July 20, 2024, presidential campaign news

Our live coverage has ended. Follow the latest 2024 election news here or read through the posts below.

Democratic Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi speaks at the North Carolina Democratic "Unity Dinner" fundraiser in Raleigh, North Carolina on July 20.

While she took the stage to Bonnie Raitt’s “Something to Talk About” at the North Carolina Democratic Party’s Unity Dinner on Saturday night, former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi didn’t really touch on the topic that’s had everyone talking about her the past few weeks. 

Pelosi stressed the importance of November’s election as she addressed about 900 North Carolina Democrats, but she didn’t remark on the uncertainty at the top of the ticket — or the role sources have told CNN she played in a slew of statements from lawmakers calling for President Joe Biden to step aside. Instead, she focused on policy ideas and down-ballot candidates in the crucial battleground state.  

Sources told CNN this week that Pelosi told Biden in a private call that polling shows he cannot defeat Donald Trump, and that he could destroy Democrats’ chances of winning the House in November if he continues seeking a second term. Biden responded with defensiveness, according to two of the sources.

As she left the event Saturday, Pelosi didn’t answer questions on whether she believes Biden should step aside or whether she’s spoken with him or Vice President Kamala Harris in the past few days.

During her speech, Pelosi didn’t speak much about the Biden-Harris campaign, though she praised the accomplishments of the administration and contrasted its agenda with that of Republicans under Trump, whom she referred to as “What’s His Name” throughout the speech.

However, Pelosi also noted that the election is about the future and not the past. 

People cheer as vice presidential nominee JD Vance speaks at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 20.

Candidates in the 2024 presidential race hit the campaign trail Saturday after a week of news driven by the Republican National Convention and growing discord among Democrats over their nominee.

Here’s what happened today:

Donald Trump was joined by his newly minted running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, at the former president’s first campaign rally since the attempt to assassinate him last weekend.

Vance, who amped up the crowd ahead of Trump’s remarks, said: “I gotta be honest, it’s still a little bit weird seeing my name on those signs.”

Speaking at an arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Trump said he “took a bullet for democracy.”

Rep. Ronny Jackson, the former White House physician, said Saturday that Trump is “recovering as expected” from a gunshot wound to his ear. Investigations into the rally shooter and handling of security at the event continue.

Trump noted in his first joint interview with Vance that people at his rally last week noticed there was someone on the roof before the assassination attempt. “That was quite a bit before I walked onto the stage, so you would have thought somebody would have done something about it,” he said in a clip of the interview with Fox News that aired Saturday night

“How did somebody get on that roof and why wasn’t he reported, because people saw that he was on the roof,” he said, recounting the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris got one of her most roaring responses in years as she spoke at a fundraiser Saturday afternoon in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The vice president didn’t directly address the turmoil facing her running mate – whom she referred to as “our president” and “one of the most consequential presidents in American history” – but she did speak to the anxiety among Democrats by repeating, “We are going to win this election.”

Organizers said the event raised more than $2 million, even as some big-dollar donors have held back from writing checks amid growing concerns about President Joe Biden’s run. All eyes are on the vice president as uncertainty swirls around Biden’s continued candidacy – and as she emerges as the most likely alternative, according to many Democrats.

Harris campaigned while Biden continued his recovery from Covid-19, which has forced him to isolate this week in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Biden said Friday that he looks forward to getting back on the campaign trail next week as more Democrats publicly call on him to step aside in the 2024 race.

Former President Donald Trump noted in his first joint interview with his running mate, JD Vance, that people at his rally last week noticed there was someone on the roof before the assassination attempt and said, “That was quite a bit before I walked onto the stage, so you would have thought somebody would have done something about it.”

In a clip of the interview with Fox News that aired Saturday night, Trump said there were “Trumpers screaming,” including a woman in a red shirt who yelled: “There’s a man on the roof.”

It was later revealed that law enforcement was trying to locate a suspicious man 19 minutes before the shooting but could not find him until he was on the roof, a source previously told CNN.

The same suspicious person was Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, who opened fire at the event, coming inches away from assassinating Trump.

