US have hit record highs.

According to the data, 4,752 children died from gun-related injuries in 2021, the latest year for which data was available, up from 4,368 in 2020 and 3,390 in 2019. In fact, gun violence has been the number one cause of death for children in the United States since 2020.

The study further showed that Black children accounted for around 67% of firearm homicides while white children made up about 78% of gun-assisted suicides.

As recently as a fortnight ago, at least four people were killed in a school shooting in Georgia. The suspect, now arrested, turned out to be a 14-year-old.

The US has seen hundreds of shootings inside of schools and colleges in the past two decades, with the deadliest resulting in over 30 deaths at Virginia Tech in 2007. The carnage has sparked pitched debate over the US gun laws and the US Constitution’s Second Amendment, which enshrines the right “to keep and bear arms.”

PRESIDENT BIDEN’S EXECUTIVE ORDER

In 2023, Vice President Kamala Harris was given charge of the department which looks into gun legislation. She was made responsible to help curb gun violence in America and to bring an end to the use of firearms in schools and other educational institutions.

Now, six weeks before the 2024 US Presidential election, President Biden has decided to bring in a legislation by Presidential Order – the highest authority in the US – to curb the menace of firearms and shootings at schools and colleges.

Under the order, the first part will focus on “emerging firearm threats”, including machine gun conversion devices – which turns a handheld gun or pistol into an automatic firearm or weapon. Such devices are already illegal, but since law enforcement agencies have found indiscriminate use of such equipment, the new legislation will ensure a crackdown on its availability.

The other threats that this legislation aims to tackle are unlicensed guns, or guns without serial numbers, that are 3D printed, which have a potential to go undetected even by scanners and metal detectors.

In the second part of the two-part Presidential order, Mr Biden has appealed to various departments, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State and even the Department of Education and other key departments involved to jointly draft Standard Operating Procedures or SOPs to ensure that there are regular drills in schools and vulnerable locations where similar incidents have occurred.

Under this order, the law enforcement authorities in the US will also have to check the sale of guns, ammunition, and other automatic and sub-automatic weapons.

More details of the the Presidential order will emerge once Mr Biden signs it and it is ratified.

AN APPEAL BEFORE THE ORDER

Earlier this month, President Biden called for a complete ban on assault weapons. “As a nation, we cannot continue to accept the carnage of gun violence,” he had said.

He had also urged the US Congress to take strong action for gun control in the country. President Biden even reached out to Republican lawmakers, saying some of its leaders should “finally say enough is enough”, adding that “We have to do something together. Let’s ban assault weapons.”

He had acknowledged that these steps “won’t bring back those children,” however, it would “help save lives if we do the things we’re talking about.” He further said, “We can do if we do it together…and I really think we can.”

President Biden also called for thorough  checks and balances over the sale of arms and ammunition, calling for detailed background checks. He also appealed to end the immunity for gun manufacturers as well as for parents who allow their children to have weapons to be held accountable.

RECENT SCHOOL SHOOTINGS

The school shooting in Georgia two weeks ago was the latest among dozens across the US in recent years, including deadly ones in Connecticut, Parkland, Florida, Newtown, and Uvalde, Texas.

So far, at least 385 mass shooting incidents have taken place in the US in 2024 alone, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which considers mass shootings as those in which four or more victims are shot. That’s an average of more than 1.5 mass shootings every day in the United States of America.
 

Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams, who is stuck on the International Space Station (ISS), today said it was her “happy place” and that she “loves” being up there. Ms Williams and her fellow NASA colleague Butch Wilmore on June 5 took off aboard the Boeing’s Starliner as part of the vessel’s first crewed mission, in what was originally meant to be eight days in orbit. Their stay, however, has been stretched to eight months after the Starliner ran into several technical issues and returned to Earth without them last week.

“That’s how things go in this business,” Sunita Williams said in a video press conference on being stuck in the space.

Ms Williams said the transition to station life was “not that hard” since both astronauts had previous stints there.

“This is my happy place. I love being up here in space,” the veteran astronaut said.

“We wanted to take Starliner to the completion and land back on land at home, but you know, you have to turn the page and look at the next opportunity,” she added.

LIVE: From the @Space_Station, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams discuss their ongoing mission and answer questions from the media: https://t.co/ytifGf22Gn

— NASA (@NASA) September 13, 2024

Ms Williams and Mr Wilmore are scheduled to return in February with the Crew-9 flight of billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Ms Williams said she was a little bit nervous that she was not returning home immediately.

