A look ahead at the key events leading the news agenda next week, from the team at Foresight News. Delivered to your inbox on Fridays.
Leading the week
The Republican National Convention kicks off at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Monday (July 15), running through Thursday (July 18) when Donald Trump will deliver his acceptance speech as the party’s presidential nominee. Beyond a brief controversy over Trump reportedly calling Milwaukee a ‘horrible city’, one of the main stories heading into the convention has been the question of who Trump plans to choose as a running mate. Reports suggest that the shortlist includes Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who Trump previously derided as ‘Little Marco’, as well as Ohio Senator JD Vance, whose beard Trump likes, and outgoing North Dakota governor Doug Burgum. Traditionally, the vice presidential nominee would give a speech on the penultimate day of the convention on Wednesday (July 17).
Organizers did announce a list of daily themes earlier this week, suggesting a focus on the economy on Monday, law and order on Tuesday (July 16), foreign policy on Wednesday and, well, Trump on the final day. While details of the speaker lineup have yet to be released, model and Kanye West ex Amber Rose has said she will address the convention after shocking fans by announcing her support for Trump despite having previously called him a ‘f—ing idiot’. Nikki Haley, who announced earlier this week that she was releasing her convention delegates, is not currently expected to speak but Ron DeSantis, another of Trump’s primary rivals, is now expected to deliver an address.
In a move likely designed to put to rest suggestions Joe Biden was reconsidering his candidacy following that debate performance, the White House had already announced a busy schedule for the still just about presumptive Democratic nominee next week before he accidentally introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as President Putin yesterday. On Monday (July 15), Biden will be in Texas for an event marking the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, before heading to Las Vegas for speeches at the NAACP’s annual convention on Tuesday (July 16) and the Latino civil rights group UnidosUS’s annual conference on Wednesday (July 17). NBC will also be airing an interview with Biden on Monday night.
Earlier this week, Biden laid down the gauntlet to would-be doubters to challenge him at the party’s convention in August, though the DNC had previously announced plans to formally nominate Biden virtually before the in-person gathering in Chicago. Next week may provide clarity on that issue as the DNC holds a series of virtual committee meetings. While Biden’s nomination isn’t on the agenda for the Platform Committee meeting on Monday, it’s likely to come up during the two subsequent calls with the Rules Committee on Friday (July 19) and the Credentials Committee on Sunday (July 21). All three meetings are broadcast live, which could make for interesting viewing for political nerds.
Looking abroad
The European Parliament will meet on Tuesday (July 16) for its first session since June elections that saw candidates affiliated with the conservative European People’s Party bloc win 188 seats, followed by the Socialist and Democrats with 136 seats. But the third largest bloc is the new far-right Patriots for Europe bloc, which will have at least 84 members and is headed by Jordan Bardella from France’s Rassemblement National. The Patriots will be one of three hard-right groupings in the new parliament alongside Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and the Europe of Sovereign Nations grouping that includes Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) MEPs.
In addition to the expected re-election of Malta’s Roberta Metsola as the parliament’s president on Tuesday, a vote is also scheduled for Thursday (July 18) afternoon on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s bid for a second five-year term from December. Von der Leyen, who has been on a charm offensive in the run up to the vote, is due to deliver a statement in the morning before a potentially fractious debate ahead of the election itself at 1pm. While she has the backing of national leaders from the bloc, she still needs the votes from at least 361 MEPs, teeing up a tense moment when results are announced. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s recent rogue diplomacy, meanwhile, is likely to come up on Wednesday (July 17) when outgoing European Council President Charles Michel addresses parliament amid widespread outrage at Orban’s decision to visit Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin earlier this month.
New UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer follows up his trip to the NATO Summit this week with two domestic milestones, starting with the State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday (July 17), where King Charles will set out his government’s legislative priorities for the new Parliament. While the event is enjoyed around the world for the heavy-duty pomp and ceremony, this year’s King’s Speech will be among the most heavily scrutinized in recent memory, with key elements from Labour’s election manifesto including energy security, border control, healthcare, housing and employment rights all likely to be prominent.
On Thursday (July 18), Starmer hosts his first major international event as European Political Community leaders meet in Oxfordshire. The gathering will be closely watched for indications of the new prime minister’s foreign policy objectives and any potential shifts in allegiance with its EU neighbours. Starmer committed to maintaining the UK’s support for Ukraine at the NATO Summit and is likely to return to the theme at the EPC meeting; he’s also expected to discuss his plans to tackle criminal people-smuggling gangs responsible for small boat migration, and may use the opportunity to respond to domestic criticism of his failure to commit to a timeframe for increasing defence spending to 2.5% of GDP.