was pressured out of the race and "shouldn't have "been our president". i'm semis, is grander in washington. forjoining us. —— sumi somaskanda. we're tracking new developments here in washington as several top democrats rally behind kamala harris after presidentjoe biden announced he's ending his re—election bid while endorsing her as the new democratic nominee for the 2024 us presidential election. in a post on x, vice president harris, said: a source has told the bbc that following the endorsement, vice president harris has been making calls to key democratic officials, lawmakers and governors to secure support.

this follows president biden�*s announcement, where he said: in a separate post, he said: the 81—year—old president — currently in isolation while recovering from covid — was under increasing criticism since a poor debate performance against his republican opponent donald trump in latejune. a number of democrats called for president biden to end his campaign. democratic donors also threatened to pull funding. former president trump reacted on truth social, saying:

our news partner cbs news has also gotten some reaction from the former president. in a phone conservation with cbs news�* chief election and campaign correspondent robert costa, mr trump said: more prominent democrats in congress are coming out in support of ms harris�* bid for president. our us news partner cbs reports that ms harris spoke on sunday with senate majority leader chuck schumer, as well as hakeem jeffries, the top democrat in the us house. progressives in the party have also endorsed her.

senator elizabeth warren from massachusetts and representative alexandria ocasio—cortez endorsed the vice president on x. senator warren touted the vice president's legislative agenda, emphasising her role protecting abortion rights. she said: "kamala has been a ferocious warrior "on the issue of abortion and under kamala's leadership, "we are going to get roe v wade back into the law of the land". representative ocasio—cortez pledged her full support to ms harris, saying their endorsements add to those from other top figures in the democratic party, including bill and hillary clinton and congressmanjim clyburn — an influential lawmaker among black voters. jasmine wright is a journalist with the news outlet notice, who's covered vice president harris. good to have you with us, thank you for being on bbc news. how

prepared was kamala harris for this moment today? you prepared was kamala harris for this moment today? you know, i think it's a _ this moment today? you know, i think it's a great _ this moment today? you know, i think it's a great question - this moment today? you know, i think it's a great question but. think it's a great question but really, you have had to have seen what's been happening in politics since thatjune 27 debate. obviously, questions continue to follow the president over whether or not he had enough stamina or stability to be able to carry out notjust stability to be able to carry out not just the stability to be able to carry out notjust the end of the election but if he were to be re—elected for another full term, so i think the question is whether or not the vice president knew, really, or started preparing for this since that debate. i think my reporting has shown is that she wasn't even really talking about or engaging in the conversations about whether or not she or another democrat could replace biden. until he stepped down, she was being a loyal partner so i think while she was being a loyal partner to him and she had told her office, a source told me on friday, she wasn't going to make any decisions until president biden made the decision to stay in or stay

out, she wasn't going to do anything to prepare for her campaign but still, other people outside of the vice president and her office were doing things in the background, coalescing allies, making sure they had a defence plan ready. i think if you were to ask her, she would say she is prepared because she has been playing the role or being the role, not playing, being the role of the vice president for the last three years and so, that's what's prepared herfor now three years and so, that's what's prepared her for now and obviously, she ran to be the democratic nominee in 2019 but i think that over the last few weeks that we've seen her since the debate, she has really been playing or really being a partner to the president and not engaging in any of these replacement chatter.- not engaging in any of these replacement chatter. let's talk about that _ replacement chatter. let's talk about that run _ replacement chatter. let's talk about that run that _ replacement chatter. let's talk about that run that she - replacement chatter. let's talk about that run that she had - replacement chatter. let's talk about that run that she had in l about that run that she had in 2020 because she launched this campaign to be president, it fizzled out quickly. there was talk about infighting within her campaign and also, she didn't really know what her message was.— didn't really know what her message was.- has l didn't really know what her i message was.- has that message was. right. has that chanced message was. right. has that changed since _ message was. right. has that changed since she _ message was. right. has that changed since she has - message was. right. has that changed since she has been i message was. right. has that. changed since she has been my president? i changed since she has been my president?— president? i think what this election has _ president? i think what this election has given - president? i think what this election has given her - president? i think what this election has given her is . president? i think what this| election has given her is the message, right? within a

