Highlights from the 2024 presidential election campaign: July 9

He’s expected to announce his running mate in the coming days.

Donald Trump’s youngest son Barron Trump appeared for the first time at a campaign event since he turned 18. He was introduced by his father as “my boy,” and the presumptive nominee said “he just started dating” and is going to college.

“He’s a very special guy,” he said. “That’s the first time he’s done it. That’s the first time. Right?”

Supporters cheered loudly and stood up trying to catch a glimpse of him as Trump asked him to stand up.

“You’re pretty popular,” Trump said. “It’s good to have you. Welcome to the scene, Barron.”

The Republican party of Florida had announced Barron would be a delegate at the Republican National Convention next week. But two days later the office of former first lady Melania Trump said he would not be able to make it.

President Biden saw a neurologist at the White House on Jan. 17 for a neurological exam, the results of which were later reported as part of his annual physical more than a month later, the White House said.

The confirmation came after White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre inaccurately said during the daily briefing with reporters that the Jan. 17 meeting was not related to care for the president in response to a question from The Associated Press.

▶ Read more about the questions surrounding the president’s health

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he thinks Putin hates both Biden and Trump because they’re both “supportive of democracy.”

In a talk with Fox News host Bret Baier at the Reagan Center in Washington, the Ukrainian president said that if the U.S. reelects Trump, a NATO skeptic, he hopes the Republican’s policy toward Ukraine doesn’t change and that the U.S. never leaves NATO.

Zelenskyy says he doesn’t know Trump well but has had good meetings with him when he was president. But he says he didn’t go through the war with Trump, and only when you do, can you understand “if you can count on somebody or not.”

Trump at one point marveled at the number of reporters in attendance.

“They probably think I’m going to be announcing that Marco is going to be vice president,” he said of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who is sitting in the front row and spoke earlier in the night.

Later, when he talked about his pledge to make tips tax-free, he said Rubio “may or may not be there to vote for it.”

His campaign has also been fundraising off the hype with emails like one with the subject line: “Will I announce my VP pick in 60 mins?”

Trump has repeatedly said he plans to announce his pick just before or at the Republican National Convention, which kicks off Monday in Milwaukee.

Challenging the president to another debate or even a “golf-off,” Trump is basking in the Democratic infighting around Biden’s candidacy.

During his rally, the former president has also stepped up his attacks on Harris, nicknaming her “laughin’ Kamala” and referring to the “Biden-Harris administration,” a deviation from his normal practice of casting blame primarily on Biden.

“Despite all the Democrat panic this week,” Trump said, “the truth is, it doesn’t matter who they nominate because we are going to beat any one of them in thundering landslides. And this November is going to be amazing.”

The former president quickly cast the Republican Party — “more unified than ever before” — against the Democratic party, which he characterized as “divided, in chaos, and having a full-scale breakdown, all because they can’t decide which of their candidates is more unfit to be President — sleepy, crooked Joe Biden, or laughin’ Kamala.”

Nicole Farrell, a 57-year-old immigrant from Trinidad, said she voted for Trump in 2020, “but I was not a strong supporter like now. I just preferred him over Biden.”

Farrell said she specifically likes Trump’s hardline immigration policies, which include plans for mass raids and the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.

“I am an immigrant but I came here legally. They need to come here legally,” Farrell said of migrants coming to the U.S.

Attendees are fanning themselves and holding signs featuring his mug shot. Despite the heat, some were dancing and shimmying to a playlist that included music from Elvis, Queen and ABBA while they awaited the former president at one of his palm tree-dotted golf courses.

Two of Trump’s children, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, spoke to the crowd to warm them up.

Internal drama. Leaks. Second-guessing. The pressure and chaos swirling since Biden’s disastrous debate performance is causing cracks in a White House that until now had been marked by discipline and loyalty.

For three-plus years, the Biden administration has been mostly a restrained and staid operation, defined more by an insistence on showcasing policy and an avoidance of palace intrigue. Aides generally kept any criticism of their boss or their jobs out of the public eye. Not lately, though.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reflected Tuesday on the extraordinary moment for the president and his team, as questions about the 81-year-old’s age and mental capacity threaten to torpedo his reelection dreams. “It has been an unprecedented time,” she said of scrutiny of the president. “We are meeting a new moment that has never really existed before.”

