Summary
US Vice-President Kamala Harris says "we are going to win" as she addresses campaign staff in Delaware
President Joe Biden dials into her first campaign rally and says leaving the 2024 race "was the right thing to do"
It comes as more leading Democrats back Harris as the party's new presidential nominee, with her campaign seeing a surge in donations
Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi says her support for Harris is "official, personal and political"
Biden had faced weeks of increasing calls to step aside - he'll stay on as president for the rest of the term
But Donald Trump has echoed other Republicans, saying, "if he can't run for office, he can't run our country"
Trump's running mate JD Vance makes his first solo appearance on the campaign trail, with a speech in Ohio
Live Reporting
Edited by George Bowden
Thanks for joining our coveragepublished at 00:30 23 July
00:30 23 July
We're wrapping up our live coverage of the first day of Kamala Harris's campaign for the Democratic Party's nomination for president.
- Has Harris got what it takes to beat Trump?
- Harris raises $81m after Biden's exit from presidential race
- Who could be her running mate?
- What is the 'brat' rebrand all about?
Live coverage was edited by Owen Amos, Dulcie Lee, Nadia Ragozhina, Emily Atkinson, Emily McGarvey, Barbara Tasch, Alys Davies and George Bowden.
It was written by Caitlin Wilson, Jacqueline Howard, Christy Cooney, Ana fa*guy, Rachel Flynn, Max Matza, Seher Asaf, Thomas Copeland, Michael Sheils McNamee, Sofia Ferreira Santos, Adam Durbin, Thomas Mackintosh, Sean Seddon, and Amy Walker.
Harris will skip Netanyahu joint address to Congresspublished at 00:23 23 July
00:23 23 July
Courtney Subramanian
BBC News in WashingtonKamala Harris will not attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress this week, but will meet with him separately in a bilateral meeting at the White House, a Harris official told the BBC.
The vice-president, who launched her presidential campaign earlier this week after President Joe Biden announced his decision to exit the race, is traveling to Indianapolis for a previously scheduled event and will be unable to preside over the prime minister's congressional address.
A Harris official emphasised her absence was merely a scheduling conflict and not a signal of change in her position toward Israel.
In her meeting with Netanyahu, which will be separate from Joe Biden's planned meeting, she's expected to "convey the view that is it is time for the war to end in a way where Israel is secure, all hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can enjoy their right to dignity, freedom and self-determination," the aide said.
She's also expected to discuss efforts to reach an agreement on a ceasefire deal.
Round-up: Latest developmentspublished at 00:14 23 July
00:14 23 July
Image source, Reuters
Here's a quick round-up of all the latest developments:
- Kamala Harris tells supporters she will do "everything in my power to unite our party, our nation and to win this election" in her first campaign speech
- "Donald Trump wants to take our country backwards to a time before many of our fellow Americans had full freedoms and rights, but we believe in a brighter future that makes room for all Americans," she says
- President Joe Biden, isolating with Covid at his home in Delaware, spoke to the crowd by phone, saying that leaving the race was "the right thing to do" - and telling Harris: "I love you, kid"
- The Harris campaign confirmed that it had raised more than $81m (£63m) since Biden confirmed he was stepping aside
- The day saw Harris gain endorsem*nts from senior figures across the Democratic Party, including former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker
- Biden said in a post on X that he was dedicated to the presidency "today, tomorrow, and every day that I have the honour of being your president", but continues to face calls from Republicans to leave office immediately
- Donald Trump said late on Sunday that if Biden "can’t run for office, he can’t run our Country!!!"
- Meanwhile, Trump's running mate JD Vance held his first solo rally, in his home state of Ohio, where he described Biden as a "political deadweight"
Kamala Harris: 'I know Donald Trump's type'published at 23:48 22 July
23:48 22 July
This hasn't happened in more than 50 yearspublished at 23:40 22 July
23:40 22 July
Lisa Lambert
Live reporterImage source, Getty Images
Now the rally is over, let's reflect on some history.
While President Biden's decision to abandon the race is unusual, it is not unprecedented. Fifty-six years ago, President Lyndon B Johnson announced he was giving up his bid for re-election on 31 March 31 1968.
Johnson was finishing a White House address about the Vietnam War when he stunned the country with these words:
“With America's sons in the fields far away, with America's future under challenge right here at home, with our hopes and the world's hopes for peace in the balance every day, I do not believe that I should devote an hour or a day of my time to any personal partisan causes or to any duties other than the awesome duties of this office - the presidency of your country.
"Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president."
His vice-president, Hubert Humphrey, gained support of the delegates at the party’s Chicago convention that August, and then lost to Republican Richard Nixon in the November election.
Harry S Truman also dropped out of a second-term campaign in 1952 after losing the New Hampshire primary while suffering low popularity during the Korean War.
Watch: Biden says leaving 2024 race was 'right thing to do'published at 23:30 22 July
23:30 22 July
Ahead of Kamala Harris' address, we heard from US President Joe Biden for the first time since ending his campaign.
Speaking to campaign staffers via phone, Biden said leaving the race was the "right thing to do".
You can listen to the clip below.
Harris exits the stage to Beyoncé's Freedompublished at 23:22 22 July
23:22 22 July
Harris says there is a question over which kind of country voters want to live in, and each has the power to answer that question.
"That's the beauty of it, the power," she says.
She says there is work to do in the next 106 days - doors to knock on, phones to ring, and an election to win.
She rounds out her speech by leading the crowd in a call and response of "when we fight, we win", before Beyoncé's anthem Freedom rings out and she exits the stage.
Harris says she would restore abortion rightspublished at 23:22 22 July
23:22 22 July
Harris says generations of Americans have fought for freedom and that "now the baton is in our hands".