different vice president, particularly i've kind of noticed at post pre— dobson postjobs noticed at post pre— dobson post jobs when noticed at post pre— dobson postjobs when roe v wade was over struck by the court and it gave her a galvanising message as she got behind really fighting for abortion rights —— dobbs. i think if you remember back to that time in 2022, but after the decision legs, she was on a stage giving a really robust, a condemnation of the supreme court, condemnation of people against abortion rights — something that at the time people that was one of her strongest speeches yet and that was brought up with maybe a couple of hours to do, before the actual event. now, going into it, she continued to talk about abortion, she continued to criss—cross the country, sitting down with state legislatures and other people who are all inside of this abortion messaging, trying to nail down the message going into the 2022 midterm election, so i think that she does have a message, notjustabortion,

message, not just abortion, which message, notjustabortion, which he has been the lead message on for the white house, but also all of the other things that president biden has been running on. obviously the threat to democracy that's been really the leading message from his campaign until, obviously, today when he dropped out, as well as the economy that they have run on, although that hasn't necessarily been a winning message, and other things that this administration has been able to do well president biden and vice president biden and vice president harris have been in office, so i think the problems in 2020 and 2019 were very real for the vice president. it was a lack of a coherent message, there was a lack of organisation, there was infighting in that campaign because i know because i covered it but this is a very different scenario and she will have three months to get to the finish line and that three months is going to be imported because that message is already set and they may fine tune it to her particulars and obviously she is a former prosecutor, that's one thing that people like about her, despite what you may hear, that's what people engage with. i think that the message for her is going to work because it's already there and they've already been talking about it.

we've got under one minute left but quickly, what do you think we will see from vice president harris in the coming days? time is of course of the essence. the first event is tomorrow at the white house and she will be doing an ncaa event, the south lawn and that will be the official side but we don't know whether she is going to talk about the campaign but people are going to be throwing questions at her and i think you will see a rollout of president biden still suffering from covid—19 so when he is finished, right, trying to hand over the baton but i think will see a lot of engagement from her over the next few weeks. great to have you on bbc news, thank you for sharing your reporting with us. for more on biden�*s unprecedented decision to drop out of the race, i spoke to democratic congresswoman barbara lee. she's been speaking with the congressional black caucus about biden�*s endorsement of vice president kamala harris. i want to start by asking you about the endorsement that came from the congressional

black caucus for vice president harris as the nominee today. why did the caucus throw its support behind vice president harris? actually, this was the congressional black caucus' political action committee and the board decided that it was time to unify around the nominee, hopefully to be the presidential nominee, kamala harris. and, in fact, the party is moving forward, hopefully we will be a unified convention and move forward. first, let me just give my personal opinion. i know kamala harris very well. i endorsed her when she first ran for the presidency. she was born in oakland, california and has a phenomenal history. she is prepared, smart she's experienced, and she's ready,

so i'm sure that in all their deliberations, all those factors were considered. it's also important to recognise the contributions ofjoe biden. he has been a transformational president and i think today, we owe him a debt of gratitude for so much he has done forjust for the american people but for working people, and for our global economy. indeed, that's a message we are hearing from so many today honouring joe biden. i want to ask about looking ahead to the election. we saw president biden had seen his support among black voters, in particular, softening. if we look even closer among black men, why do you believe that vice president harris could then win some of these voters back, bring them back into the fold? i'm not sure about all these polls but everyone i've talked to, in the grassroots level — remember, we have voters that we're communicating with directly — and i don't hear that sentiment. of course, some is there, but i think what is important

is kamala harris, along with all of us who are supporting her, communicate to voters — the grassroots organisations, to political organisations — not only what she has accomplished with president biden, but what her vision is for the future. that is what will connect with african—american men. and i know kamala harris very well and i know that she wants to make sure that the wealth gap is closed, entrepreneurs for african american men and people of colour and young people is a priority. and so, there are issues that i think need to be connected with voters and all of us have a responsibility. swing states are going to be incredibly important here, including michigan. we saw president biden did lose support among some democrats there over the war in gaza,

because michigan has a large muslim american community. will this be a struggle for her to win some of these voters back? i tell you, we have to look at all of our swing states, and all of us circle the wagons and have to try to connect with voters and talk to voters about the differences we have with this administration. i called for a ceasefire early on and i, for one am on the appropriations committee and have been fighting for humanitarian assistance in the catastrophic humanitarian disasters that are reallty wreaking havoc on people in gaza and around the world. we all have our differences but at the end of the day, the threat of a donald trump presidency, the threats of a man who is a pathological liar, a convicted felon, someone who wants to destroy our democracy and someone who is not an ally and a partner on the global stage. i think when people compare