▶ Learn more about the chaos in the White House

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a freshman Democrat who has been a surrogate for the Biden campaign, spent the last several days defending the president’s legislative record and seeking to draw clear distinctions between him and former President Trump. Crockett has reiterated that there is too much at stake for the party to turn away from Biden at this point in the campaign, saying that a second Trump presidency would be extremely harmful to Black Americans across the country.

“We are not willing to risk our freedoms for somebody feeling good because there’s a different name on the ballot,” the Texas lawmaker said Tuesday.

She added that her colleagues privately and publicly criticizing Biden have not seen what she has during her time on the trail with him. “A lot of these people talking out of the side of their mouth, I don’t know if they have gone out for the president or gone out with the president,” Crockett said. “That is why I can feel so confident because I have seen more than the 90 minutes that everybody is so concerned about.”

Austin Stiglin, 28, says he traveled from northern Florida to participate in his first Trump rally wearing a star-patterned navy blue jacket and red pants saying he is “tired of the left telling him to vote left just because I am gay.”

“I have a lot more to say than just my sexual orientation,” Stiglin said. “I would like to vote for policies that support the United States.

Stiglin named inflation and border security as his main concerns heading into the election cycle and said he does not think Biden will step aside.

“The debate showed how really mentally incompetent he is and how the White House just continues to lie to us about it.”

Sen. Marco Rubio, one of the top contenders to be Trump’s running mate, spoke at the former president’s rally in his home state of Florida Tuesday without directly addressing speculation that he might join the Republican ticket.

But he notably seemed to insert himself into Trump’s signature “Make America Great Again,” slogan by twice suggesting it was something they’d do “together,” saying, “Together, we’re not just going to make it great again. We elect this man as president, we will make together America greater than it has ever been.”

He also dedicated a lot of his time to skewering Harris, whom he’d be expected to face in a vice-presidential debate if he’s chosen as Trump’s running mate.

Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, is seen as someone who could help Trump secure support from Hispanic Americans, and in his remarks, he switched several times to Spanish from English.

As the physician to President Joe Biden, Dr. Kevin O’Connor is accustomed to working behind the scenes. The former Army surgeon is always close by his No. 1 patient, ready to provide care or a consult as needed. Few outside the building knew who he was.

But Biden’s poor debate performance changed all that.

Persistent questions about the 81-year-old Democratic president’s capacity to serve a second four-year term have thrust O’Connor into the spotlight, with some Republican House members requesting an interview to discuss his treatment of Biden.

▶ Read more about Biden’s doctor

Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, among the progressive squad of House lawmakers, said Democrats are “losing ground” the longer they debate Biden’s candidacy, which she fully supports for a second term.

“The more Democrats keep this dysfunction and chaos in the news, the more I think it drags the chances of reelection for the president and our chances of taking back the House,” she told the AP.

“At this moment, the stakes are too high and we have to focus. Democracy is on the line. Everything we value as Democrats, as a country, is on the line. And we have to stop being distracted.”

Hosting the summit gives Biden a chance to showcase his leadership on the world stage — but it’s happening at an awkward time. He is simultaneously dealing with pressure to bow out of the presidential race after his shaky debate performance against Trump raised questions about his ability to do the job for another four years.

Biden, using a teleprompter, told world leaders that “NATO is more powerful than ever” on its 75th anniversary, highlighting the expansion of the alliance under his watch.

“This moment in history calls for our collective strength,” he said, stressing NATO’s resolve to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s invasion.

In his 13-minute remarks, Biden did not nod to the domestic political drama swirling around him.

“This is the one, the most existential consequential and important election of our lifetime,” Harris said to the crowd of several hundred at the Resorts World Las Vegas.

“Now, we always knew this election would be tough. And the past few days have been a reminder that running for president of the United States is never easy. But the one thing we know about our President Joe Biden is that he is a fighter,” Harris said to cheers from the crowd.

“And he is the first to say when you get knocked down and get back up,” she continued.

Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., who ended his long-shot 2024 Democratic presidential bid months ago, was asked by reporters Tuesday if he felt vindicated by Democrats calling on Biden to step aside.

“If this is vindication, vindication has never been so unfulfilling,” Phillips said. “I made my case eight months ago, and I think it’s time for others to share their perspectives.”

Phillips was publicly and privately denounced by many in the House Democratic caucus when he launched his bid for president against Biden in late October. Phillips, a 55-year-old multimillionaire who is among the richest members of Congress, built his White House bid around calls for a new generation of Democratic leadership while spending freely from his personal fortune. But the little-known congressman ultimately failed to resonate with the party’s voters.

Many arrived hours before Trump’s expected remarks, battling sunny 90-degree conditions to see the former Republican president.

Rep. Byron Donalds, from Florida, and Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar are among the speakers hyping up the crowd before Trump.

They are now exiting the stage and taking their seats before welcome speeches from Biden and others.

Vice President Harris is expected to lambast Trump and critique the Supreme Court at an Asian American heritage festival in Las Vegas.

Harris will take aim at a conservative policy document called Project 2025. Among other things, it aims to “eliminate the Department of Education and end programs like Head Start,” if Trump is reelected, according to a prepared copy of her remarks.

Harris will also critique a Supreme Court decision giving Trump broad immunity from criminal prosecution as an ex-president.

“Donald Trump wants to turn our democracy into a dictatorship, and the Supreme Court basically just declared he can get away with it,” Harris will say in the speech.

The speech comes as the leaders of NATO countries in Europe and North America have descended on Washington this week for a summit where aid for Ukraine and unity on defense will be as much on the agenda as how Biden performs on the world stage.

Allies and others will be watching closely as Biden has been trying to right his campaign following a disastrous debate performance against Trump and growing concerns among Democrats and others about his viability as a candidate in November’s election.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., has called for President Biden to step down as the Democratic nominee, saying in a press release that the “stakes are too high and the threat is too real” for her to remain silent.”

In an interview immediately after the release, the former Navy helicopter pilot told the AP that she made the difficult decision after speaking with voters in her district and hearing out her colleagues during a Tuesday morning caucus session.

“I had committed to people in my district of having the conversations I thought we needed to have. I wanted to hear from my colleagues here in Washington,” she said. “I remain convinced that we need to do everything we can to defeat Trump.”

She added that she would support Vice President Harris as the nominee.

The former president, who often makes a point of weighing in on news of the day and what Biden is up to, claimed on social media that he deserves credit for NATO’s continued existence, saying, “If it weren’t for me as President, there probably would be no NATO by now.”

Trump has often tried to take credit for the number of NATO member countries meeting an agreed-upon defense spending goal of at least 2% gross domestic product. During his presidency, he repeatedly suggested that the U.S. would not defend countries meeting that standard.

When Biden took office in 2021, nine member nations were meeting that goal. Presently, 23 of 32 member nations are hitting the target.

Former Vice President Mike Pence is urging Republican convention delegates to override Trump by strengthening the party’s platform plank on abortion.

“Now is not the time to surrender any ground in the fight for the right to life,” Pence said in a statement. “I urge delegates attending next week’s Republican Convention to restore language to our party’s platform recognizing the sanctity of human life and affirming that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed.”

The draft platform that delegates will consider reflects Trump’s position that abortion regulation should be left to state governments following the Supreme Court’s decision to end the federal right to abortion.

Trump has warned that pushing a national abortion ban will hurt Republicans up and down the ballot in November.

Pence called the platform “part of a broader retreat in our party, trying to remain vague for political expedience.”

A GOP group hoping to drain votes from Trump is launching a multifaceted approach toward getting its message out around next week’s RNC.

Republican Voters Against Trump is launching what it says is a $300,000 swing state ad campaign featuring the voices of former Trump backers who say they won’t vote for him in 2024. More than a dozen billboards will go up around the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, where the RNC will be held, with similar messages.

The group says it’s airing two different TV ads across Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Arizona, all of which are considered battlegrounds in this year’s election.

In Kansas, Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has stood behind Biden since his dismal June 27 presidential debate performance, saying his “record of delivering bipartisan results speaks for itself,” and adding, “He is a decent man of strong character. I will support him in November.”

