This is CNBC’s live coverage of the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Ill.
The first day of the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago will honor the accomplishments and the legacy of the party’s outgoing leader, President Joe Biden.
- Biden is scheduled to give the keynote address tonight, as the party’s presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, watches from the audience.
- Tens of thousands of protesters are expected to demonstrate today. Many will be supporting Palestinian human rights, and pressuring Democrats to do more for a ceasefire in Gaza.
- As Democrats gather in Chicago, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, will hold separate campaign events in Pennsylvania.
Dems to contrast Biden’s choice to step aside with Trump, who ‘puts himself first’
Volunteers transport bags of balloons ain preparation for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center on August 16, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois.
The “For the People” theme will be focused on President Joe Biden’s “leadership and legacy as a historic president who put the American people’s interest above his own,” the Democrat convention committee says in a statement.
The day’s line-up will also aim to highlight that, “while Donald Trump puts himself first, Democrats are fighting for the American people.”
Convention chair Minyon Moore said the four days of events are “an opportunity to bring the story of our party to the American people — not just the story of what we’ve achieved under theBiden-Harris administration, but how the Harris-Walz ticket is planning to build on that historic record for a new way forward into the future.”
— Christina Wilkie
Harris, Walz post photos from their bus tour through PA
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and her chosen running mate Walz revived the tradition of U.S. presidential campaign bus tours, riding through Pennsylvania the day before the Democratic National Convention.
Long a staple of American campaigning, bus tours have fallen out of favor in recent cycles. Neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton did much bus touring during the 2016 presidential race. Four years later, bus tours were put on hold entirely due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
— Christina Wilkie
The Bidens are going on vacation to California after tonight’s speech
Rows of grapevines at Happy Canyon Vineyard during a drought on August 6, 2016, near Santa Ynez, California.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will depart for California late Monday after the White House leader delivers his speech at the convention.
The White House daily schedule says Biden will fly from Chicago to Santa Barbara, then take a chopper to Santa Ynez. A local news outlet, Noozhawk, reports that airspace is restricted around the area for the rest of the week.
The Bidens’ travel plans underscore the complicated role that Joe Biden currently occupies within the Democratic party, which is preparing to “pass the torch” to Harris later this week.
It’s also a reminder of the broader options available to a president who does not have to spend all his or her extra time on the campaign trail running for reelection.
— Christina Wilkie
Trump, Vance to spend the day campaigning in Pennsylvania
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 31, 2024.
As Democrats gather in Chicago, the two Republican nominees will spend the day at separate campaign events in battleground Pennsylvania.
Trump will deliver remarks at an “economic and energy” event in York, Pa. at 3:00 p.m. ET.
Vance will be in Philadelphia, where he will speak on the same topic at 1:00 p.m, according to the Trump campaign.
The New York Times polling average shows Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris neck-and-neck in the state, with Harris up one percentage point, 49% to 48% as of Sunday.
— Christina Wilkie
Uncommitted National Movement says DNC added official panel on Palestinian human rights
As tens of thousands of protesters fill the streets, many of them pro-Palestinian demonstrators, members of the Uncommitted National Movement say the DNC has agreed to hold an official panel today at 4:00 p.m. ET on “Palestinian Human Rights in the Democratic Party.”
The group released this speaker list:
- Layla Elabed, founder of Uncommitted National Movement
- Hala Hijazi, a Palestinian-American party organizer
- Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, a pediatric intensive care surgeon
- Former Representative Andy Levin (D-MI)
- Keith Ellison, Minnesota Attorney General
- Jim Zogby, President of Arab American Institute
“We thank the DNC for recognizing this pivotal issue and remain dedicated to pushing VP Harris to stop providing weapons for Israel’s assault on Gaza,” the movement said in a statement announcing the panel.
— Christina Wilkie
Democrats project messages onto Trump Tower Chicago
As Democrats descended on Chicago, they were greeted by messages projected onto the side of Donald Trump’s branded skyscraper, Trump Tower. NBC News reporter Alex Tabet captured several of them.
— Alex Tabet
