Alert – Joe Biden latest news: Top Democrats and Hollywood stars back Kamala Harris to take on Donald Trump in race for White House – News Alerts

Senior Democrats have backed Kamala Harris to keep Donald Trump out of the White House by leading the party into the US presidential election on November 5.

The Vice-President, appears poised to take over from Joe Biden after he dramatically dropped out of the race last night following weeks of intense scrutiny over his health.

Hollywood A-listers Robert De Niro and Spike Lee are among those to have endorsed Ms Harris who has the support of President Biden and the Clintons, although Barack Obama has suggested he would prefer to see a leadership contest.

Follow ‘s live coverage below and join in the conversation in our comments section

10:37

Will Harris boost the Democrats in the polls?

(FILES) US Vice President Kamala Harris makes her way to board a plane before departing from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on June 14, 2021. Harris is traveling to Greenville, South Carolina to kick off a national vaccination tour. Joe Biden on July 21, 2024 dropped out of the US presidential election and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party's new nominee, in a stunning move that upends an already extraordinary 2024 race for the White House. Biden, 81, said he was acting in the

Early polls showmixed signals for Kamala Harris if she were to secure the Democratic nominee with some overall positives but potential flaws in the key swing states.

In swing states, areas of the US that could be won by either the Democratic or Republican candidate, and even states that have turned reliably blue in recent elections, Harris out-polls Joe Biden even when losing.

She’s within one point – 48-47 – of Trump in Pennsylvania, besting Biden, who was losing 48-45 to Trump.

In Virginia, she leads Trump by five points over Biden, who only leads Trump by four percentage points.

However, those polls were conducted before the assassination attempt on former President Trump and before Biden dropped out.

In a poll conducted from July 9-18 surveying 1,000 Georgians, Trump leads Harris by a 51-46 count, however Harris polled better than Biden among all voters, black voters and Democrats.

10:31

Watch: Keir Starmer says he respects Joe Biden's decision

The British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has spoken about Joe Biden’s decision to exit the presidential race and not seek re-election to the White House.

Speaking at the Farnborough International Airshow, Sir Keir said:

I respect that decision that he has now made.Not an easy decision, but a decision that I know that he will have arrived at taking into account the best interests of the American people, and I look forward to working with him for the remainder of his presidency.

See the video below:

10:23

How did Donald Trump react?

Donald Trump claimed that Joe Biden’s positive COVID test was phony, demanded he resign and issued an ultimatum to likely new opponent Kamala Harris.

Trump made a series of posts to his Truth Social account attempting to destroy the narrative around Biden’s decision, including the positive COVID-19 test that left the president at home the past few days.

The former president added that he believes Biden is ‘going to wake up and forget that he dropped out of the race today!’

For more read below:

Trump claims Biden never had COVID, issues ultimatum for Harris debate

Donald Trump responded to Joe Biden dropping out by claiming that the president's positive COVID test was phony, demanded he resign and issued an ultimatum to likely new opponent Kamala Harris.

Mail Online

10:20

Watch: Which celebrities are backing Kamala Harris?

A slew of Hollywood A-listers have backed Kamala Harris to take on Donald Trump for the presidency since she was endorsed by President Biden.

Victory would mark the historic achievement of being the first woman to be elected US President.

To see who is backing her on November 5, see the video below:

10:16

What happens next: Does Kamala Harris receive nomination straight away?

(FILES) US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks remotely to the Generation Equality Forum in Paris from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, June 30, 2021. Joe Biden on July 21, 2024 dropped out of the US presidential election and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party's new nominee, in a stunning move that upends an already extraordinary 2024 race for the White House. Biden, 81, said he was acting in the

President Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race leaves Democrats scrambling to replace him with less than four months to go before Election Day.

What follows will be an unprecedented chain of events with Kamala Harris the favorite but by no means certain to become the party’s nominee.

The Democratic National Convention runs from August 19 to 22 in Chicago and Biden had been expected to formally accept the nomination there.

What are the nominating rules?

The Democratic party does have rules in place which determine what happens should the president step aside before being formally nominated.

While Biden had the necessary delegates his formal nomination was set to take place during a virtual roll call before the convention. The latest guidance is that it would happen in the first two weeks of August, but not before August 1.

Because Biden exited the race before officially becoming the nominee the more than 3,900 pledged delegates get to cast their ballots in an open convention for whichever candidate they want.

Every alternative to Biden whose name had been floated prior to him dropping out of the race insisted they were backing Biden. It’s not clear who would jump in the race aside from Harris with his departure.

If a candidate wins the majority of pledged delegates on the first ballot, they become the party nominee.

If no candidate gets a majority, then the nearly 740 so-called ‘superdelegates’, also known as automatic delegates, get to vote as well. They include a mix of party members and elected officials.

Voting continues until a candidate gets a majority of delegates.

10:09

Exclusive:What persuaded Joe Biden to step aside?

Our reporters Emily Goodin and Nikki Schwab have the inside track on the decision that ‘completely blindsided’ the White House as Joe Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday.

The 81-year-old president was isolating with COVID at his $3.4 million holiday home in Delaware, when aides showed him data that convinced him he was no longer able to beat Donald Trump.

Read their story here:

How Joe Biden made decision to drop out at 'last minute'

After weeks of crisis talks and a growing wave of Democrats calling for his exit, DailyMail.com reveals the inside details of how Joe Biden came to his 'last-minute' decision to drop out of race.

Mail Online

10:01

Good morning

(FILES) US President Joe Biden speaks before signing executive orders on health care, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 28, 2021. Joe Biden on July 21, 2024 dropped out of the US presidential election and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party's new nominee, in a stunning move that upends an already extraordinary 2024 race for the White House. Biden, 81, said he was acting in the

Hello and welcome to ‘s live coverage after President Joe Biden sensationally dropped out of the race to take on Donald Trump for the US presidency in November.

President Biden has endorsed his Vice-President Kamala Harris to lead the party against the Republicans while senior Democrats including Bill and Hillary Clinton have shown their support for who could be the first female commander-in-chief.

We will bring you all the latest news and reaction as world leaders have their say on President Biden’s bombshell decision.

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