Yet, sources who were with the former president at the rally told CNN this week that they weren’t aware of the situation and that there was no conversation over whether Trump should have delayed his entrance.

That’s despite the fact that local police had spotted Crooks multiple times with a rangefinder, a hunting device similar to a pair of binoculars that calculates distance, and had circulated a photo of him they had taken.

“We would have never let him go out there if we thought there was a threat to him,” one source present with Trump told CNN.

The full interview will air Monday night on Fox News.

President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign blasted Donald Trump’s remarks at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, saying the former president is “focused only on himself.”

Trump made his first campaign rally appearance since the attempt to assassinate him last weekend. It was also the first joint rally with his newly minted running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, who spoke earlier.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper speaks at the North Carolina Democratic Unity Dinner fundraiser in Raleigh, North Carolina, on July 20.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper did not address the uncertainty at the top of his party’s ticket when he spoke to a raucous crowd of about 900 Democrats at a state party dinner in Raleigh on Saturday.

Referencing his time on the campaign trail over the past few weeks with both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Cooper said they were working to “make sure we win.”

But he did not mention intraparty calls for Biden to step aside. 

Prominent Democrats and pundits have suggested Cooper could be a potential running mate for Harris, if Biden were to end his campaign and Harris were to become the nominee. The term-limited governor has not engaged publicly in discussions about that speculation.

In his 12-minute speech, Cooper mostly highlighted down-ballot races in the battleground state, including the nation’s most closely watched governor’s race, between Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein and Republican Lt. Governor Mark Robinson. 

Cooper also recognized former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who gave the keynote address, as a “trailblazing, once-in-a-generation leader.”

US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle speaks at a news conference in Milwaukee on June 6.

Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, on Saturday became one of the latest voices to call on US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to step down immediately after the attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump. 

The Secret Service is facing a flurry of questions about how a gunman was able to get a clear line of sight to Trump at the site of his rally in Pennsylvania, and there have been calls for Cheatle’s resignation from some members of Congress, including House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Speaker Mike Johnson.

His call follows a stunning scene this week at the Republican National Convention, where a group of GOP senators chased Cheatle through the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee and denounced her refusal to answer questions regarding the assassination attempt.

That confrontation came after Trump met with the Secret Service director to receive a private, in-person briefing about the attempted assassination, a source familiar with the meeting said earlier.

Cheatle told CNN in an interview this week that the Secret Service was “solely responsible for the design and implementation and the execution of the site.”

Cheatle will testify Monday before the House Committee on Oversight, which is investigating the assassination attempt.

Former President Donald Trump speaks speaks at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 20.

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday held his first campaign rally since surviving last week’s attempted assassination attempt, telling a large crowd gathered in a Michigan arena that he “took a bullet for democracy.” 

Trump, who spoke for nearly two hours, thanked the staff at Butler Memorial Hospital, where he was taken minutes after the shooting at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Trump called Corey Comperatore, who was shot and killed during the assassination attempt, a “hero,” and also spoke of the two rallygoers who were injured, David Dutch and James Copenhaver. The crowd cheered “Corey!”

Trump said he spoke to tech billionaire Elon Musk before coming to the Grand Rapids rally. The former president said Musk didn’t mention reporting from The Wall Street Journal that he will be committing around $45 million a month to a pro-Trump super PAC. 

Trump praised the organizers of the GOP convention this past week in Milwaukee and called the city a “fantastic place.”

The former president at one point looked at one of the screens in the arena where video of his speech was being displayed.

He stopped his speech, pointed to his hair and said, “That’s very severe, that comb-over.”

Sandy Pensler, right, and Mike Rogers stand on stage during a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 20.

Sandy Pensler, a Republican candidate for Michigan’s open US Senate seat, dropped out of the GOP primary race on Saturday and backed Trump-endorsed candidate Mike Rogers amid a push for unity within the party.

Former President Donald Trump called both men onto the stage at his first post-assassination attempt campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, teasing that Pensler “has just announced that he would like to do something very important today.”

Pensler and Rogers, a former US congressman from Michigan, walked onto stage and joined hands, raising them in the air.