Asked Tuesday after a meeting with Kansas legislative leaders whether her view had changed, she told reporters: “No. You know, that’s something for him to decide, and I will support this decision.”

Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise stop at a USA Olympic Basketball training event on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The entire Olympic men’s basketball players, including LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards and Joel Embiid, were present for scrimmages when the vice president appeared.

A family member of a Maryland woman who police say was killed by a man who entered the U.S. illegally is scheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention next week, according to a senior Trump campaign official familiar with convention planning.

The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed reporting from The Baltimore Sun that Erin Layman, the half-sister of 35-year-old Rachel Morin, is scheduled to speak Tuesday night at the convention.

Trump has said immigrants entering the U.S. illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country,” and has made cracking down on immigration a key part of his White House bid, citing high-profile and heinous crimes allegedly committed by people in the country illegally.

When a candidate withdraws from the presidential race, the Republican National Committee defers to individual state rules to decide how to handle delegates pledged to that candidate. Nikki Haley’s announcement to release her delegates could help rally support for Trump among the group.

Haley, who campaigned against Trump in the Republican primary, was not invited
to the party’s convention.

In New Hampshire, state rules indicate that Haley’s nine pledged delegates have been free to vote for another candidate ever since she formally withdrew from the race. “I think it would be important symbolically … to show unity of the party in defeating President Biden or whomever the Democratic nominee is, especially in a battleground state,” said New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman Chris Ager.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Biden was behind the decision to step up public outreach over the past week — and he plans to do more.

“He’s ready. He’s on fire. He’s ready to go,” she told reporters.

Jean-Pierre said Biden wants to show the American people he should be reelected in November, reiterating that the president is not stepping down.

Jean-Pierre says it is part of his story throughout his career — he has been counted out before. “He proves them wrong, over and over again,” she said.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., answered three questions from reporters about Joe Biden’s presidential candidacy with a single refrain:

“As I’ve said before, I’m with Joe.”

Several other Democrats described the conversation as “constructive” but declined to provide details.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says President Joe Biden is “going to move forward,” past the June 27 presidential debate.

Jean-Pierre said Biden is “more determined than ever to get the job done.”

Echoing language from House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Rep. Pete Aguilar, chairman of the House Democrats, said the leaders are in “listening” mode as they chart a path forward over Biden’s presidency — and how to stop Trump and win control of the House.

“Our caucus meeting today was about listening to members, there was no instruction, to get on the same page,” said Aguilar.

Aguilar told reporters that “every single member is clear-eyed about the stakes” of the 2024 presidential race. “Donald Trump can not be allowed near the Oval Office.”

The Trump campaign has released a new Spanish-language ad aiming to strengthen his support among Hispanic voters.

The new spot, which blames Biden’s policies for increased gas and food prices, argues that returning Trump to the White House will result in lower taxes and more affordable housing.

Trump continues to seek inroads in voting blocs that have historically favored Democrats. Last month, he launched a “Latino Americans for Trump” coalition office in Pennsylvania, hoping to boost backing among a swing-state voting bloc that could well decide the election.

The ad will air on Univision nationally and locally during the semifinals and finals of the quadrennial Copa America soccer tournament.

Rep. Jared Huffman of California said Democrats, unlike their House GOP counterparts, “Can even have principled disagreements without fighting like ferrets in a phone booth.”

Huffman, who is leading the House Democrats’ task force fighting Project 2025, said the party needs to get back to confronting Trump — and they can win this election with Joe Biden at the top of the ticket.

But even if Biden does decide to leave the race, Huffman said it’s “not the end of the world.”

“I think we’ve got an excellent next up in the vice president. She’s good, she’s good, and she’s ready to go.”

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is still in listening mode as his party considers Biden’s political future.

“We had a caucus meeting today that gave members an opportunity to express themselves in a candid and comprehensive fashion, and those discussions will continue throughout the balance of the week,” Jeffries said.

Nikki Haley is releasing the delegates she won during this year’s Republican primary so they’ll be free to support Donald Trump at the GOP convention next week.

On Tuesday, Haley released the 97 delegates she won across a dozen primaries and caucuses this year. Delegate rules vary by state and it’s unclear whether Haley’s action will completely override them.

