Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to make a long-awaited visit to the White House to meet with the president Joe Biden and likely Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris at an important moment for the three politicians.
On Wednesday, the president Biden gave his first speech since his decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race.
Meanwhile, thousands of protesters gathered to denounce Israel’s war in Gazawhile Netanyahu made a powerful speech to Congress to defend Israel’s conduct in the war and promised “total victory” against Hamas.
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Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign is releasing its first video — and it’s got a pop culture twist.
Titled “We Choose Freedom,” it underlines a central message of the campaign: freedom from the right to abortion, freedom from gun violence, and freedom “not just to survive, but to thrive.” The soundtrack is by “Freedom”, by Beyoncé.
Watch the video, which will be shared on social media, here.
Overall, more than 60 Democrats boycotted the speech. Here’s a look at some of them and other no-shows.
1. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who called Netanyahu’s speech “the worst performance by any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of speaking to Congress.”
2. Bernie Sanders independent politician.
3. Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington refused to attend, so Senator Ben Cardin, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, served as “senator pro tempore” in her place.
4. Most notable absence: Vice President Kamala Harris, who serves as Senate president, was away on a trip to Indianapolis scheduled before Biden withdrew his re-election bid and she became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee over the weekend .
5. Trump’s running mate, Senator JD Vance, who said the campaign would also make him not attend the Israeli leader’s speech.
Netanyahu’s visit to the White House, his first since before former President Donald Trump left office in 2020, comes as pressure mounts on the three to find an end to the nine-month war that has left more than 39,000 people dead. in Gaza. What’s more, dozens of Israeli hostages – and the remains of others who died in captivity – still languish in Hamas captivity.
.Biden is pushing for Israel and Hamas to seal their proposal to release the remaining hostages in Gaza in three phases — something that would be a legacy-affirming achievement for the 81-year-old Democrat who abandoned his re-election bid earlier this week and endorsed Harris. It could also be an advantage for Harris in her bid to succeed him.
White House officials say negotiations are in the final stages, but there are still issues that need to be resolved.
Read more about the next meeting here.
President Joe Biden delivered a solemn speech in the Oval Office on Wednesday it laid out in the clearest terms why he abandoned his re-election campaign.
He wanted to send an unequivocal warning about Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump while anointing Vice President Kamala Harris as his natural successor, without invoking an overtly political tone that would be out of step in the official White House environment.
He was determined to show that he would not act like a lame-duck president, outlining an ambitious agenda that underlined his determination to continue building his legacy.
Just days into his new role as a Democratic Party representative likely presidential candidateKamala Harris is already facing a wave of Republican-backed attack ads that question her personality, her progressive record and what she knew about President Joe Biden’s decline.
But, at least for now, Democrats have yet to get involved in the summer’s advertising fight. And, in a sharp reversal seen for much of the year, Republicans are suddenly dominating the airways.
Read more in the fight for radio waves.
Insisting that “defending democracy is more important than any title,” Biden used his first public address on Wednesday to deliver an implicit repudiation of former president Donald Trump.
“Nothing, nothing can stop the salvation of our democracy,” said Biden, in a somber conclusion to the 50 years he spent in public office. “And that includes personal ambition.”
It was a moment for the history books – a US president reflecting before the nation on why he was taking the rare step of voluntarily handing over power. This has not been done since 1968, when Lyndon Johnson announced that he would not seek re-election in the heat of the Vietnam War.
Biden addressed the nation in the Oval Office, surrounded by family and close advisors.
As he spoke, sitting to the side and along the curved wall were mostly relatives. They included the president’s son, Hunter Biden, and his granddaughter Finnegan Biden, as well as his daughter Ashley Biden.
First lady Jill Biden was also in attendance, as were other family members and the president’s longtime adviser Mike Donilon.
Biden’s voice was very soft and at times barely audible, although occasionally it got a little louder. Near the end of her remarks, Ashley Biden grabbed the hand of her mother, the first lady, who was sitting next to her.
Behind were White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and other officials.
When Biden concluded, those present applauded. Jill Biden then walked to the Resolute Desk and stood next to her husband. “This has been the honor of a lifetime,” said the president.
No sitting American president has dropped out of the race this late in the process. The last president to do so was Lyndon Johnson in March 1968. When Johnson addressed the nation from the Oval Office, he spent most of his remarks talking about the Vietnam War and their duty to focus in her.
He tried to argue that American forces were making great progress in the war and said, “One day, my fellow citizens, there will be peace in Southeast Asia.” This portrayal was at odds with the politics of the Democratic Party, riven by wartime division, which drove several prominent Democrats, including Eugene McCarthy and Robert F. Kennedy.
Johnson also recognized how the war was destroying the country. “In these times, as in previous times, it is true that a house divided against itself by the spirit of faction, party, region, religion, race, is a house that cannot subsist. There is division in the American household right now.”
He then made the surprising announcement that he would not seek re-election.
“I will not be a candidate for re-election. I have served my country for a long time and think efficiently and honestly. I will not accept a reappointment. I don’t feel like it’s my duty to spend another 4 years in the White House.”
Trump posted on his social media site that the president “was barely understandable and soooo bad!”
During the speech, Biden called Vice President Harris “tough” and “capable.”
In a separate post, Trump called Biden and Harris embarrassments, noting, “THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A TIME LIKE THIS!”
As President Biden addressed the nation, his former opponent was among those watching.
Trump watched Biden’s 10-minute speech from his campaign plane as he flew out of North Carolina after a rally.
The photographs showed Trump watching Biden speak intently, with his head tilted to the side.
Trump advisor Chris LaCivita later posted in X a different image showing the former president turned sideways and frowning, not watching closely as Biden spoke.
“On Trump Force One…Hey Joe…You’re fired!” LaCivita wrote about the photo.
