USA: Harris wins support from Dem leaders in Congress. And overtakes Trump in a poll

Donald Trump, for his part, says he is "absolutely" ready to challenge Kamala Harris in a televised debate. "I'm open to more than one debate," the former president said in a call with reporters organised by the Republican National Committee. However, the tycoon said he was "not excited" about the idea of the debate being hosted by Abc, although the scheduled confrontation on 12 September had already been agreed with Joe Biden. Already on Sunday, Trump had requested that the confrontation be moved to Fox.

Joe Biden meanwhile returns to the White House after a week of isolation for the Covid (tested negative today) at his seaside residence in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

And he prepares his two main engagements of the week, after renewing his endorsement of Kamala Harris by promising to campaign for her: on Wednesday evening, his address to the nation to explain the reasons for his retirement and, the next day, the expected face-to-face with Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu.

The commander in chief, as he himself announced on X, will speak from the Oval Office at 8pm (2am in Italy) and will address 'what lies ahead and how I will finish the job for the American people'. But he will also have to explain 'in more detail' his decision to take a step back (by immediately giving the endorsement to his deputy Kamala Harris), as he had promised on Sunday when his announcement shook American politics.

The president had written that it was 'in the best interests of my party and the country to retire and focus solely on my duties as president for the remainder of my term'. But he had not gone into the merits of the matter, even though the White House had ruled out those 'medical reasons' that Biden himself had mentioned as the only justification that could lead him to withdraw from the race.

Reasons that would also involve relinquishing the presidency. Instead, the Dem leader is likely to invoke the need to hold the party together after mounting pressure to step aside. And his desire not to become a lame duck by saving a legacy that for Harris is already 'unparalleled in American history'.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also confirmed that Biden is intensely focused on the work that remains in the next six months, including bringing peace to the Middle East and dealing with Russian aggression against Ukraine. And on Thursday 25 July the president will have a crucial meeting with Bibi, in the aftermath of the Israeli PM's address to Congress.

Its aim is to define the final details of the ceasefire agreement and the release of hostages in Gaza, but also the framework of Palestine's political future.

Meanwhile defusing a possible escalation with Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. If he succeeds, it would be a foreign policy triumph that would strengthen his legacy with positive electoral spin-offs on the Dem ticket.

"I continue to work to end the war in Gaza," he assured Monday in a video link-up with Harris in Wilmington, in what has now become his campaign headquarters. "I will not be on the ticket but I will be fully committed to the campaign and will do whatever Kamala wants or needs of me," he promised, urging support because "she is the best."

Meanwhile, however, the tile of the resignation of the director of the Secret Service Kim Cheatle for the security failure in the Trump assassination attempt has fallen on his head. He will now have to proceed with a new appointment.