The Guardian

Harris ‘erases’ Trump’s lead in new poll; Trump says VP’s comments about Israel-Gaza war ‘weren’t very nice’ – as it happened

By Léonie Chao-Fong (now); Maya Yang Vicky Graham (earlier),

1 day ago

11.00pm BST

Closing summary

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are essentially tied in a new Wall Street Journal poll. Trump leads Harris 49% to 47% in a two-person matchup, within the margin of error, compared to a previous poll that showed Trump leading Joe Biden by six points.
Donald Trump has called Kamala Harris ’s statement on the Gaza war “disrespectful” before a meeting with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu , in Florida to discuss the conflict.
Kamala Harris ’s comments after her own meeting with Netanyahu on Thursday, in which she said she would “not be silent” about the suffering of Palestinians, have been attacked by right-wing Israeli politicians and anonymous officials.
Donald Trump said he plans to return to Butler, Pennsylvania for a “big and beautiful rally” in the town where a gunman shot and injured him during a campaign rally nearly two weeks ago.
Since Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race on Sunday and endorsed Kamala Harris, more than 100,000 new voters have registered to vote on Vote.org, the organization said.
Barack Obama has endorsed Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee, meaning the vice-president has now won the backing of all the party’s politically active high-profile figures for her White House bid.
Don Davis, a North Carolina Democratic representative, issued a statement endorsing Kamala Harris, just a day after he broke party rank and joined House Republicans in condemning Harris’s border policies.
JD Vance, the Ohio senator and Donald Trump’s vice-presidential running mate, defended his comments where he described the country as being run by “childless cat ladies”, insisting in an interview on Friday that “I’ve got nothing against cats”.
Vance promoted a baseless rightwing talking point in 2022 when he warned of George Soros -funded planes transporting Black women across state lines for abortions, according to a recently resurfaced podcast interview.

10.50pm BST

“We are here! We are here! We have arrived!” cheered the lawyer and activist Valarie Kaur , to more than 4,000 south Asian participants mobilizing for Kamala Harris on a Zoom call on Wednesday night.

I want to name this a historic moment – and as a moment for all of us to come together.

If elected, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee would become the first woman, first Black woman, and first south Asian to win the US presidency.

Kaur was one of a series of speakers that included the actor Mindy Kaling, the congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, the Philadelphia councilwoman Nina Ahmad , the actor Poorna Jagannathan and other south Asian female leaders who called on south Asian women to rally for Harris.

While views within the south Asian community are mixed – a few speakers, and many listeners on the call, voiced concerns over the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza – the possibility of electing Harris in an election where the future of American democracy is at stake has renewed hope for Democrats.

Read the full story by Prachi Gupta: ‘Could we have imagined this moment would come?’: Kamala Harris and the rise of Indian American politicians

10.38pm BST

Harris 'erases' Trump's lead in new poll

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are essentially tied in a new Wall Street Journal poll published on Friday.

Trump leads Harris 49% to 47% in a two-person matchup, within the margin of error, the poll of 1,000 registered voters shows. In comparison, Trump held a six-point lead earlier this month over Joe Biden before he withdrew from the race.

In a race that includes Robert F Kennedy Jr and other independent and third-party candidates, Harris receives 45% and Trump gets 44%, the WSJ poll shows.

The poll shows heightened support for Harris among Black, Latino and young voters, and dramatically increased enthusiasm about the campaign among Democrats. The WSJ writes:

Greater backing among nonwhite voters could help her in the more racially and ethnically diverse battleground states—Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina—where Biden was struggling..

10.21pm BST

Kamala Harris voiced support for the movement to “defund the police” in a June 2020 interview amid nationwide protests for police reform, according to a report.

Harris, in an interview on a New York-based radio program reported by CNN, said:

This whole movement is about rightly saying, we need to take a look at these budgets and figure out whether it reflects the right priorities.

“It has to be about forcing change,” she added.

