Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his new running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, will make their first appearance as a ticket on Wednesday in Wilmington, Delaware, as the campaign for the White House moves-up a gear.
The two are scheduled to deliver remarks just days before Mr Biden formally accepts the Democratic nomination during the party’s national convention, which will take place largely as a virtual event next week due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Republican convention, where President Donald Trump will be nominated for a second four-year term, follows a week later and kicks off a 10-week sprint to the 3 November 3 election.
Wednesday’s event in Biden’s hometown will take place on the third anniversary of the «Unite the Right» rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where violent clashes erupted as white supremacists and neo-Nazis descended on the town.
Mr Trump, who commented that there were «very fine people on both sides» of those clashes, was said to have convinced Mr Biden to run for the presidency.
In choosing Harris, Mr Biden selected a former rival who was regarded as a relatively safe choice.
She is a more dynamic campaigner will be relied upon to help energise Black voters, who represent a crucial constituency for Mr Biden in key swing states.
President admits blocking post office funding to stop mail-in voting as he fires off sexist tweets and claims Democrats want to abolish animals
Funding for the US Postal Service and election infrastructure were crucial sticking points in congressional talks on coronavirus relief, said Donald Trump on Thursday, as he vowed to block any money to facilitate mail-in voting.
The Republican president, who admitted in April that «you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again» if universal mail-in voting was introduced, has been railing against the voting method for months with false claims that mail ballots are a source of fraud,
The US, which has used the post office to process absentee ballots for years, will see 76 per cent of voters become eligible to vote via mail in November in a bid to protect the electorate from contracting coronavirus.
But Mr Trump on Thursday said his negotiators have resisted Democrats’ calls for additional money to help prepare for presidential, congressional and local voting during a pandemic that has killed more than 165,000 Americans and presented severe logistical challenges to organising large events like the election.
«The items are the post office and the $3.5 billion for mail-in voting,» he told Fox Business. «If we don’t make the deal, that means they can’t have the money, that means they can’t have universal mail-in voting. It just can’t happen.»
President admits coronavirus outbreak will get worse, as Chinese consulate ordered to close in Houston after staff seen burning documents
Mike Pompeo, fresh from talks with Britain’s Boris Johnson, has travelled to Denmark where he is likely to re-emphasise the Trump administration’s opposition to the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline.
In October Denmark gave permission for the conduit, set to carry natural gas from Russia to Germany, to pass through its territory.
Washington opposes the plan, arguing that it will increase Europe’s dependence on Russia for energy.
It has warned companies involved in the project they will be subject to American penalties unless they halt their work.
Mr Pompeo was due to meet prime minister Mette Frederiksen and foreign minister Jeppe Kofod on Wednesday.
Greenland, along with the rest of the Arctic, will also likely play a role in the secretary of state’s talks in Copenhagen. Last month, the US opened a consulate as part of a push to expand its influence in the northern region.