“In the back of my mind, there are folks on the ground who have some plans like my family…spending times with my mother. And I think I was fretting more about that. Like the things we had planned for this fall or winter…but everybody was on board and that prepared us,” she said.

Mr Wilmore said he was “absolutely not” let down by the decision to stay in space and indicated there were “disagreements” about how to handle the return.

“We could have gotten to the point, I believe, where we could have returned on Starliner, but we just simply ran out of time,” he said in the press conference.

“In this case, we found some things that we just could not get comfortable with putting us back in the Starliner when we had other options,” he added.

Sunita Williams, Butch Willmore To Vote In US Elections From Space

The two astronauts said they were looking forward to casting their ballot in the 2024 US presidential election from the International Space Station.

Butch Willmore said he has sent down his request for a ballot today.

“It is a very important role that we all play as American citizens,” he said. “NASA makes it very easy for us to do that.”

Sunita Williams also said it is a “very important duty”.

“Looking forward to vote from space, which is pretty cool,” she said.

The US elections – a fight between Democrat Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump – will be held on November 5.

Boeing’s Starliner Setbacks

After years of delays, Boeing’s Starliner finally lifted off on June 5 carrying Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, both former military test pilots, to the International Space Station. However, a day later, as Starliner was approaching the ISS, NASA and Boeing identified helium leaks and experienced issues with the spacecraft’s reaction control thrusters.

Hugs all around! The Expedition 71 crew greets Butch Wilmore and @Astro_Suni aboard @Space_Station after #Starliner docked at 1:34 p.m. ET on June 6. pic.twitter.com/wQZAYy2LGH

— Boeing Space (@BoeingSpace) June 6, 2024

Five of Starliner’s 28 thrusters failed during flight and it sprang several leaks of helium, which is used to pressurize the thrusters. It was still able to dock with the space station, which has housed rotating crews of astronauts for over two decades.

NASA, however, feared the capsule would not be able to achieve the thrust necessary to return to Earth and decided to transfer the two astronauts to a SpaceX mission and return the Starliner empty.

Washington:

Kamala Harris has unveiled a few centrist-leaning policies, abandoned some past positions and left much else vague as she gears up for a critical US presidential debate with Donald Trump.

The Democratic vice president unveiled a list of policies on her website on the eve of the clash, with Republicans accusing her of “flip-flopping” on key issues.

Here is where the White House hopeful stands in five key areas:

‘Opportunity economy’

Harris has stressed her commitment to the United States’ middle class, citing her own background of being raised by a single mother in California, and said she wants to create an “opportunity economy.”

One of her most concrete policies so far is a child tax credit of $6,000 for families of newborn children. She has also promised tax cuts for 100 million Americans while raising taxes on the richest, and to bring down housing prices.

Tax is one of the few policy areas where she has broken with President Joe Biden. In a nod to moderate voters, she wants a 28 percent tax on capital gains, less than the 39.6 percent proposed by Biden.

Harris has also promised to end taxes on tips paid to service industry workers — weeks after Trump announced a similar policy.

She has said she will take on “price gouging” by corporations to tackle high prices — one of her main weak spots against Republican Trump — but her plans on that front remain vague.

Environmental flip-flops

Harris has not set out a detailed environmental policy except on one key area: fracking.

She has vowed not to ban the practice, which uses high-pressure water to extract oil and gas — despite previously saying that she was opposed to it.

In her first and only on-screen interview since becoming the Democratic candidate, she told CNN that her “values have not changed” even if her position had.

Harris has, according to the Axios news site, also backtracked on her opposition to plastic straws.

As vice president, she has strongly backed Biden’s green energy transition under the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act.”

Border ‘consequences’

Illegal migration over the US-Mexican border is one of the most sensitive issues in the campaign.

Harris said in her CNN interview there would be “consequences” for people crossing illegally.

She supported Biden’s bid to toughen migration policy and has backed investing in the border “wall” that Trump called for — despite her criticizing it in the past.

Biden’s proposals, however, have never made it through a divided Congress, with Republicans blocking them to cause Democrats political damage.

Firm on abortion

Harris’s position on abortion, another key election issue, is not in doubt.

She has repeatedly criticized Trump for bragging that he enabled the US Supreme Court to overturn the federal right to terminate pregnancies.

Harris has said that if elected she would push to enshrine protections for abortion in US law.

Gaza quagmire

Harris has been more vocal than Biden on the issue of civilians killed by Israel in the war in Gaza, leading to speculation that she might take a tougher line with the US ally.