She says she will fight for the "sacred" freedom to vote and the freedom to live safe from gun violence, pledging to introduce universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons.
She also says Republicans would introduce abortion bans in "every single state" and that the "government should not be telling a woman what to do with her body".
"When Congress passes a law to restore reproductive freedoms, as president of the United States I will sign it into law".
Harris says Trump 'will bring America backwards'published at 23:16 22 July
23:16 22 July
Harris says that building up the middle class will be a defining goal of her presidency.
"We know that when our middle class is strong, America is strong, and that is not the future that Donald Trump is fighting for," she says.
His "extreme" Project 2025 will bring America backwards to trickle down policies that have failed, she says.
America has had these policies before and they do not lead to prosperity, she says.
"They lead to inequity and economic injustice and we are not going back."
Harris speaks of 'two different visions' for Americapublished at 23:14 22 July
23:14 22 July
Harris says "this campaign is not just about us versus Donald Trump".
"There is more to this campaign that that," she says. "Our campaign has always been about two different versions of what we see as the future of our country".
She says that one of those visions is "focused on the future", while the other is "focused on the past".
"Donald Trump wants to take our country backwards to a time before many of our fellow Americans had full freedoms and rights, but we believe in a brighter future that makes room for all Americans."
She says she wants to see a country where every person has the "opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead", where no child has to grow up in poverty, and where every person can buy a home, start a family, and build wealth.
'I know Donald Trump's type' - Harrispublished at 23:10 22 July
23:10 22 July
Harris has turned to her record as a prosecutor in California.
In previous roles she took on perpetrators of all kinds, who abused women, fraudsters, cheaters, she says.
"So hear me when I say, I know Donald Trump's type," Harris says to thunderous applause.
Adding that she will proudly put her record against his.
A 'great honour' to have Biden's endorsem*nt - Harrispublished at 23:10 22 July
23:10 22 July
Continuing to pay tribute to Biden, Harris says she has witnessed first-hand his conduct in the Oval Office, the situation room and on the global stage.
"President Joe Biden fights for the American people and we are deeply deeply grateful for his service to our nation," she says, to rapturous applause.
"Joe are you still on the line? Can you hear this?" she says of the cheers, and he confirms he can.
She says it is a great honour to have Biden's endorsem*nt and intends to earn the Democratic nomination and win the election.
"I will do everything in my power to unite our party, our nation and to win this election," she says.
Biden's legacy 'unmatched in modern history' - Harrispublished at 23:08 22 July
23:08 22 July
Harris says it has been "one of the greatest honours of my life" to serve as Joe Biden's vice president and that he has a "legacy of accomplishment" over his term that is "unmatched in modern history".
She says he got the Covid-19 pandemic under control, created more than 15 million new jobs, and "stood up for democracy" at home and abroad.
"He has always stood up for what he believes is right," she says.
"I'm a first-hand witness to all this work."
'We are going to win' - Harrispublished at 23:05 22 July
23:05 22 July
We have 106 days until election day, Harris says.
We believe in freedom and opportunity and justice, not for some but for all, she says.
Jen O'Malley Dillon accepted Harris's offer to run her campaign, Harris reveals.
"We are going to win," she says.
'You love Joe and you love me' - Harrispublished at 23:05 22 July
23:05 22 July
Harris offers some shout-outs to people on the campaign team and then takes a serious tone to offer a broad thanks to the entire team.
"You've given yourselves to our country because you love our country, and you love Joe, and you love me," she says.
She says that after Biden announced his endorsem*nt, it was important for her to continue with his role of leadership.
She then says that she loves Biden and has full faith that the campaign team will be the reason they win the election in November.
Biden says 'I love you kid' after Harris enters the stagepublished at 23:03 22 July
23:03 22 July
Image source, Reuters
Music thumps as Harris walks on, with staffers chanting her name.
"It is so good to hear our president's voice", she tells the crowd, referring to President Biden's live phone-in.
Harris says she loves the Bidens, and Biden's voice is heard saying "it's mutual".
"I love you kid," Biden adds.
Harris is now speaking in Delawarepublished at 22:57 22 July
22:57 22 July
Kamala Harris is now speaking at her campaign HQ in Wilmington Delaware.
We will bring you her key lines right here.
'We are going to win this election': Second Gentleman Doug Emhoffpublished at 22:57 22 July
22:57 22 July
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff is speaking now about his wife potentially becoming the party's nominee.
He's telling a couple of anecdotes of when he and Harris first joined the Biden ticket.
"Now I get to support my wife running for president", he says to huge applause from staffers.
"We are going to win this election," he says.
First, we hear from Bidenpublished at 22:51 22 July
22:51 22 July
Before Kamala Harris stakes to the stage, campaign staff in Delaware are listening to President Joe Biden, who has dialled into address those who, until yesterday, were working to re-elect him.
He congratulates them on their work so far and tells them he understands the shift to Harris must be hard "because you poured your heart and soul into this thing".
"I know yesterday's news was surprising and hard for you to hear, but it was the right thing to do."
"Embrace her, she's the best," he says about Harris.
He says though he won't be on the ticket, he will be "fully engaged" in the campaign.
First Lady and Second Gentleman to attend Paris Olympicspublished at 22:39 22 July
22:39 22 July
Image source, Reuters
Away from the campaign trail, First Lady Jill Biden will lead the Presidential Delegation to the opening of the Olympic Games in Paris on Friday - despite her husband's decision to exit the presidential race.
In a statement released by the White House, President Biden announced his full Presidential Delegations to Paris.
Douglas Emhoff, Kamala Harris's husband and the second gentleman of the US, will lead the delegation to the closing of the games.