Vice President Kamala Harris told anti-Israel hecklers who interrupted her Detroit campaign rally Wednesday night that their activism risks handing the Nov. 5 election to former President Donald Trump.
“Kamala! Kamala! You Can’t Hide! We Won’t Vote for Genocide!” a group of protesters chanted.
“You know what? If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking,” the 59-year-old Democratic presidential nominee said after a series of disruptions — pausing to stare down the demonstrators.
Moments earlier, Harris had tried to wait out the ruckus, saying with a more patient tone, “I’m here because we believe in democracy. Everyone’s voice matters, but I am speaking now.”
The sustained heckling was notable because Harris thus far had avoided significant disruptions at her public events by opponents of US support for Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip in response to Hamas terrorists killing about 1,200 people on Oct. 7, 2023.
President Biden, 81, who dropped out of the presidential race on July 21 and endorsed Harris as his successor, faced months of irate protesters bellowing the nickname “Genocide Joe!” — with some swing-state polling showing that Arab and Muslim voters were poised to desert him, possibly aiding Trump, 78.
Michigan in particular is home to large numbers of Arab and Muslim voters.
Trump won the presidency in 2016 with upset wins in Michigan and other swing states and was defeated by Biden in 2020 when the Democrat flipped the states back.
Harris has said she supports Israel, but also has made a point of publicly criticizing the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — including saying moments after meeting with Netanyahu on July 25 that Israel had killed “far too many” civilians in Gaza and that “I will not be silent.”
The vice president was not heckled Tuesday night in Philadelphia as she addressed a roughly 10,000-person crowd with her newly announced running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — though a sole protester stood outside Temple University’s Liacouras Center and waved a Palestinian flag.
She and Walz also were unscathed by hecklers at a large rally earlier Wednesday in western Wisconsin.
