Democrats, protesters gather in Chicago to cheer, challenge Harris and Biden

CHICAGO - Democrats gathered in Chicago on Aug 19 to celebrate US Vice-President Kamala Harris’ campaign for the White House against Republican Donald Trump and to honour President Joe Biden, whose exit from the race turned his party’s fortunes around.

Aug 19’s kick-off of the four-day Democratic National Convention is expected also to draw tens of thousands of protesters, many of them opposed to the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s Gaza offensive. They will march on a mile-long route through the city outside the security perimeter.

Mr Biden, 81, who reluctantly ended his re-election campaign a month ago under pressure from top Democrats worried he was too old to win or govern for another four years, will give a prime-time address at the convention on the night of Aug 19 to make the case for electing Ms Harris and defeating former president Trump, 78.

As Democrats seek to project a sense of unity after the unprecedented change-up in candidates, Ms Harris, 59, is likely to join Mr Biden on stage, sources said, where he will ceremonially pass the torch to her.

Ms Harris will formally accept the nomination on Aug 22 with a highly anticipated speech. If elected on Nov 5, she would make US history as the country’s first female president.

A coalition of some 200 social justice organisations, many from pro-Palestinian groups, will gather outside the convention. Some pro-Palestinian delegates to the convention are pushing for the party to change its platform to limit weapons to Israel.

Ms Harris is heading into the convention riding a historic whirlwind: Her campaign has broken records for fund-raising, packed arenas with supporters, and turned opinion polls in some battleground states in Democrats’ favour.

Mr Biden abandoned his re-election bid after

his disastrous debate against Trump

on June 27 prompted long-time allies, major donors and other party supporters to demand he step aside.

Polls a month ago showed Trump with a clear lead over Mr Biden, but Ms Harris has closed the gap both nationally and in many of the highly competitive states, including Pennsylvania, that will play a decisive role in the election.

“I’ve been to every convention since I was able to vote, and I can say I’ve not felt this kind of energy and electricity at any convention other than the one for (former president) Barack Obama,” said Democratic Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker on CNN’s State Of The Union on Aug 18.

Battleground tours

Ms Harris went on a bus tour in western Pennsylvania on Aug 18 with her vice-presidential running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. During the tour, she suggested that Trump was a coward whose politics focused on putting down rivals.

She will be in Chicago for much of the week, but will make a side trip to Milwaukee on Aug 20 for a campaign event, returning to Chicago to hear her husband, Mr Doug Emhoff, address the convention at night.

The Trump campaign will barnstorm the key battleground states during convention week to try to steal the spotlight away from Ms Harris and highlight some of the policy issues where Republicans hold a polling advantage.

In Trump’s most intense stretch of campaigning in this race, he will deliver remarks on economic policy at a small business in southern Pennsylvania on Aug 19, before events in North Carolina, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada later in the week.

Some major allies and donors have been urging Trump to steer clear of racial and gender-based insults on Ms Harris and focus his attacks instead on her policy record.

Trump’s Michigan event will be in Howell, a city struggling to move past its racist history, including Ku Klux Klan rallies in the 1970s and 1980s. In July, about a dozen white supremacists chanted “Heil Hitler” and carried signs such as “White Lives Matter” during a march through downtown.

Another group of demonstrators shouted “We love Hitler, we love Trump” from a highway overpass in a nearby town, according to the local media. The Harris campaign criticised Trump for refusing to condemn what it called a “blatant display of racism and anti-Semitism in his name”.

Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Trump would emphasise in Howell that hate would have no place in the country if he returns to the White House. She noted that Mr Biden visited Howell in 2021.

A Trump campaign official said on Aug 18 that the event was targeted at the Detroit media market and being hosted by a Trump-supporting local sheriff whose office is in Howell.

Democrats will also pay tribute on the night of Aug 19 to their failed 2016 presidential candidate, Mrs Hillary Clinton, who is expected to speak before Mr Biden. Mr Obama will speak on Aug 20 and former president Bill Clinton will speak on Aug 21. REUTERS