Why prominent Democrats have not endorsed Harris?
Brendon O’Connor, a professor at the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, says prominent Democrats – such as President Barak Obama and former speaker Nancy Pelosi – have not yet thrown their weight behind Kamala Harris as the party’s presidential nominee because of political strategy.
“They don’t want to give the idea that this is a coronation They want to give a sense that there is a bottom up movement that the delegates are choosing Kamala Harris themselves,” O’Connor told Al Jazeera.
“I think this is an image, a massaging exercise to say, ‘look she is the people’s choice, not just the choice of the party heavyweights’. I think that is quite smart. It’s a tactic,” he said.
US presidents who withdrew from elections
Some Democrats happy, some sad at Biden’s exit
Many voters expressed relief over the news that President Joe Biden would drop his reelection bid.
Jerod Keene, 40, an athletic trainer from Arizona, planned to vote for Biden in November but is thankful for the president’s decision calling it “inevitable”. Keene said he’s excited about the next candidate, hoping it will be Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Biden endorsed.
“Kamala Harris is the easiest pick based on the fact that she’s vice president and it would be tough for the party to try to go a different direction on that,” said Keene, who lives in Tucson. “And I think she seems ready.”
But George Ledbetter, a restaurant manager in the Detroit suburb of Harper Woods, said his first reaction to the news of Biden dropping out came down to a single word: “Why?”
“He’s a good president. I like Biden,” Ledbetter said. But, he added, “You gotta do what you gotta do.”
Ledbetter said he’ll support Harris despite his disappointment. “I think she can do it. First woman president, that’d be nice. African-American president. It’d be nice again.”
Israel ‘most important’ US ally in the Middle East: Netanyahu
Speaking to reporters before flying to Washington, DC, Prime Minister Netanyahu said the Israeli-US relationship won’t change whomever is elected president.
“Israel is the most important ally of the United States in the Middle East, an irreplaceable ally,” he said.
The prime minister is scheduled to meet with Biden on Tuesday and to address the US Congress on Wednesday.
Netanyahu said the trip would be “an opportunity to thank” Biden for his support in Israel’s war on Gaza. The leaders will also discuss issues such as freeing captives held in Gaza and defeating Hamas.
The Israeli Broadcasting Authority has reported that efforts are ongoing to arrange a meeting between the Israeli prime minister and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Dollar lowers as Biden ends re-election bid
The dollar eased slightly as investors gauged the implications of Biden’s decision to end his re-election campaign and clear the way for another Democrat for Trump’s challenge.
The US currency slipped 0.03 percent to 157.435 yen. Commonwealth Bank of Australia strategist Joseph Capurso warned it’s too early to read much into the dollar’s reaction.
“The bottom line is what the polls show this week,” Capurso said, explaining a decline in odds for a Trump win should see the dollar weaken and vice versa.
“Harris might be a stronger candidate, but is it enough to turn the polls?”
Democrats to hold talks on framework to select new nominee
The Democratic Party’s Rules Committee has called for a meeting on Wednesday to “implement a framework to select a new nominee, which will be open, transparent, fair and orderly”, according to Bloomberg News.
The meeting will be streamed live on the Democratic National Committee’s YouTube page.
Harris to speak at White House on Monday
The vice president will deliver remarks on the South Lawn of the White House at 11:30am local time (15:30 GMT) on Monday at an event celebrating the 2023-24 National Collegiate Athletic Association championship teams.
The previously scheduled event will be Harris’s first public appearance since Biden bowed out of the presidential race.