and contrast kamala harris, a prosecutor to a convicted felon, i think they will unify and come together — with our differences, of course — but one that everyone will have a seat at the table. we know the trump campaign will be talking a lot about immigration. if you look at polls — and i know you were talking in your questions about some of the polls — but what has been clear is for many americans, immigration is a chief concern. kamala harris was named the border czar in this first administration with joe biden. will this be something that is difficult for her to overcome? well, i know the republicans are going to challenge — put major challenges out there and many distortions and misinformations and disinformations. when you look at what donald trump actually put forward

in his immigration policy and killed the bill that was a very tough bill — i don't think i could support it when i was in the senate — but he alone went to the members of the senate and killed the bill on immigration. they are being disingenuous and we need to look at border security is connected to a fair and just and legal immigration system and i believe the vice president is very clear — she comes from california and understands immigration issues. it will be a campaign where the debate between herself and donald trump will show who will protect our democracy and who will live up to the values that we care about and who will win the campaign and connect with the people and make their lives better, because this is about making life better for everyone in our own country and throughout the world. very quick last question — are you worried about how little time there is until the election? we don't have a lot of time but that just means we have to double down. we have to circle the wagons. i'm a member of the dnc and i am working very hard to make sure all our delegates are working to unify around

kamala harris and so, that i think the time frame, even though it is consolidated and really concise and narrow, i think that this is going to give a new burst of energy, and new sense of having a seat at the table and some new energy and excitement over making sure that we can defeat donald trump in november, and that is what we must do. the us secretary of state antony blinken says he's proud to have worked for president biden and vowed to work for him through the remainder of his term. secretary blinken said on x: another high—level cabinet official, secretary of defense lloyd austin, didn't endorse kamala harris but did praise president biden, saying as part of a statement:

praise for mr biden also came from another cabinet member, secretary of transportation pete buttigieg. he endorsed the vice president, saying: donations have also been pouring in for the harris campaign. actblue, an american political action group, announced it has raised $116] million from small donors on sunday alone for the harris' 2024 presidential campaign in what it says is the biggest fundraising day so far in the 2024 cycle. following his withdrawal, mr biden�*s nearly $96 million in campaign finances could be transferred to the vice president. joining me live now is lindy li. she's a biden delegate who serves as the mid—atlantic

regional chair at the democratic national committee. very good to have you on the programme. i want to start with those fundraising numbers, i thinkjust a few days ago you were saying biden donors were panicking and the blue wall was crumbling so how significant are these numbers?- crumbling so how significant are these numbers? today is a treat are these numbers? today is a great day- _ are these numbers? today is a great day- to _ are these numbers? today is a great day. to sum _ are these numbers? today is a great day. to sum up, - are these numbers? today is a great day. to sum up, peoplel great day. to sum up, people are really relieved. i love president biden. i have bottomless respect for him. what he did today was incredibly selfless and exactly what our country needed and i've been in touch with donors and delegates and party leaders. people are almost formally behind this decision and as you just mentioned we had a gangbusters fundraising. small dollar fundraising day. i've been speaking with big donors as well and they are ready to get back on the sidelines and has been been to get up the last couple of weeks because of the debate but people are ready to jump again and are incredibly excited. this has injected so much

energy. i don't if you can talbot for the last couple of appearances for you guys i've been morose and down in the pits but i haven't slept since friday and i'm still like this. i'm like, this is a great, this is a watershed moment for our party and our country. you said almost uniformly. _ party and our country. you said almost uniformly. can - party and our country. you said almost uniformly. can you - party and our country. you said almost uniformly. can you give| almost uniformly. can you give us a sense of how likely you think it is that kamala harris will be overwhelmingly nominated at the convention? i almost uniformly, i mean uniformly that i didn't want to make lincoln statements i couldn't substantiate on air. i did not encounter anyone who was opposed to this but i'm sort —— i'm sure certain people in congress are opposed to this, i think i saw in congress are opposed to this, i think i sanoe manchin wanted to make a challenge to this, but people should understand that we don't have much time, it's less than four months and we need to get our act together because we have basically wasted a month over this. so the donors are

