Vice President Kamala Harris, now the Democratic presidential nominee, ripped into anti-Israel protesters for interrupting her campaign speech in Michigan on Wednesday, curtly telling the hecklers “I am speaking now.”
About halfway through her speech, protesters started shouting, “Kamala, Kamala you can’t hide! We won’t vote for genocide.” President Joe Biden’s support for Israel has been a point of contention for a contingent of Democratic voters among the Jewish state’s ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza since October 7.
In response, Harris affirmed the protesters’ right to voice their opinions but suggested this wasn’t the time and place. “I’m here because I believe in democracy. Everyone’s voice matters, but I am speaking now,” she said. The brief statement elicited cheers from Harris’s supporters, who were clearly irritated by the disruption.
The vice president proceeded to talk about the dangers that former president Donald Trump and Project 2025, which the Republican presidential nominee has repeatedly disavowed, pose to democracy. Protesters continued shouting down Harris, prompting her to become more combative.
“You know what? If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking,” she said for a second time. Again, the overall crowd in attendance loudly cheered for Harris to drown out the protesters. They were soon escorted out of the venue in Romulus, Mich., a western suburb outside Detroit.
The verbal exchange came as Harris and her newly appointed running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, traveled to Wisconsin and Michigan on Wednesday as part of an ambitious battleground-state tour this week. After spending a second day in Detroit, the pair’s next campaign stops are Phoenix and Las Vegas.
The interruptions indicate Israel’s war in Gaza remains a top issue for Michigan voters. Detroit has the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the U.S.
Representatives of the Uncommitted National Movement — which organized primary voters to cast a ballot for “uncommitted” instead of voting for Biden due to his support for Israel — spoke with Harris at Wednesday’s rally to air their concerns about the administration’s stance on the Gaza conflict.
“Michigan voters want to support you, but we need a policy that will save lives in Gaza right now,” Uncommitted co-founder Layla Elabed told Harris, according to the Democratic group. “I meet with community members every day in Michigan who are losing tens and hundreds of family members in Gaza. Right now, we need an arms embargo.”
In a press release following the meeting, the group said Harris “expressed an openness to meeting with Uncommitted leaders to discuss an arms embargo” on Israel.
If Harris concedes to their demands, the group’s leaders will endorse her for the presidency. Though 99 percent of all Democratic delegates plan to vote for Harris as they head to the party’s national convention in less than two weeks, at least 30 are uncommitted. Eleven of those are from Minnesota, Walz’s home turf.