But during her CNN interview she said she would not halt arms deliveries to Israel, despite calls among Democrats and Arab American voters to do so, and pledged to help Israel defend itself.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New York:

From Gerald Ford’s catastrophic Soviet gaffe to Ronald Reagan’s witty remark about his age and Joe Biden’s infamous implosion, US presidential debates have featured jaw-dropping moments.

Here are some of the most memorable in modern US politics.

Kennedy-Nixon, September 26, 1960

It was the first televised debate of its kind, when broadcasts were in black-and-white, and it established the importance of a politician’s public image. Republican Richard Nixon looked poised to win the election, having served two terms as vice president under Dwight Eisenhower.

“I’m Bill Shadel ABC News…The 2 candidates will not be sharing same platform. In NY John F Kennedy. Separated by 3,000 miles in L.A. studio, Richard Nixon. Joined for discussion by network of electronic facilities which permits each candidate to see & hear the other”
10/13/1960 pic.twitter.com/9GottJMbPP

— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) October 8, 2020

But the debate did not go well for him. Nixon refused to wear makeup and appeared pale and sweaty in front of more than 66 million viewers, while young Massachusetts senator John F Kennedy looked tanned and relaxed. While Nixon addressed the moderator, Kennedy looked at the camera, speaking directly to his voters. 

How much the debate visuals pushed the needle is disputed, but Kennedy went on to defeat Nixon at the polls.

Ford-Carter, October 6, 1976

The first debate between Republican president Gerald Ford and Democratic challenger Jimmy Carter was marked by a 27-minute loss of audio. The second debate didn’t go well for Ford either when he made a gaffe that arguably cost him the presidency.

At the height of the Cold War, Ford uttered that “there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, and there never will be under a Ford administration,” even though the Soviet Union had troops deployed across the Eastern bloc.

Six days passed before Ford explained himself, saying he spoke not of the literal military presence but meant that people’s spirits there hadn’t been crushed.

Reagan-Mondale, October 21, 1984

Republican president Ronald Reagan was 73 when he ran for a second term against 56-year-old Walter Mondale. But he turned his age into his strength with a witty answer that went down in history.

“I will not make age an issue of this campaign,” Reagan said when asked whether he was fit for office. “I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”

Bush-Clinton-Perot, October 15, 1992

The second presidential debate in the 1992 race pitted incumbent president George Bush against both his future successor Bill Clinton and Ross Perot, an independent candidate. 

Bush was caught on camera looking at his watch while Clinton talked to an audience member during a town hall debate, a move that cost Bush dearly. 

Years later, Bush admitted he hated debates. “Maybe that’s why I was looking at it — ‘Only 10 more minutes of this crap.'”

Obama-Romney, October 22, 2012

During a debate against president Barack Obama, Republican challenger Mitt Romney lamented that the US Navy had fewer ships presently than it did in 1916.

“Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military’s changed,” Obama retorted. 

“We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them. We have these ships that go under water, nuclear submarines.” 

Obama’s comments went viral.

Trump-Clinton, October 9, 2016

The second debate of the 2016 US presidential election pitting Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump was particularly vicious. 

Coming shortly after the release of a video in which Trump was heard boasting that his fame allowed him to grope women, the Republican billionaire went after his opponent’s husband, former president Bill Clinton, accusing him of being “so abusive to women.”

Trump also vowed to have Hillary Clinton investigated over her use of a private email account when she was secretary of state. 

“It’s just awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in our country,” Clinton said. 

Trump shot back: “Because you’d be in jail.”

Trump-Biden, September 29, 2020

The first debate of the 2020 presidential election, featuring Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, devolved into shouting and insults. 

With Trump constantly interrupting him, Biden snapped, saying, “Will you shut up, man?” 

The Democrat also called his opponent a “clown” and “Putin’s puppy.”

Trump for his part kept evading the question of whether he would recognize the results of the election. 

Powerless to control the two candidates, the debate moderator, Fox News journalist Chris Wallace, later described feeling “desperation.”

Trump-Biden, June 27, 2024

Organized an unprecedented four months ahead of this year’s November vote, the June debate was supposed to give Biden, 81, a chance to shore up concerns about his age.

But it was a debacle for the Democrat, who repeatedly lost his train of thought, stared blankly and spoke at times incoherently and with a raspy voice.

The dismal performance set the stage for Biden to eventually drop out of the race — passing the torch to Trump’s new challenger, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Harris and Trump will now debate on Tuesday.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Hillary Clinton, who became the first woman to secure a major US party’s presidential nomination, addressed the Democratic convention in Chicago today and praised her party’s new presidential nominee Kamala Harris, and attacked Republican candidate Donald Trump.