coalescing, members of congress, everybody, stakeholders, the voters are coalescing around her right now. she is a girl and i coalescing around her right now. she is a girland i mean that with no disrespect but the highest amount of admiration. there was some controversy previously about the prospect of the democrats holding a virtual rollcall. essentially would have been the official nominating progress before the convention. should that happen now ahead of the convention to solidify kamala harris as a nominee? in solidify kamala harris as a nominee?— solidify kamala harris as a nominee? ., ., ., . a solidify kamala harris as a nominee? ., ., ., ., nominee? in automatic sake of consistency. — nominee? in automatic sake of consistency. i _ nominee? in automatic sake of consistency, i was _ nominee? in automatic sake of consistency, i was against - nominee? in automatic sake of consistency, i was against it. consistency, i was against it before and i still am against it because in politics, perception is reality —— inaudible. because we are no longer with a candidate that 1a million primary voters voted for, i think we have to go out of our way to be as inclusive and as democratic as possible. so in fact she may be strengthened by this process because i can beat you now republicans are going to say that she was coronated, so, if we could actually go through with this and do another

convention from august 19— 22nd, she may emerge from this scenario even stronger and more resilient. ., ., .,, resilient. you mentioned those 14 million _ resilient. you mentioned those 14 million primary _ resilient. you mentioned those 14 million primary voters. - resilient. you mentioned those 14 million primary voters. i- 14 million primary voters. i want to ask about the criticism from republicans here the democrats of the elite of the party, have thwarted the will of democrat voters who had selected joe biden. what do you make of that? i selected joe biden. what do you make of that?— make of that? i am looking at olls make of that? i am looking at polls and _ make of that? i am looking at polls and the _ make of that? i am looking at polls and the data _ make of that? i am looking at polls and the data and - make of that? i am looking at polls and the data and i'm - make of that? i am looking at polls and the data and i'm a l polls and the data and i'm a huge fan of the data and it tells us that nearly 60%, more than 60% of the party, onto a different candidate. this is the will of the party and i want to politely disagree with some of the data that's been bandied about. this is unjust and elitist movement, this was and elitist movement, this was an american, this is what the american people wanted. and you can see the energy bubbling up, we see that through the money, we see that through the money, we see that through the money, we see that through phone calls, through door—to—door introductions, incredibly excited about kamala harris at the top of the ticket. she has blossomed into this role. i've had a front row seat to see how

she is growing into this role. she is a consummate prosecutor and communicator and she is going to be out there every day effectively litigating the case against convicted felon donald trump. against convicted felon donald trum -. . , , ., against convicted felon donald trum. , ., , ., trump. last question before we let ou trump. last question before we let you go. _ trump. last question before we let you go. what _ trump. last question before we let you go, what is _ trump. last question before we let you go, what is the - let you go, what is the message, do you think, that she has to deliver, particularly to voters in swing states to be able to beat donald trump? well, i want to say one thing — what happened last week was absolutely heinous and unforgettable and unconscionable, the assassination attempt. this was just unforgivable and it never should have happened. having said that, that event does not raise the fact that we are running against a convicted felon who faced 88 criminal charges for indictments, two impeachments and a guilty verdict. it doesn't erase that. and she needs to be up there and she actually, she doesn't need to take advice from me, she is already doing it, but she is already doing it, but she is already doing it, but she is up every single day reminding voters of that and you know what? he is a next essential threat, you know what? he is a next essentialthreat, i you know what? he is a next essential threat, i know are not allowed say that anymore but how else can you put it? he

clearly is trying to undermine all the principles, all the institutions that americans hold dear. institutions that americans hold dear-— hold dear. we believe the conversation _ hold dear. we believe the conversation therefore . hold dear. we believe the i conversation therefore today but really good to have you on bbc news tonight.— but really good to have you on bbc news tonight. thank you so much. the bbc has also gotten a statement from the spokesperson for first ladyjill biden. communications director elizabeth alexander said this of ms biden: i spoke with stephanie rawlings—blake, former baltimore mayor and former president of the us conference of mayors for more on this. do you think this was the right move by president biden? i do think it was the right move forjoe biden. i think it was a hard decision and a decision where i actually

have been there — i decided not to seek re—election when i was serving as mayor of baltimore and a decision i weighed heavily was, "do i run or do i serve?" and i remember thinking to myself, "i raised my "hand and took an oath to serve the people of baltimore "and i needed to focus my energy on that," and that is whatjoe biden did. he has always been a statesman, someone who i've always had the utmost respect for, and with today's decision, he took that respect to the next level because he showed us what it means to put country first. and i remain proud of his track record and i remain proud of his legacy. and he is putting kamala harris, of course, on centrestage now — that is what we are hearing from many democrats as well, that they are endorsing her. is there enough time for kamala harris, do you think, to garner enough support within the party and a;so among delegates to get that broad support she would need?

