The Bidens are vacationing in California after the speech tonight
Rows of grape vines at Happy Canyon Vineyard during a drought on August 6, 2016 near Santa Ynez, California.
George Rose |
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will depart for California late Monday after the White House chief executive delivers his speech at the party convention.
According to the White House’s daily schedule, Biden will fly from Chicago to Santa Barbara and then continue by helicopter to Santa Ynez. Local news channel Noozhawk reports that airspace over the region will be closed for the rest of the week.
The Bidens’ travel plans underscore the complicated role Joe Biden currently plays within the Democratic Party, which is preparing to “pass the torch to Harris” later this week.
It is also a reminder that a president who does not have to spend all his free time campaigning for re-election has more extensive options available.
— Christina Wilkie
Trump and Vance spend the day campaigning in Pennsylvania
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA, July 31, 2024.
Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters
While Democrats gather in Chicago, the two Republican candidates will spend the day at separate campaign rallies in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
Trump will speak at an economics and energy event in York, Pennsylvania, at 3:00 p.m. ET.
Vance will be in Philadelphia, where he will speak on the same topic at 1 p.m., according to the Trump campaign team.
The New York Times average polls have Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris neck and neck in the state, with Harris up one percentage point on Sunday to 49% versus 48%.
— Christina Wilkie
According to the Uncommited National Movement, an official Palestinian human rights panel has been added to the DNC
As tens of thousands of protesters fill the streets, many of them pro-Palestinian demonstrators, members of the Uncommitted National Movement say the DNC has agreed to hold an official roundtable discussion on “Palestinian Human Rights in the Democratic Party” today at 4 p.m. ET.
The group has published this list of speakers:
- Layla Elabed, founder of the Uncommitted National Movement
- Hala Hijazi, a Palestinian-American party organizer
- Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, a pediatric intensive care surgeon
- Former Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI)
- Keith Ellison, Attorney General of Minnesota
- Jim Zogby, President of the Arab American Institute
“We thank the DNC for recognizing this critical issue and remain committed to urging Vice President Harris to halt arms shipments for Israel’s attack on Gaza,” the movement said in a statement announcing the panel.
— Christina Wilkie
Democrats project messages onto Trump Tower in Chicago
As Democrats arrived in Chicago, they were greeted by messages projected onto the side of the Trump Tower skyscraper, which features Donald Trump’s trademark logo. NBC News reporter Alex Tabet captured several of them.
— Alex Tabet