Thousands have gathered in Chicago for the Democratic Convention to show their support for Kamala Harris as officially nominated democratic party candidate against Donald Trump in the 2024 US presidential elections.

“As president, she (Kamala Harris) will always have our backs and she will be a fighter for us. She will fight to lower costs for hard-working families, open the doors wide for good paying jobs and, yes, she will restore abortion rights nationwide,” Clinton said.

Attacking Trump, who she lost in the 2016 US elections, Clinton said he “only thinks about himself”.

“Donald Trump fell asleep at his own trial, and when he woke up, he made his own kind of history, the first person to run for president with 34 felony convictions,” she said.

.@HillaryClinton: Kamala will never rest in defense of our freedom and safety. Donald Trump fell asleep at his own trial pic.twitter.com/30gaMgk7n3

— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) August 20, 2024

Clinton, who lost the party’s nomination to Barrack Obama in 2008, also praised US President Joe Biden, saying he has been the “champion of Democracy, at home and abroad.”

“And now, we are writing a new chapter in America’s story,” Clinton said, adding Kamala has the “character, experience and vision to lead us forward.”

Kamala Harris’ Surprise Appearance

Kamala Harris also made a surprise appearance at the party’s national convention and vowed to defeat her Republican rival Donald Trump in the November election.

“Let us fight for the ideals we hold dear and let us always remember, when we fight we win!” she said in brief remarks.

She also praised Biden and said, “Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation.”

“We are forever grateful,” she told Biden.

A historian who has correctly predicted the result of nine US elections has now weighed in on the Donald Trump vs Kamala Harris fight.

Allan Lichtman, often dubbed the “Nostradamus of US presidential elections”, makes his predictions based on his “13 keys to the White House”.

The method consists of 13 true or false questions, and if six or more keys go against the incumbent party, the 77-year-old American University historian predicts their defeat. If fewer than six went against it, it would win. 

The keys assess various factors, including economic performance, social stability, and incumbent charisma. Through careful analysis spanning historical data since former US president Abraham Lincoln’s era, Lichtman has crafted a predictive model that transcends conventional methods used by traditional psephologists.

Allan Lichtman’s “13 Keys To The White House”

From Ronald Reagan’s re-election triumph amid economic recession to Bill Clinton’s victory against George HW Bush, Allan Lichtman has correctly predicted crucial poll contests in the US.

The 13 keys to the White House as designed by him are as follows: 

Party Mandate: Post-midterm elections, the incumbent party secures more US House of Representatives seats than in the previous midterms.

Nomination Contest: There’s no significant challenge to the incumbent party’s nomination.

Incumbency: The sitting president represents the incumbent party.

Third-party Factor: There’s no noteworthy third-party or independent campaign.

Short-term Economic Stability: The economy doesn’t face recession during the election period.

Long-term Economic Growth: Real per capita economic growth equals or surpasses the average growth of the preceding two terms.

Policy Shift: The incumbent administration enacts major alterations in national policy.

Social Stability: There’s no prolonged social unrest throughout the term.

Scandal-Free: The incumbent administration remains free from major scandals.

Foreign/Military Mishaps: No significant failures occur in foreign or military affairs under the incumbent administration.

Foreign/Military Triumphs: The incumbent administration achieves significant successes in foreign or military matters.

Incumbent Charm: The incumbent party’s candidate possesses charisma or enjoys national hero status.

Challenger Appeal: The opposing party’s candidate lacks charisma or national hero status.

Donald Trump Or Kamala Harris, Who Will Win US Polls?

Allan Lichtman currently favours US Vice-President and Democrat Kamala Harris over her Republican rival Donald Trump. He told News Nation that he believes “a lot would have to go wrong for Harris to lose.”

Democrats, with Harris being the likely nominee after Joe Biden quit the reelection race, currently hold six of the 13 keys, according to his prediction. These include a primary contest, short-term economy, long-term economy, policy change, no scandal, and no challenger charisma.

“Right now, Democrats have lost three keys” by switching to Harris, he told News Nation. 

He said Democrats lost the “party mandate” key due to big losses in the 2022 mid-term elections. He also said Harris has lost the “charisma” and “incumbency” keys.