This is why, you know, I was out there with folks and we’ll, any movement, any progress we have gained has been because people took to the streets.

Her comments came just weeks after the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer galvanized the “defund” movement among progressive activists. Harris’s remarks came months before she became Joe Biden ’s vice-presidential running mate.

9.55pm BST

Kamala Harris called the family of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman who was shot in her home by an Illinois sheriff’s deputy earlier this month, NBC reported, citing Massey’s family members.

Massey was killed on 6 July after she called the Sangamon county sheriff’s office because she was afraid there might be a prowler outside, according to an attorney of her family and Illinois state police.

Harris “gave us her heartfelt condolences, and she let us know that she is with us, 100% that this senseless killing,” James Wilburn, Massey’s father, told the outlet.

“It’s made me feel a lot better today,” he added.

Harris called for policing reforms earlier this week following Massey’s killing, adding that her thoughts were with “communities across our nation whose calls for help are often met with suspicion, distrust and even violence”.

On Monday, a 36-minute police body-camera video of the fatal shooting was publicly released.

9.31pm BST

Trump says he will return to Pennsylvania town for 'big and beautiful rally' after assassination attempt

Donald Trump says he plans to return to Butler, Pennsylvania for a “big and beautiful rally” in the town where a gunman shot and injured him during a campaign rally nearly two weeks ago.

Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, wrote:

I WILL BE GOING BACK TO BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA, FOR A BIG AND BEAUTIFUL RALLY, HONORING THE SOUL OF OUR BELOVED FIREFIGHTING HERO, COREY, AND THOSE BRAVE PATRIOTS INJURED TWO WEEKS AGO. WHAT A DAY IT WILL BE — FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT! STAY TUNED FOR DETAILS.

He was referring to Corey Comperatore, the former fire chief fatally shot during the Trump rally.

Comperatore, 50, spent the final moments of his life shielding his wife and daughter from gunfire, officials said.

9.19pm BST

Tammy Duckworth , the Democratic senator for Illinois, has criticized Donald Trump for alleged remarks in which the former president said disabled Americans “should just die”.

In a new book, obtained by the Guardian, Fred C Trump III said Trump, his uncle, told him that he should let his disabled son die. “Wait!” Fred C Trump III writes.

What did he just say? That my son doesn’t recognize me? That I should just let him die? Did he really just say that?

In a statement today, Senator Duckworth said anyone who suggests disabled Americans shouldn’t exist is “fundamentally unfit to serve”.

Duckworth, who lost both legs serving in the Iraq War, said:

It’s hard to describe the pain millions of Americans with disabilities are feeling in response to Donald Trump’s newly-reported comments against folks with disabilities. But we know this is nothing new for him — he mocked a reporter with a physical disability, dismissed traumatic brain injuries as ‘not very serious,’ attempted to slash support for disabled veterans and so much more.

8.55pm BST

As we reported earlier , JD Vance tried to defend his comments where he described the country as being run by “childless cat ladies”, insisting in an interview on Friday that “I’ve got nothing against cats”.

The Ohio senator and Donald Trump ’s vice-presidential running mate claimed his comments were “not a criticism of people who don’t have children” but about criticizing the Democratic party “for becoming anti-family and anti-child”.

Here’s the clip of Vance’s interview with Megyn Kelly:

8.42pm BST

Following the success of a virtual call to mobilize Black women voters for Kamala Harris, a similar event with more than 160,000 attendees was held on Thursday aimed at white women, and appeared to break records.

White women will be a key demographic for the Democrats to win over this election.

“It’s our turn to show up. So that’s what we’re doing. Hold this date and time,” read the virtual flyer for an event calling for white women – the majority of whom tend to vote Republican – to mobilize for Harris shared widely on social media.

“White Women: Answer the Call,” a Zoom call inspired by the one for Black women held earlier this week , saw 164,000 white women joining the call, reportedly setting a world record as the largest Zoom meeting in history. Nearly $2m was raised for Harris in less than two hours on Thursday night.