Just weeks ahead of Michigan’s August 6 Senate primary, Pensler argued a “divisive continued primary” hurts the chances of the GOP regaining control of the Senate, and said he would do the “right thing” and end his candidacy.

“President Trump endorsed Mike Rogers. Tonight, so am I,” he said.

Trump backed Rogers, who had previously been critical of his influence on the party, in March.

After Pensler and Rogers left the stage, Trump remarked they were “unifying the party, and that was beautiful to watch.” The former president and his allies have taken up a message of unity after a failed assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania last week.

President Joe Biden was briefed Saturday by two of his senior aides on domestic issues including the economy and homeland security in a virtual meeting, a White House official said.

Jeff Zients, Biden’s chief of staff, “provided a briefing on issues of domestic importance, including the state of the economy,” a White House official said. Liz Sherwood-Randall, the president’s homeland security adviser, “provided a briefing on issues of homeland security, including ongoing investigations,” the official added.

Biden remains at his Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, home while he isolates with Covid-19.

Earlier Saturday, the president’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, said in a letter that Biden’s symptoms “continue to improve steadily.”

Vice President Kamala Harris raised more than $2 million at a fundraiser in Provincetown, Massachusetts, on Saturday, according to organizers of the event.

Harris got one of her most roaring responses in years at the fundraiser, which came as some big-dollar donors have held back from writing checks for the campaign amid growing concerns about President Joe Biden’s candidacy. Democratic donor hesitation has raised serious concerns about how long the campaign can continue operating in full force if circumstances don’t change.

The vice president didn’t directly address the turmoil facing her running mate — referring to him at points as “our president” and “one of the most consequential presidents in American history” — but she did speak to the anxiety pulsing through that white tent in the shadow of the Pilgrim Monument by repeating, “We are going to win this election,” and asking the crowd to tell that to their friends.

The event was scheduled weeks ago, in very different political circumstances. By the time she took the stage, Harris was greeted with the excitement of many in the crowd who clearly believed they might be looking at a replacement nominee. 

Harris wasn’t the only one to get a warm reception. Pete Buttigieg, the transportation secretary and speculated by some leading Democrats as a potential running mate should Harris take over as the nominee, spoke ahead of her, likewise standing by Biden and touting his accomplishments.

CNN had previously reported that actors Jennifer Coolidge and Adrienne Warren were also appearing at the campaign fundraiser.

This post has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Samantha Waldenberg contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 20.

Former President Donald Trump said Saturday that Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders wrote to him after last week’s assassination attempt. 

It was Trump’s first rally after the assassination attempt last Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania. 

A Florida man was arrested Friday after making threats on social media toward former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, a Jupiter Police Department news release said. 

The man, Michael Martin Wiseman, was also accused of threatening Trump’s and Vance’s families with bodily harm, according to Jupiter police. 

The police were alerted to the “multiple” threats made by Wiseman by residents “who expressed their concern in person” and through online crime tips, the news release said. 

Wiseman was taken into police custody without incident Friday after multiple law enforcement agencies investigated the tips and Wiseman’s Facebook account, according to the news release. 

The investigation was conducted by Jupiter police in coordination with the US Secret Service and the Palm Beach County state attorney’s office, officials noted.

Wiseman was charged with writing threats to kill or injure and had his first court appearance Saturday morning, according to Palm Beach County online court records. His next court date is August 19. His attorney, Tama Kudman, would not comment on the case when reached by phone Saturday.

Wiseman is being held without bond in the Palm Beach County Main Detention Center, according to online records from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.

“We cannot fulfill our mission without the help of our state and local police partners and we’d like to thank the Jupiter Police Department for their partnership and collaboration with this investigation,” Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the US Secret Service, said in a statement Saturday.

CNN has reached out to the Trump-Vance campaign regarding Wiseman’s arrest.

This post has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Carlos Suarez and Samantha Waldenberg contributed to this post.

Former President Donald Trump wears a smaller bandage during a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 20.

Former President Donald Trump stepped onstage wearing a smaller, beige-colored bandage on his ear at tonight’s rally in Michigan — the first he’s attended since surviving an assassination attempt a week ago in Pennsylvania.

