DNC Chicago: Kamala Harris to be nominated as security ramped up for Gaza ceasefire protest

Weeks of Democratic infighting leading up to President Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race have reportedly left some emotional scars between the president and some party leaders.

Those close to Biden have told Politico that the president is slightly resentful towards his old friend and ally, former president Barack Obama, who did not directly tell him to leave the race despite allegedly privately raising concerns that he could not defeat Trump in November.

As a result, Biden will supposedly not stay on to hear Obama’s speech on Tuesday at the DNC after delivering his own address tonight.

Here’s more from Ariana Baio.

Republicans will join the swathes of Democrats descending on Chicago this week as Trumpworld tries to find a way to blunt Kamala Harris‘s momentum.

As the four-day DNC gets under way in the Windy City, Donald Trump and his allies are making plans for counter-programming to the event.

Trump’s Chicago hotel will become the epicenter of the Republican world as his allies including Florida Senator Rick Scott and his colleague in the House, Byron Donalds, are among those who will lead the GOP’s efforts to counter-program the convention.

Themes of the four-day event at the Trump hotel will include immigration, crime and the economy and will mirror issues being spoken about at the DNC in order to drive home the Republican Party’s message.

Here’s more from John Bowden.

When the convention throws open its doors today, it is expected to be accompanied by the largest pro-Palestine protests in the city’s history, according to advocacy groups.

Thousands of activists are expected to converge on Chicago this week as the DNC gets underway hoping to call attention to abortion rights, economic injustice and the war in Gaza.

The First Lady will reportedly have a role to play on the first day of the DNC as she seeks to honor and preserve the legacy of her husband, President Joe Biden, despite having voiced her disappointment with those who encouraged him to exit the 2024 race.

Here’s more from Kelly Rissman.

Former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger and former first lady Michelle Obama are the latest big names to be added to the DNC speakers roster.

You may be less familiar with the former than the latter: an ex-United States Air Force pilot who flew missions in South America, Afghanistan and Iraq, Kinzinger voted for Trump in 2020 but emerged as a prominent critic of the outgoing president in the wake of the Capitol riot, breaking ranks to vote to impeach him for a historic and unprecedented second time and subsequently serving on the House Select Committee on the January 6 attack.

He subsequently declined to seek re-election and left office in January 2023 after 12 years in the role, representing Illinois’ 11th and then 16th district and now describes himself as a “Proud RINO”, meaning “Republican In Name Only”.

Kamala Harris has enjoyed an astonising boom in popularity since Joe Biden made his historic decision not to pursue another term in the White House a month ago, standing aside and endorsing his deputy as his successor in the wake of his disastrous debate performance against Trump in Atlanta on June 27.

With the party rallying around Harris, she has surged in the polls and cemented her appeal by adding Walz to the ticket, a sequence of events that has left Trump and Vance reeling, with seemingly little idea how best to respond to the new challenge they face.

This week’s four-day convention will build towards Harris’s speech on Thursday evening, with Biden, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Michelle Obama all due to address delegates before then.

Here’s your guide to what’s scheduled and when.

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which will see Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz formally nominated to be the party’s candidates in the 2024 presidential race to take on Donald Trump and JD Vance.