i think when our party put its mind to something and the democrats unite, we're able to do amazing things. we did that in defeating donald trump in 2020. i think we can do that again. i believed we could have done that with president biden, i believe we can do that with vice president kamala harris. i stand with her. she has an outstanding record of service. what she brings to this ticket is unmatched and i think what you're seeing is democrats across our country standing up and saying that. as a former prosecutor, as a former attorney general, she's bringing a stark contrast to former president trump's lawlessness as someone who is bright, ambitious — not for herself but for her country. that has been a hallmark of her political career. i'm excited to take her

career to the next level. —— i'm excited to work to take her career to the next level. one more story before we go — the us department of homeland security has ordered a 45—day independent review of (box tx)of the attempt on donald trump's life. homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas named a bipartisan panel to review the actions taken by the us secret service and local authorities before, during, and after the rally in pennsylvania where the former president was shot. the secret service has been under intense scrutiny after the assassination attempt on mr trump. the secret service's director, kimberly cheatle, is due to testify before the house oversight committee on monday as part of the investigation into security failures. that's our programme. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. it looks like the second half ofjuly will continue to be much more in tune with summer weather than the first half ofjuly. it's going to feel quite warm out there when you get the sunshine — temperatures

at or above average — but this week, a more typical week, and there'll be a bit of a mix around. some rain at times, particularly on monday and thursday — they're the greatest likelihood — but some longer, drier spells, too. now, one of the wetter spells is on monday. it's these weather fronts pushing across the country, which gives a rather grey and misty, murky start to the day. patchy light rain or drizzle for many but some heavier bursts across scotland and the far north of england first thing. many will brighten up. a scattering of showers will quickly rush across early afternoon southern areas before some longer, drier spells later. further north will also see sunshine develop. lots of cloud eastern scotland. best of the sunshine in the west but some slow—moving showers and not much of a breeze here and where those showers do form in scotland, northern ireland, northern england, there's an outside chance of the odd rumble of thunder. but look at the temperatures in the afternoon with some sunshine —16—24 celsius. they're bang on target for this stage in the year. some of the heavier showers will last in eastern scotland into the first part of the night but through monday night into tuesday, cloud

and patchy rain will push from ireland into wales, central and southern england and, like monday morning, it will be a mild enough start today for many. coolest with clearer skies in northern scotland. but for tuesday, a ridge of high pressure starts to build in. before it does, though, we've just got this little kink in the isobars, a little trough linked to the weather front, which will bring cloud and occasional showery bursts of rain, especially during the morning across parts of southern wales, central, southern england. odd isolated shower elsewhere on tuesday but for most, it will be largely dry. best of the sunshine around northern and western coasts. we will see a bit of a breeze, so temperatures down a little bit on monday's values. a cooler night, then, to take us into wednesday but with that ridge of high pressure a bit more widespread, lighter winds, it will be a much more pleasant day. a few isolated showers can't be ruled out but a lot of dry and bright weather with some sunshine to begin with and then, cloud spilling in from the west. longer spells of sunshine for the afternoon in eastern areas — just one or two inland showers. it will feel warmer again — temperatures more widely into the 20s. as we go through wednesday night into thursday, though, this will probably be the wettest spell of the week with these weather fronts pushing across. not completely wet but there

will be some patchy rain or drizzle around again more widely on thursday, brighter on friday, and turning warmer and drier through the weekend.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight

after this programme. welcome to hardtalk. i'm mishal husain. my guest today, here in london, is an israeli—born architect who wants to change his chosen profession. he works in what he calls forensic architecture, where details of buildings and physical spaces — and their destruction — are used to highlight abuses and persecution. is he right to see architecture as political — a way in which human beings can oppress as well as create? eyal weizman, welcome to hardtalk. your organisation is called forensic architecture. let's begin with you telling us what the essence of it is. what is it about?

forensic architecture is an organisation that