Trump wore a larger, white bandage on his ear during the Republican National Convention all week in Milwaukee, which spawned imitators in the crowd.

Rep. Ronny Jackson, the former White House physician who has been caring for Trump since the shooting, said in an update Saturday that the former president is “doing well” and “recovering as expected” after suffering a gunshot wound to his ear.

People arrive at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, ahead of a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance on July 20.

Imagery from the assassination attempt on Donald Trump is prevalent at the former president’s first campaign rally since the shooting one week ago in Pennsylvania.

Many supporters are wearing shirts featuring the image of Trump holding his fist in the air and telling his voters to “fight” as Secret Service agents rushed him from the stage.

Many of the merchandise tables outside the venue in Grand Rapids, Michigan, were selling shirts to attendees as they waited in long lines to funnel into the indoor arena.

Pins showing an AP photo taken following the assassination attempt of ormer President Donald Trump are seen before a campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 20.

People arrive at the campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 20.

“Fight, fight, fight,” has become a new rallying cry for Republicans in the wake of the assassination attempt.

Trump is speaking now, after his newly selected running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, introduced the former president for the first time at an official Trump-Vance rally.

This post has been updated with new images and to reflect that Trump has started speaking.

Chris LaCivita, a top adviser to Donald Trump, slammed the right-wing criticism of the women working on the former president’s security detail during last week’s assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.

CNN asked him what he thought of the criticism, including comments made by Florida GOP Rep. Cory Mills on Fox News in which he said, “Look, I’m not sure about who the individuals are on the individual detail, Secret Service, but I can tell you under this Biden administration, the one thing I’ve seen is massive DEI hires,” referring to diversity, equity and inclusion.

“I saw two women — one of them with a gun in her hand and the other with her body around him — that’s pretty f**king bada** where I come from,” LaCivita said. 

LaCivita also said the Trump campaign was ready should President Joe Biden decide to end his 2024 campaign. 

“As many scenarios as they could dream up, we’re ready,” LaCivita said. 

LaCivita was asked whether Trump was receiving any kind of counseling or professional mental health care. 

“Donald Trump? Are you kidding me? No,” LaCivita said. 

Former President Donald Trump, right, and running mate JD Vance stand onstage at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 20.

Former President Donald Trump has taken the stage in Grand Rapids, Michigan, marking his first campaign rally appearance since the attempt to assassinate him last weekend.

Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, returned to the stage to introduce the former president after speaking at the rally earlier. Vance praised Trump’s four years in office and criticized President Joe Biden’s record in his introduction.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 20.

“You’re going to make a fantastic vice president,” Trump told his VP pick, adding that he chose Vance because he’s “for the worker.” 

The former president and Vance greeted each other, as the crowd cheered loudly, before Vance walked off and Trump began his speech. 

Trump is now speaking.

This post has been updated with more details on Vance’s introduction.

Vice presidential nominee JD Vance arrives to speak at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 20.

Vice presidential nominee JD Vance amped up the crowd at a Michigan rally about an hour and a half before former President Donald Trump delivered remarks Saturday.

Vance defended his loyalty to the US, after Vice President Kamala Harris said he “will be loyal only to Trump, not to our country.”

Vance rejected the assessment — one he says comes from the media — that Trump and the Republican agenda is “radical” and “dangerous.” 

It was a warm Michigan welcome for the Ohio senator. As a Buckeye, Vance said, “I heard some O-H’s” after walking out to an energized crowd. 

“I’m gonna respect Michigan and not respond here … to my Ohio brethren. Guys, we gotta win Michigan,” he said. 

Not joined by his family inside the arena, Vance said his wife, Usha, was taking his kids, ages 7, 4 and 2, “out on the town” in Grand Rapids.

Vance, who spoke for about 10 minutes, said, “I gotta be honest, it’s still a little bit weird seeing my name on those signs.”

Former White House physician Rep. Ronny Jackson says he has been checking in on former President Donald Trump’s physical well-being since last weekend’s assassination attempt, and said the former president is “doing well” and “recovering as expected.” 