The former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador called for “Republican unity” at the upcoming Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Haley wasn’t invited to the convention and won’t be attending, her spokesperson said.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont is standing by Biden, but says he’s concerned about the election being dominated by talk about Biden’s mental fitness.

Lamont was one of the first governors to endorse Biden in the 2020 election.

He told reporters Tuesday that Biden is “just getting started when it comes to his agenda.”

Still, Lamont acknowledged concerns about Biden’s candidacy.

“I do worry that we’re going to spend the whole time talking about President Biden’s mental fitness, and we’re not taking the battle to Donald Trump and talking about his moral fitness,” he said.

Vice President Kamala Harris will appear with former “Top Chef” host Padma Lakshmi at an event in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

It’s the kickoff of a formal outreach campaign to Asian American voters that President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is launching this week.

Harris is the first person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president.

She will also deliver a keynote address Saturday at a town hall in Philadelphia hosted by APIAVote, an advocacy group.

The Biden campaign has already launched coalition groups focusing on Black voters and Latino voters.

One person who was in the room described the Democratic meeting as dour.

There’s growing concern that Biden remaining in the race means the election will center around Biden’s age instead of Trump, according to the person who was granted anonymity to discuss the private meeting.

But the person also told AP that Democrats worry Biden can’t be replaced because he’s so dug in.

There could also be legal issues replacing a candidate so close to the election.

A few of the Democrats who have publicly called for the president to step aside came out more resolute than before, but not all.

“The fighting spirit and pride and courage that served the country so well four years ago, that helped Joe Biden win, will bring the ticket down this time,” said Rep. Mike Quigley from Illinois.

“He just has to step down because he can’t win,” Quigley said.

But Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York seemed to reverse course after previously privately expressing that Biden should leave.

“He is going to be our nominee, and we all have to support him,” Nadler said.

Democrats had varying views of their nearly two-hour conversation, with some saying the party is unified and others leaving even more disconcerted.

Rep. Steven Cohen of Tennessee had a memorable answer when reporters asked him if the session got the party on the same page.

“We are not even in the same book,” Cohen said.

Others like Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the caucus is united behind Biden as their nominee.

The president will keep up his personal outreach to different factions of the Democratic Party Tuesday night.

He’ll hold a virtual meeting with mayors around the country, according to a person familiar with the plans.

Biden plans to give remarks and take questions from the mayors.

It’s a formant similar to that used with members of the Congressional Black Caucus and with campaign donors on Monday.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke in favor of Biden’s performance on Tuesday.

She was asked by a Republican member of Congress during a House Financial Services Committee hearing whether she’d seen any “cognitive or mental decline.”

“The president is extremely effective in the meetings I’ve been in with him,” Yellen responded.

“That includes many international meetings that are multi-hour, like his meetings with President Xi.”

She said there had been no discussions among cabinet secretaries about invoking the 25th Amendment. That amendment deals with presidential removal.

Vice President Kamala Harris took off from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland Tuesday, headed west for a series of campaign events in Las Vegas.

Harris will meet with and rally voters in Las Vegas and Dallas this week.

She’s facing extra attention among Democrats considering her prospects as a possible replacement for Biden, who is resisting calls to step aside.

House Democrats convened for a “family” discussion behind closed doors early Tuesday.

Tensions are still high over the 2024 election and President Joe Biden’s candidacy.

No cell phones. No leaks. Just what Caucus Chairman Rep. Pete Aguilar billed as a family chat among lawmakers.

So far, Biden’s supporters have been the most vocal emerging from the more than hour-long chat. But discontent remains behind the scenes.

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles says President Joe Biden “has done a magnificent job” in his role.

Marles just landed in Washington to represent Australia at the NATO summit and fielded questions from reporters.

Does he have concerns with the 81-year-old Biden leading the United States?

“No,” Marles said. Australia “couldn’t be happier” with Biden’s leadership role in the Indo-Pacific and throughout the world. He expects Biden to do “a fantastic job” hosting the summit this week.

Australia is one of NATO’s four Indo-Pacific partners, along with New Zealand, Japan and South Korea.