I plan to make my official prediction in August after the Democratic convention.
See my assessment below below on the 13 Keys Tracker on where The Keys stand NOW. Please listen to our LIVE show on 7–25–24, linked in the comments below, where we detail every Key. pic.twitter.com/pJpkpa3SzW

— Allan Lichtman (@AllanLichtman) July 26, 2024

Under his prediction model, Democrats, however, would have to lose three more keys in order for him to predict a Harris loss. But he says that’s not likely to happen.

He has said that he plans to make his official prediction for the 2024 White House race after the Democratic convention in August.

New Delhi:

US Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday said she has earned the support needed to become the Democrat presidential nominee, two days after Joe Biden, who was seeking re-election, announced to bow down.

“When I announced my campaign for President, I said I intended to go out and earn this nomination. Tonight, I am proud to have secured the broad support needed to become our party’s nominee, and as a daughter of California, I am proud that my home state’s delegation helped put our campaign over the top. I look forward to formally accepting the nomination soon,” she said in a statement. 

Joe Biden, who was seeking a rematch against Republican candidate Donald Trump in the November 5 US elections, announced to step aside on Sunday.

The 81-year-old ended the re-election bid amid mounting pressure over his health concerns and pledged to remain in office until his term ends in January 2025. He has now thrown his support behind 59-year-old Harris.

“I am grateful to President Biden and everyone in the Democratic Party who has already put their faith in me, and I look forward to taking our case directly to the American people,” Kamala Harris, the first Black American and first Indian-American to be elected vice president, said.

Tonight, I am proud to have earned the support needed to become our party’s nominee.

Over the next few months, I’ll be traveling across the country talking to Americans about everything on the line. I fully intend to unite our party and our nation, and defeat Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/Bsq3N6pMAi

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) July 23, 2024

“This election will present a clear choice between two different visions. Donald Trump wants to take our country back to a time before many of us had full freedoms and equal rights. I believe in a future that strengthens our democracy, protects reproductive freedom, and ensures every person has the opportunity to not just get by, but to get ahead,” Harris said.

“I fully intend to unite our party, unite our nation, and defeat Donald Trump in November,” she added.

An unofficial survey of delegates by the news agency Associated Press showed Kamala Harris with more than 2,500 delegates, well over the 1,976 needed to win a vote in the coming weeks. 

Democratic party is scheduled to announce the presidential nominee by August 7.

Replacing Biden atop the ticket has also revved up speculation about who might join Harris as a vice presidential candidate.

According to reports, the people being discussed are Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

(With agency inputs)

Wildwood, United States:

Former US president Donald Trump raised eyebrows among his no-nonsense New Jersey crowd at a rally Saturday when he recited a 1963 soul song in its entirety and referenced a fictional cannibal as “great.”

In a meandering recitation of “The Snake” during a more than 90-minute speech, Trump used the Oscar Brown song to draw a parallel with “illegal immigration and how stupid it is what we’re doing right now.”

“We’re letting people come into our country that we will only be trouble,” said the Republican contender for president.

Trump has drawn on the song several times to highlight his anti-migrant stance, reportedly drawing objections from Brown’s family.

“A tenderhearted woman saw a poor, half-frozen snake,” Trump said, reciting — but not singing — the song to the crowd.

“But instead of saying thanks, the snake gave her a vicious bite.”

Trump, who will face Democratic President Joe Biden in November’s polls, is using increasingly violent rhetoric around the country’s migrant crisis.

At the same time, the lengthy recitation of “The Snake” drew a subdued reaction from the crowd of thousands gathered on a beach in Wildwood on the New Jersey shore.

Some looked on quizzically, while a man behind Trump shown on a big screen yawned, and a trickle of spectators made for the exits.

“Did everybody enjoy it? Don’t enjoy, you should be — you should be scared!” he said awkwardly, speaking off-the-cuff following his recitation from a crib sheet he had in his jacket pocket.

Just months ago, the Republican claimed that migrants were “poisoning the blood” of the United States, sparking a fierce backlash. 

Biden’s campaign accused him of imitating the language of Hitler. 

And during his first presidential campaign in the lead-up to the 2016 vote, Trump shocked observers with his language about “rapist” illegal migrants.

A rambling bit on cannibalism also drew attention on social media.

“The late, great Hannibal Lecter is a wonderful man,” Trump said, referencing the 1991 film “Silence of the Lambs.”

“He oftentimes would have a friend for dinner,” he said grinning, rehashing a well-worn joke about the infamous cannibal character before diving back into migration.

“But Hannibal Lecter. Congratulations, the late, great Hannibal Lecter. We have people that are being released into our country that we don’t want in our country.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)