In a statement on Saturday, Jackson said he met Trump in Bedminster, New Jersey, late last Saturday to check on him, and that he has been with the former president since then to treat his wound daily.

Details on the injury: Jackson, who served as a physician to both Trump and former President Barack Obama, said Trump was shot in his right ear, where a bullet came less than a quarter-inch from entering his head. 

The wound is about 3 quarters of an inch wide, and initially produced “significant” bleeding and swelling. He said no sutures were needed.

Recovery and treatment: Jackson said the swelling has gone down on the wound and it is beginning to heal, though there is still “intermittent bleeding” due to the concentration of blood vessels in that part of the ear.

He said Trump had received a CT scan of his head in his initial evaluations, and would receive further assessments, including a comprehensive hearing exam, as needed.

More on Jackson: The Texas Republican said he is at Trump’s rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and will remain with the former president through the weekend. He has been a close congressional ally of Trump’s since being elected in 2020.

Jackson told Fox News last weekend that his nephew had also been at the Pennsylvania rally and was grazed by a bullet.

In context: CNN’s chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, wrote Thursday that the medical effects of a gunshot wound near the head — both physically and psychologically — are not always immediately noticeable, and that the public would benefit from more details on Trump’s status.

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrive at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia, on November 28, 2023, to travel to Atlanta to attend at tribute service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter.

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have been privately encouraging donors in recent weeks to continue financially supporting President Joe Biden’s campaign, according to two sources familiar, in the aftermath of his disastrous debate performance that sent the Democratic Party spiraling into chaos.

One of the sources said the Clintons are choosing to be “deferential to Biden’s decision.” However, the second source, who is familiar with the Clintons’ thinking and has spoken with the couple in recent days, insisted it is more accurate to say they are “deferential to the process.”

According to this source, the Clintons have made clear in private conversations recently that it doesn’t matter what anybody says or thinks — unless Biden drops out of the 2024 race or the delegates vote for somebody else, he is the party’s presumptive nominee.

This source declined to comment on whether the Clintons have expressed a personal view on whether they believe Biden should continue seeking a second term.

Since the CNN debate on June 27, big-dollar donors have held back from writing checks amid growing concerns about Biden’s candidacy, raising serious concerns about how long the campaign can continue operating in full force if circumstances don’t change.

“I don’t know how you campaign with a broadening electoral map without money. I don’t know what they’re doing. I don’t know,” one major Democratic donor told CNN on Friday. “I’ve never seen this strategy where you think you can win without money.”

This donor mused that perhaps the campaign can get away with digging in for a few more weeks under the current circumstances, but that anything longer would become extraordinarily difficult. 

The campaign rally site for former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, is empty and littered with debris on July 13.

House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green will visit the site of the Trump rally shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Monday, according to a release from the committee.

The committee is investigating how security was handled was handled at the campaign event. 

Demanding answers over security: The committee also subpoenaed Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for documents and information “regarding the failed security efforts” around the attempted assassination of Trump, saying the agency failed to meet Friday’s deadline to produce the documents.

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who has been the subject of some Republican lawmakers’ ire in the days since the shooting, will also testify Monday before the House Committee on Oversight.

Former national security officials are urging President Joe Biden to exit the 2024 race, echoing concerns over his candidacy and the potential risks to national security if former President Donald Trump were to take a second term, according to a letter obtained by CNN.

It’s the latest in a chorus of calls for Biden to withdraw from the presidential race. 

“We strongly believe that now is the time to pass the mantle of leadership, and we respectfully urge you to do so,” it concludes.

The letter includes 56 signatories who served in multiple administrations, including former ambassadors and former high-ranking foreign policy officials. John Shattuck, former US ambassador to the Czech Republic, and Eric Schwartz, a former National Security Council official during the Bill Clinton administration, helmed the letter. 

It was sent to the White House on Friday, according to a source familiar.

In a statement, a Biden campaign spokesperson said:

CNN also reached out to the White House for comment.

JD Vance speaks at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, on July 17.

GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance is calling on President Joe Biden to resign, arguing that those urging him to exit the race without stepping down from office are “engaged in an absurd level of cynicism.”

Vance has previously made this argument, but this is the first time he’s done so as the Republican vice presidential nominee.

Earlier this month, Vance posted: “Democrat Party elites and their media mouthpieces are now obsessed with replacing Biden on the ballot. But if he’s unfit to run for president, he certainly isn’t fit to *be* president. If he doesn’t run again, he needs to resign as Commander in Chief.”

Anyone who pays any attention to US politics is bound to hear some version of this claim: The 2024 election, which will pick a president for a nation of more than 330 million people, will be decided by a small number of voters in a few key states.

Despite calls for President Joe Biden to step aside from the race and an attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, “I still think that this is a race where we are not going to see the polls move outside a pretty narrow window,” Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson said on CNN during coverage of the Republican National Convention.

A dozen states were decided by 5 percentage points or less in either the 2016 or 2020 presidential election. In CNN’s 2024 race ratings, Maine is the only one of these states rated as solidly in one party’s corner, but one congressional district within Maine is classified as a toss-up. The other 11 states are seen as competitive in the 2024 election. 

Read more and view additional graphics on electoral votes and swing state margins.

President Joe Biden walks up the steps of Air Force One at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on July 17.

President Joe Biden’s Covid-19 symptoms “continue to improve steadily,” according to a new letter from the president’s physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor.

O’Connor also said the president completed his sixth dose of the Pfizer medication Paxlovid this morning.

Off the campaign trail: Biden has been isolating in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, after testing positive for Covid-19 Wednesday. He immediately departed Las Vegas, where he was visiting for a three-day swing, to his Delaware beach house upon news of his diagnosis.

Security measures have been stepped up surrounding former President Donald Trump’s Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, according to a statement from the Town of Palm Beach.

This follows the assassination attempt on Trump last Saturday at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Security measures will lead to some additional road closures through at least Election Day, according to the statement.

Town officials say the increased security was ordered by the US Secret Service, not local law enforcement or officials.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is pictured during a press briefing in Washington, DC, on July 15.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, along with other senior DHS officials, called attacks on women in law enforcement in the wake of last week’s assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump “baseless and insulting.”

The statement is co-signed by other department heads of DHS agencies, including Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle. 

Some context: CNN previously reported that in the wake of the Saturday shooting, some right-wing media figures focused their attention on the female agents on stage with Trump, claiming they couldn’t properly protect someone bigger and taller than themselves, or that they didn’t act in a professional manner.

Edited videos that have garnered millions of views on social media as supposed evidence of their claims, showed a female Secret Service agent seemingly struggling to holster her gun amid the chaotic scene as a group of agents escorted Trump to his motorcade.

Right-wing critics have also targeted Cheatle’s leadership, saying she was only appointed because of diversity initiatives.

Democratic Rep. Mark Takano of California has called on President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race.

Takano is the top Democrat on the House Veterans Affairs Committee. 

More than 30 congressional Democrats are now calling on Biden to step aside.

Takano’s allusion to the vice president has been echoed by many other Democrats, who say she is emerging as the most likely option to replace Biden as the party’s nominee if he steps aside.

Voting booths are seen at a polling station in New York on April 2.

A soldier in a war zone. Band members playing in the street. A smiling selfie.

When audience members during an event at the Republican National Convention were asked on Monday to raise their hand if they thought these images were artificially generated, several participants were able to correctly guess which images were real, while others were left stumped.

Microsoft experts Ginny Badanes and Ashley O’Rourke walked the audience through common signs of deepfakes, methods of labeling content, tips on making a plan to fight back against deepfakes and ways to report at a time when state and local governments and political parties are working to address misinformation head on.

Badanes said one of the reasons they do these trainings, which was hosted by the organization All in Together and presented by Microsoft, is so that those who are involved in the political process are tracking deepfakes and thinking through what they would do if something happened involving their candidate or organization.

O’Rourke said some of the most compelling and believable deepfakes are of local officials and candidates for office rather than candidates on a federal level.

