USA 2024: -90 Days! Harris Unveils VP Pick Amid Market Chaos and Poll Shifts

U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for the White House in 2024, convened the U.S. national security team in the Situation Room yesterday to discuss developments in the Middle East. The Iranian retaliation against Israel for the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran is considered imminent.

However, the day’s emergency was the stock market crash, which spread from the Far East to the United States, passing through Europe. Market anxiety allowed the Republican candidate for the White House, Donald Trump, to launch the slogan “Trump cash versus Kamala crash” on his social media platform Truth. He offered voters a choice “between prosperity with Trump or the great depression of 2024 with Kamala,” referencing the Great Depression of 1929. Trump also warned about the “probability of World War III if these very stupid people remain in office.”

The stock market crash began in Japan, with a 12% drop in stocks, the worst since Black Monday in 1987. The overall decline was more than 18%, considering the negative trend already evident at the end of last week. This was triggered by fears of a slowdown in the U.S. economy despite a rather positive analysis recently made by the Federal Reserve.

Particularly alarming on Friday was a slowdown in U.S. job creation and a rise in unemployment to its highest level in three years, at 4.3%. The stock market crash then spread to Europe and America, where Wall Street closed down more than 3%, the worst data since 2022. Asian data this morning indicates a rebound, probably due more to short-term speculative operations than to economists’ claims that there is no cause for concern.

USA 2024: Polls and “the Vice’s Vice”

A national poll by the University of Massachusetts Amherst shows Harris ahead of Trump 46% to 43%, with 6% for independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. As of midnight yesterday, six a.m. in Italy, Harris definitively secured the Democratic nomination, which she had already confirmed last week. The virtual vote of over 4,000 delegates at the convention in Chicago, which will open on August 19, has concluded.

In an article by Stephen Collinson, Caitlin Hu, and Shelby Rose, CNN writes that “the Vice needs a vice,” referring to Harris’s ongoing selection of her running mate, who will be presented this evening U.S. time – night in Italy – in Philadelphia. This event will be the first in a series of events in battleground states, with Pennsylvania being one of them. As the decision approaches, CNN analysts advise avoiding harm to her campaign.

According to anonymous sources cited by various U.S. media, Harris’s choice is now narrowed down to three names: Arizona Senator (and former astronaut) Mark Kelly, Pennsylvania and Minnesota governors Josh Shapiro and Tim Walz.

USA 2024: Beyoncé’s Money for Kamala, Golf Shares for Donald

Beyoncé, one of the stars of the U.S. showbiz industry, long associated with the Democrats, has donated four million dollars to Harris’s campaign. The announcement was made on the singer and entrepreneur’s social media profiles and shared on the Democratic candidate’s profiles.

According to press sources, Beyoncé is also willing to donate more if necessary and plans to participate in a fundraiser for Harris. Her decision to get involved was mainly influenced by ‘Project 2025,’ a program drafted by the conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, for a second Trump presidency (later disavowed by himself due to criticism).

In search of funds for himself and his campaign, the mogul has raised the cost of a new membership at his exclusive Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to one million dollars, an increase of 43% from the current membership fee of 700,000 dollars, according to The Guardian. Trump often sells access and perhaps a taste of political influence to wealthy peers for personal gain: the mogul loves to mingle freely with guests at his resort amidst parties and golf games.