United States - August 04, 2024

An American journalist emphasized the unpredictability of the 2024 U.S. election, highlighting Vice President Kamala Harris's crucial tasks of choosing a running mate, securing electoral votes, and demonstrating her foreign policy expertise to the American public.

Mary C. Curtis, a columnist at Roll Call--a newspaper known for reporting on legislative and political developments on Capitol Hill and covering congressional elections nationwide--was interviewed by China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Sunday.

In the U.S. electoral system, securing electoral votes is crucial for winning the presidency. Unlike some other countries, where the candidate with the most popular votes automatically wins, the U.S. uses an Electoral College system. This means that the candidate who receives the majority of electoral votes—allocated based on the results in each state—becomes the president, regardless of the national popular vote count.

According to Curtis, Harris has an opportunity to showcase her foreign policy experience through her role in a large-scale prisoner swap on Thursday involving 26 individuals from the U.S., Germany, Russia, and other countries. This stands in stark contrast to Trump's current low media profile.

Harris has won enough delegate votes to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination, as announced by Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Jaime Harrison on Friday, though the results are not yet official.

The virtual voting process will close for delegates on Monday, with the DNC expected to make official announcement of the results on Monday evening. The Democratic National Convention, which is scheduled for August 19 to 22, will formally nominate the party's presidential candidate.

Commencing on Thursday morning, the virtual voting process engaged about 4,700 delegates. One and a half days into the voting, Harris's campaign disclosed that she had secured over the 2,350 votes needed for nomination.

Aged 59, Harris would be the first Black woman and Indian American in U.S. history to receive a major party's presidential nomination.

According to U.S. media reports, Harris is expected to announce her running mate by Monday and hold their first rally together in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Top vice-presidential picks include Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.

Shotlist:
USA - Aug 4, 2024:
1. Various of White House;
USA - Aug 4, 2024
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Mary C. Curtis, columnist, Roll Call (starting with shot 1/ending with shots 3-7):
"It's hard to make predictions. Just think, just a little over a month ago was a debate between President Biden and Donald Trump that changed it at all, and who knows what can happen in the next three months to come. It's really basically hard to predict, but she does have a lot of enthusiasm. A lot, I think, will depend on who she picks for the vice-presidential candidate to run with her. She's looking for a good partner, and she's also looking, I think, to expand the electoral map because the electoral college is how America picks its presidents, not the popular vote, as we have seen. And she might get popular votes, but it just strategically comes down to a few states.";
FILE: Washington D.C., USA - Date Unknown
3. Various of White House;
4. Capitol building in distance, traffic;
5. Traffic, pedestrians, U.S. national flags;
FILE: New York City, USA - Date Unknown
6. Various of buildings, traffic, pedestrians;
FILE: USA - Date Unknown
7. Various of pedestrians, traffic;
FILE: San Francisco, USA - March 2024
8. Various of pedestrians;
FILE: Washington D.C., USA - March 14, 2020
9. Various of Capitol building, U.S. national flag;
USA - Aug 4, 2024
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Mary C. Curtis, columnist, Roll Call (starting with shot 9):
"She gets a chance to reintroduce herself to the American people and also at the upcoming Democratic convention. And it was interesting that she and Joe Biden were partners in coming up with this incredible prisoner release deal with Russia, and that kind of bolsters her foreign policy bona fides because she was a big part of that. And Trump is trying to get the headlines as well, because he's someone that likes to make news and he has not been in the headlines.";
FILE: Washington D.C., USA - March 14, 2020
11. Capitol Hill;
12. Washington Monument.

[Restriction - No access Chinese mainland]