As the first presidential election since the growth of sophisticated AI draws nearer, election offices and lawmakers in swing states have been preparing to fight back against potential misinformation.

Keep reading about the efforts to combat election misinformation here.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks during a Senate hearing on January 11, in Washington, DC.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Saturday that “Joe Biden is our nominee and he has a really big decision to make,” while praising Biden as a “transformational president.”

The Bay State senator’s comments echo many fellow congressional Democrats, who insist the president’s repeated statements that he’s staying in the race are not his final decision.

Warren also said Vice President Kamala Harris “is ready to step up, to unite the party, to take on Donald Trump, and to win in November,” if Biden were to step aside. She praised Harris’ record on issues ranging from consumer protection to abortion rights.

Warren’s comments praising Harris offer a stark difference from March 2023, when she did not answer whether she thought Harris should remain as Biden’s running mate during a local Boston radio interview. According to previous CNN reporting, Warren called twice to apologize but Harris did not call back, and Warren later issued a statement clarifying her position.

The left wing of the Democratic Party has been among Biden’s strongest supporters since his disastrous debate performance last month. Like Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Warren had previously backed Biden after the debate in comments earlier this month to The Boston Globe. 

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on July 18.

Candidates involved in the 2024 presidential race will hit the campaign trail Saturday after a week of news driven by the Republican National Convention and the growing discord among Democrats over their nominee.

Here’s what’s happening today:

Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to headline a campaign fundraiser in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and deliver remarks.

The state’s Gov. Maura Healey, Democratic Sen. Ed Markey, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and his husband Chasten Buttigieg will also speak. Actresses Jennifer Coolidge and Adrienne Warren are slated as “special guests.”

Harris is campaigning while President Joe Biden continues his recovery from Covid-19, which has forced him to isolate this week in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

All eyes are on the vice president as uncertainty swirls around Biden’s continued candidacy — and as she emerges as the most likely alternative, according to many Democrats.

Meanwhile, the Republican ticket of former President Donald Trump and his vice presidential nominee, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, will be in the battleground state of Michigan for their first joint rally.

The event in Grand Rapids will mark Trump’s first campaign event since the attempted assassination at a Pennsylvania rally one week ago and the subsequent GOP convention. Roads will be closed around the Van Andel Arena and security around the indoor event will be tight, according to local authorities.

Vance has been given a private plane paid for by the Trump campaign — a 737 outfitted with Trump-Vance decals — that will take him to Michigan, according to two sources with direct knowledge.

CNN’s Christina Asencio, Jennifer Henderson and Alayna Treene contributed reporting to this post.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks at the Capitol on April 30, in Washington, DC.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg asserted his support for President Joe Biden on Friday night. Appearing on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” he told Maher, “I’m here because I believe in Joe Biden.”

Buttigieg avoided commenting on a possible open Democratic National Convention, pivoting instead to focus on this week’s Republican National Convention — or “whatever that was.”

The transportation secretary also criticized newly minted Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, characterizing the Ohio senator as someone “who would say whatever they needed to get ahead.”

He brought up Vance’s history of opposing Trump, mentioning that Vance called Trump “just another opioid” for Middle America a few years ago. Buttigieg said:

In 2016, Vance wondered ahead of Trump’s election whether he was “America’s Hitler.” But by 2020, Vance fully embraced Trump and has said he regretted his critical remarks.

In the interview, Buttigieg also compared Vance to former Vice President Mike Pence, noting how quick Trump was to jettison his former vice president.

Law enforcement block a street near the residence of Thomas Matthew Crooks in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, July 14.

Investigators believe the gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump may have used a drone on a reconnaissance trip to the rally site on the day of the shooting, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation told CNN.

Investigators searching Thomas Crooks’ belongings found a drone in his car. The working theory investigators are exploring is that the drone would have given Crooks an overview of the rooftops of nearby buildings and how they connect, according to the law enforcement official. That could have helped him choose the spot where he fired the shots toward the podium where Trump was standing.

Ladder and backpack recovered: A ladder purchased by Crooks several hours before he opened fire and a backpack believed to have belonged to him are now in the possession of federal authorities, according to multiple law enforcement officials.