Shannon Watts, a prominent gun control activist, organized Thursday’s event, which featured speakers, including actor Connie Britton, former US soccer star Megan Rapinoe, US house representative Lizzie Fletcher and musician Pink.

The Zoom call that started it all was hosted on Sunday by Win With Black Women, a group of Black women leaders and organizers, within hours of Biden’s decision, and saw an astonishing 44,000 participants, raising more than $1.5m for Harris’s budding campaign.

A Win With Black Men call also inspired by the one with Black women raised more than $1.3m to support Harris from over 17,000 donors on Monday.

8.34pm BST

Josh Shapiro, the Pennsylvania governor and contender for the Democratic vice-presidential nomination, has defended Kamala Harris ’s remarks on the Gaza war.

Harris was “spot on” in her statement yesterday before a meeting with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Shapiro said at an event of building trade unions in Philadelphia on Friday, NBC reported.

Harris “spoke about Israel’s right to defend itself, the need for the hostages to be returned home, that that is necessary in order to achieve peace in the Middle East,” he said, adding:

She was right to shine a light on the suffering of innocents in Gaza and I thought she was right to lay it out the way she did. That has always been my view, stretching back long before Oct. 7, that we need a two-state solution, Palestinians and Israel living side by side in peace.

He added:

I think we also have to speak truth about the fact that Benjamin Netanyahu, I believe, has been a dangerous and destructive force, and someone who has blocked peace in the Middle East.

8.12pm BST

The Trump campaign has released its readout of the meeting between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago.

Netanyahu “thanked President Trump and his Administration for working to promote stability in the region through, among many historic achievements, the Abraham Accords, moving the United States Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, eliminating Qasem Soleimani, ending the horrific Iran Nuclear Deal, as well as combatting anti-Semitism in America and abroad,” the statement read.

The status of both Jerusalem and the Golan Heights are disputed under international law.

According to the Trump campaign readout, the former US president “expressed his solidarity with Israel after the heinous October 7 attack, and pledged that when he returns to the White House, he will make every effort to bring Peace to the Middle East and combat anti-Semitism from spreading throughout college campuses across the United States.”

7.49pm BST

Lindsey Graham, South Carolina senator and staunch Donald Trump ally, has written a letter to FBI director to recant his comments over whether Trump was hit but a bullet or shrapnel during his assassination attempt.

In the letter reported by the Hill, Graham told Christopher Wray:

“It is clear to everyone that president Trump survived an assassination attempt by millimeters, as the attempted assassin’s bullet ripped the upper part of his ear. This was made clear in briefings my office received and should not be a point of contention. Therefore, I urge you to immediately correct your statement and acknowledge that President Trump was hit by a bullet rather than glass or shrapnel…
As head of the FBI, you should not be creating confusion about such matters, as it further undercuts the agency’s credibility with millions of Americans. Please correct this statement immediately.”

On Thursday, during a hearing on Capitol Hill, Wray raised questions over the matter, saying, “I think with respect to former president Trump, there’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear.”

7.26pm BST

Vance defends 'childless cat ladies' comment, accuses Democrats of being 'antifamily'

JD Vance defended his comment that the US was being run by “childless cat ladies.”

In an interview with Megyn Kelly which the Hill reported , Vance addressed his comments made in 2021 when he said that the country was being run “bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.”

Speaking to Kelly, Vance said:

“I know the media wants to attack me and wants me to back down on this, Megyn, but the simple point that I made is that having children, becoming a father, becoming a mother, I really do think it changes your perspective in a pretty profound way.”

Vance went on to attack the Democratic party, accusing them of being “antifamily and antichildren.”

“There’s a deeper point here, Megyn. It’s not a criticism of people who don’t have children. I explicitly said in my remarks — despite the fact the media has lied about this — that this is not about criticizing people who for various reasons didn’t have kids… This is about criticizing the Democratic party for becoming antifamily and antichildren,” he said.

7.07pm BST

“No president has done what I’ve done for Israel,” Donald Trump said as he met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara at Mar-a-Lago, Florida.

Sitting across from Netanyahu and next Sara, Trump went on to say, “We’ve always had a very good relationship and if I didn’t, I have a secret weapon. You know what it is? Sara,” as he put his hands on Netanyahu’s wife’s shoulders.

“I have Sara. As long as I have Sara, that’s all that matters,” Trump continued.

6.47pm BST

Trump criticizes Kamala Harris's remarks about Israel-Gaza war

Donald Trump described remarks by Kamala Harris after her meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday as “disrespectful to Israel”.

Trump, speaking at his own meeting with the Israeli leader in Mar-a-Lago, said:

They weren’t very nice pertaining to Israel. I actually don’t know how a person who is Jewish could vote for her, but that’s up to them.

Updated at 7.06pm BST

6.35pm BST

JD Vance, Ohio senator and Donald Trump’s running mate, promoted a baseless rightwing talking point in 2022 when he warned of George Soros -funded planes transporting Black women across state lines for abortions.

“I’m sympathetic to the view that like, okay, look here, here’s a situation – let’s say Roe v Wade is overruled,” Vance said in a recently resurfaced podcast interview.

Ohio bans abortion in 2022, or let’s say 2024. And then, you know, every day George Soros sends a 747 to Columbus to load up disproportionately Black women to get them to go have abortions in California. And of course, the left will celebrate this as a victory for diversity – uh, that’s kind of creepy.

The US supreme court overturned Roe in 2022. Vance’s statements echo a common anti-abortion talking point accusing abortion providers and their supporters of targeting people of color.

Black women did seek abortions at a higher rate before Roe fell, but public health experts say that this is far from proof of a racist conspiracy. They point to a number systemic factors – for example, Black women are more likely to live in areas where it’s harder to access contraception. They are also disproportionately harmed by abortion bans.

6.27pm BST

Donald Trump, asked if he and Benjamin Netanyahu would need to rebuild their strained relationship if he is reelected, replied that he has “always had a very good relationship” with the Israeli leader.

Netanyahu, sitting across from Trump at his Florida resort, said Israel would be dispatching a negotiating team to Gaza ceasefire talks in Rome “probably at the beginning of the week”, according to Reuters.

6.11pm BST

Kamala Harris ’ office has rejected an accusation by a senior Israeli official that her remarks calling for an end to the war in Gaza may have endangered a potential ceasefire deal.

Harris, after a meeting with the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, said it was “time for this war to end, and end in a way where Israel is secure, all the hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can exercise their right to freedom, dignity and self-determination”.

An unnamed Israeli official was later reported as saying:

Hopefully the remarks Harris made in her press conference won’t be interpreted by Hamas as daylight between the US and Israel, thereby making a deal harder to secure.

“I don’t know what they’re talking about,” a Harris aide told CNN today. The aide said the vice-president’s comments “tracked with her previous comments on the conflict,” adding:

She started with rock-solid support for Israel and then she expressed her concern about civilian causalities and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as she always does.

5.54pm BST

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Donald Trump about his bullet wound from the assassination attempt earlier this month, according to the New York Times’ photographer Doug Mills.

Mills captured the moment Trump showed Netanyahu where he was injured:

5.49pm BST

Netanyahu arrives in Mar-a-Lago to meet Trump amid anti-war demonstrations

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived in Mar-a-Lago to meet Donald Trump.

Videos posted on social media showed Netanyahu, accompanied by his wife Sara, greeting Trump who extends his arms and appears to say, “Now I’m honored. Come on in.”

Trump, Netanyahu and his wife then proceed to take a photo with a smiling Trump giving a thumbs up.

Meanwhile, anti-war protestors have gathered in Palm Beach to protest Netanyahu’s visit, which comes amid the deaths of nearly 40,000 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in its ongoing war on Gaza.

Netanyahu’s visit to Florida follows his address to Congress earlier this week which has been opposed by many Democratic members of Congress and met by thousands of anti-war demonstrators who gathered in DC on Wednesday.

5.32pm BST

Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman and husband of Kamala Harris said that he learned of Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race while in an exercise class in Los Angeles.

The Guardian’s Edward Helmore reports:

Doug Emhoff has described being caught by surprise by the timing of Joe Biden ’s announcement last Sunday that he was dropping out of his re-election campaign, telling an LGBTQ+ fundraiser that he was in an exercise class in Los Angeles when he heard the news.

Emhoff, 59, the husband of US vice-president Kamala Harris , explained to attendees on a fundraising call organized by a group called Black Gay and Queer Men for Harris that he was with “a gay couple friend” having “coffee, messing around and talking” when people started coming up to them.

He recalled his friend’s partner showing him his phone with news notifications and saying: “Um, you need to look at this.’”

“Of course I didn’t have my phone, so I ran and ran and got into our car, and of course my phone is just on fire, and it’s basically, ‘Call Kamala,’ ‘Call Kamala,’ ‘Call Kamala,’ from everyone,” Emhoff continued, according to the LA Times . “And of course, the first thing she said was, ‘Where the ... were you? I need you.’”

For the full story, click here:

5.05pm BST

Harris to travel to Atlanta next Tuesday for campaign event

Kamala Harris will travel to Atlanta, Georgia next Tuesday for a campaign event, her office announced on Friday.

Harris’s visit to Georgia will mark her sixth visit to the swing state this year.

4.47pm BST

Since president Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race on Sunday and endorsed vice president Kamala Harris, more than 100,000 new voters have registered to vote on Vote.org, the organisation said in a statement sent to the Guardian on Friday.

Young voters, aged 18 to 34, made up the majority (84%) of the new registrations, the organisation said, adding that 18% were 18 year olds. Per the data, the top ten states where the new voters registered from were Texas, California, Florida, New York, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

Earlier this week, the organisation announced that it had set a 48-hour record for new registrations for the 2024 cycle, registering over 38,500 in the two days following Biden’s announcement.

Andrea Hailey, the CEO of Vote.Org, said in a statement on Friday that “this continued wave of voter enthusiasm shows that Americans are determined to make their voices heard”, adding that “the surge of youth engagement is a strong indication that the next generation is motivated to show up this November.”

4.21pm BST

STEM PAC 314 Action endorses Mark Kelly as vice president

314 Action, a nonprofit PAC that seeks to elect STEM-educated Democrats into office, has endorsed astronaut and Arizona senator Mark Kelly as vice president.

Describing the astronaut, Navy captain and senator who has been reported to be on the shortlist of Kamala Harris’s vice-president picks, 314 Action president Shaughnessy Naughton said:

“At a time in history when our democracy is facing an unique threat from MAGA extremists and our planet is staring down climate change that can devastate future generations, it is imperative that we put forward the strongest ticket possible. I believe Mark Kelly’s experience as an astronaut, combat Navy veteran, US senator, and a distinguished public servant brings just that. He is the best choice to serve the Democratic ticket as the vice presidential nominee.
Mark Kelly is a proven leader. He has time and again answered the call to put service first and country before self. He knows how to win tough, competitive elections, turning Arizona from Red to Blue by defeating a formidable incumbent the first time and another Peter Thiel acolyte the second time. He uses facts, science, and data to make informed public policy decisions. He knows how to work across the aisle to get results for his constituents.”

3.53pm BST

North Carolina Democrat endorses Harris after criticizing her border policies

Don Davis, a North Carolina Democratic representative, has issued a statement endorsing Kamala Harris, just a day after he broke party rank and joined House Republicans in condemning Harris’s border policies.

In a statement, Davis said:

Today, I announce my endorsement and support of Vice-President Kamala Harris for president. I also believe governor Roy Cooper, an eastern NC native, would be an excellent choice for vice-president. The stakes of this presidential election are incredibly high, with far reaching implications.
At the same time, the administration and Congress must address the concerns of the southern border. These issues cannot be overlooked …

Updated at 3.56pm BST

3.21pm BST

Joe Biden has released a statement following the arrests of two leaders of Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa cartel, including the son of El Chapo, on Thursday in Texas:

Yesterday, the department of justice arrested Ismael Zambada Garcia (AKA ‘El Mayo’) and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, two of the most notorious leaders of the Sinaloa cartel, one of the deadliest enterprises in the world.
They are being charged for leading the Cartel’s deadly drug manufacturing and trafficking networks. I commend the work of our law enforcement officials who made this arrest for their ongoing work to bring Sinaloa cartel leaders to justice.
Too many of our citizens have lost their lives to the scourge of fentanyl. Too many families have been broken and are suffering because of this destructive drug. My administration will continue doing everything we can to hold deadly drug traffickers to account and to save American lives.

Updated at 3.24pm BST

2.56pm BST

In a fiery tirade on Truth Social, Donald Trump hit back at the FBI director, Christopher Wray, who raised questions on Thursday about whether Trump was actually shot by a bullet during his assassination attempt.

Following Wray’s testimony at a Capitol Hill on Thursday during which he said: “There’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear,” Trump wrote:

“FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress yesterday that he wasn’t sure if I was hit by shrapnel, glass, or a bullet (the FBI never even checked!), but he was sure that Crooked Joe Biden was physically and cognitively ‘uneventful’ – Wrong!
That’s why he knows nothing about the terrorists and other criminals pouring into our Country at record levels. His only focus is destroying J6 Patriots, Raiding Mar-a-Lago, and saving Radical Left Lunatics, like the ones now in D.C. burning American flags and spray painting over our great National Monuments – with zero retribution.
No, it was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard. There was no glass, there was no shrapnel. The hospital called it a “bullet wound to the ear,” and that is what it was. No wonder the once storied FBI has lost the confidence of America!”

Updated at 2.58pm BST

2.32pm BST

Uncommitted voters tell Harris she must earn their vote

Uncommitted voters who protested against Joe Biden over his handling of Israel’s deadly war on Gaza are warning that Kamala Harris must earn their vote.

The Guardian’s Melissa Hellmann and Rachel Leingang reports:

The protest movement that sought to use the Democratic primaries to pressure Joe Biden to shift his policy on Israel and Gaza breathed a sigh of relief when he ended his bid for re-election. But they’re not ready to promise they’ll support Kamala Harris , the presumptive Democratic nominee.

More than 700,000 Americans voted “uncommitted”, or its equivalent, in state primaries as a message to Biden that he risked losing significant support in November if he did not shift away from his support for Israel. As next month’s Democratic national convention inches closer, the movement has turned its sights to pressuring Harris to shape a new course on Gaza policy. Its demands of Harris include an arms embargo on Israel and support for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, where more than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed since the 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas, according to health officials.

Uncommitted voters say that their message to the White House is clear: stop funding Israel’s war, or lose our votes.

For the full story, click here:

Updated at 3.17pm BST

2.05pm BST

Here is the full video of Barack and Michelle Obama’s endorsement of Kamala Harris which her campaign team released:

“Michelle and I couldn’t be prouder to endorse you and do everything we can to get you through this election and into the Oval Office,” Obama said.

1.49pm BST

Some House Republicans criticize choice of JD Vance as Trump running mate

Several House Republicans are criticizing JD Vance as Donald Trump’s running mate, the Hill reports.

According to the outlet, “veteran lawmakers, moderates and Reagan-styled conservatives” have anonymously spoken out about their disapproval towards Vance.

“He was the worst choice of all the options. It was so bad I didn’t even think it was possible… Anti-Ukraine, more of a populist. He adds nothing to the Trump ticket. He energizes the same people that love Trump,” said one House Republican.

“I think if you were to ask many people around this building, nine out of 10 on our side would say he’s the wrong pick,” another House Republican said, adding, “He’s the only person who can do serious damage.”

“The prevailing sentiment is if Trump loses, [it’s] because of this pick. It doesn’t help,” another House Republican said.

Updated at 3.16pm BST

1.15pm BST

Kamala Harris thanks Obamas for endorsement

In response to Barack and Michelle Obama’s expected yet highly significant endorsement, Kamala Harris wrote on X:

“It means so much to have your endorsements … Let’s get to work.”

Updated at 3.16pm BST

12.53pm BST

Trump and Netanyahu meeting aimed at easing tensions from 2021 transition

The meeting between Trump and Netanyahu , due later today at Mar-a-Lago, signals that both are looking to ease tensions that have developed since Trump left office in January 2021.

Reuters reports that the Israeli leader angered Trump when he congratulated Biden on his victory over the Republican in the 2020 election.

Trump more recently criticized Netanyahu for security failures around the deadly 7 October Hamas attack on Israel that prompted the war on Gaza.

Local police told a press conference on Thursday that Netanyahu would arrive in Palm Beach, Florida, around 11am EDT and stay for two to three hours before returning to the airport, WPTV television reported.

The Palm Beach county sheriff Ric Bradshaw encouraged peaceful protests but said he did not expect demonstrations on the scale of what happened in Washington this week , when thousands of activists marched – vandalizing some landmarks and confronting police – to protest against the war in Gaza.

Updated at 3.15pm BST

12.26pm BST

Israel’s far-right lawmakers have criticised Kamala Harris’s call for a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza , Associated Press reports.

“There will be no end to the war, Mrs candidate,” the Israeli national security adviser Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote Friday on X. Ben-Gvir is one of the most visible right-wing ministers and a key ultranationalist ally to Netanyahu.

Harris met with Netanyahu in Washington yesterday and said that bringing home hostages was imperative and describing widespread suffering among Gaza’s civilian population as fighting continues.

Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, claimed Harris had “revealed” that a cease-fire deal amounted to surrendering to Hamas. “It is forbidden to fall into this trap!” he wrote.

Ben-Gvir and Smotrich are opposed to a ceasefire deal in Gaza and say Israel should continue fighting until Hamas is vanquished.

Updated at 1.03pm BST

12.13pm BST

Barack Obama endorses Kamala Harris as Democratic candidate for president

Barack Obama has endorsed Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for US president, meaning the vice-president has now won the backing of all the party’s politically active high-profile figures for her White House bid.

The former president had conspicuously withheld his endorsement in the immediate aftermath of Joe Biden ’s decision to withdraw from the campaign, and was initially believed to favour an open nominating contest at next month’s Democratic national convention in Chicago.

But after Harris earned the backing of Bill and Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, a host of state governors and the most senior Democrats in Congress – as well as Biden himself – Obama has added his voice in what amounts to a major boost for the vice-president.

The 44th president was joined by wife Michelle , the former first lady, in a phone call with Harris that was filmed and released by her campaign on Friday. In the video , Harris is seen listening to the Obamas on an iPhone in her right hand.

Read the full story here .

Meanwhile the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will visit Donald Trump at his Florida resort on Friday.

Netanyahu’s visit to Trump, the Republican nominee in the 2024 US presidential race, comes a day after meetings in Washington with Biden and Harris.

Opinion polls put Harris and Trump in a close race for the White House, leaving world leaders like Netanyahu, traditionally more closely aligned with Trump‘s Republicans than Biden’s Democrats, striking a balance in dealings with the United States.