A man driving near the shooter’s home discovered the ladder and backpack on the side of the road, according to sources from two separate agencies. The person reportedly saw the ladder in that location for several days before deciding to alert authorities.

The discoveries of the ladder, backpack and drone come as investigators are struggling to find a motive for Crooks’ assault.

Read more about the state of the Trump assassination investigation here.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a press conference on July 11, in Washington, DC.

Former US President Donald Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “not to believe the ‘fake news’” that his possible reelection would help Russia, the Ukrainian president’s press secretary said Saturday.

Commenting on the Friday phone call between Trump and Zelensky, press secretary Serhiy Nikiforov said “it was a good conversation, in a spirit of mutual respect.” 

The two also talked about the latest Russian attacks on Ukraine and “agreed in principle” to hold a joint meeting, he said. 

The phone call between Trump and Zelensky marked their first conversation since the former president left the White House, and came the day after Trump formally accepted the Republican Party’s nomination for president. Trump’s newly minted running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, is a staunch critic of sending support to Ukraine.

Trump on Friday said he “had a very good phone call” with Zelensky, while the Ukrainian president said he wished Trump “strength and absolute safety in the future,” and “noted the vital bipartisan and bicameral” US support for Ukraine. 

The latest in Ukraine: As Russia’s full-scale invasion grinds on for over two years, Zelensky struck an unusually subdued tone this week, suggesting that Moscow should send a delegation to the next peace summit that he hopes to hold in November. While the progress Russian troops are making in eastern Ukraine has slowed significantly since US weapons started arriving in the country in May, it has not stopped entirely. At the same time, questions are emerging about the willingness of some of Ukraine’s closest and most important allies — notably the United States and Germany — to continue pouring resources into the conflict in support of Kyiv.

Vice President Kamala Harris stands with President Joe Biden as he delivers remarks at the White House on July 14, in Washington, DC. 

No one quite knows what the process of picking a new nominee would be if President Joe Biden did step aside — but many Democrats say that any process is likelier than ever to quickly end with Vice President Kamala Harris as the nominee.

The informal conversations about how a fight to replace Biden at the top of the ticket would play out have been raging for weeks behind the scenes. But uncertainty about the process has been so unclear it’s given multiple Democrats — even those with serious concerns about Biden — pause about coming out against the president’s candidacy, given that what comes next could be even messier.

It’s not that everyone has suddenly coalesced — but exhaustion is gelling into consensus.

Internal polls that show Harris would at least be more helpful to boosting Democratic enthusiasm and aiding down ballot races are getting passed around. Arguments that she would be fastest to put together a campaign are landing harder. Daydreams of her making a more active and vigorous case against Donald Trump are taking root.

Many are deliberately holding off talking about hypotheticals as Biden aides say he plans to get back on the campaign trail next week once he recovers from Covid-19. But if that suddenly changes, two dozen leading Democratic politicians and operatives told CNN, they can’t realistically see this ending any other way.

Keep reading here.

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance speaks at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 17.

The GOP vice presidential nominee, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, has been given his own private Boeing 737 outfitted with Trump-Vance decals, now that he is officially Donald Trump’s running mate, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation told CNN. 

Vance’s first trip on his new private plane, which is being paid for by the Trump campaign, was on Friday morning when he flew from Milwaukee to Cincinnati.

The plane has been held in a secret airport hangar for the past several weeks while Trump continued to mull his vice presidential pick, one of the sources said. It was flown to Milwaukee during the Republican National Convention. 

Vance will take his new plane to Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Saturday for his first joint rally with Trump as the nominee.

President Joe Biden steps off of Air Force One upon arrival at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, on July 17.

A growing collection of congressional Democrats are calling on Joe Biden to end his reelection bid.

It would not be an easy process, since Biden is already the Democrats’ presumptive nominee and the overwhelming choice of primary voters. He faced little opposition during the primary season, and the fact that he won nearly all of the party’s delegates means it’s very unlikely he could be forced out of the race against his will.

Here are the likely paths forward if Biden stepped aside: