Protesters appearing to support Palestine interrupted Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign speech in Detroit, Michigan, Wednesday night, the second of the day’s campaign rallies for the Democratic presidential ticket in two crucial “Blue Wall” states.
Just after 7 p.m. local time, as Harris was outlining what her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, plans on enacting during a second term—“He intends to surrender our fight against the climate crisis, and he intends to end the Affordable Care Act”—a group of protesters in the audience in front of Harris chanted, “Kamala, Kamala, you can’t hide. We won’t vote for genocide.”
Harris then deviated from her prepared remarks to address them.
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“You know what? If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking,” Harris said to applause.
Before taking the stage, Harris spoke with the co-founders of the Uncommitted National Movement, which advocated against a vote for Joe Biden in the Democratic primary due to his support for Israel’s war effort in Gaza, The New York Times reported. (In Michigan, the number of “uncommitted” voters surpassed 100,000.)
Abbas Alawieh and Layla Elabed requested a meeting with the VP to try to get her to support an arms embargo, and Harris signaled a willingness to do so, according to the publication.
Whether the protesters were affiliated with the Uncommitted National Movement is unclear.
Harris, in her first visit to Michigan since launching her presidential campaign, contrasted Trump’s vision with her own.
“When I’m president, it will be my Day One priority to fight to bring down prices, to take on the big corporations that engage in illegal price-gouging, to take on corporate landlords that unfairly raise rents on working families, to take on Big Pharma and cap the cost of prescription drugs for all Americans,” she said.
Harris was joined not only by running mate Tim Walz but United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, who delivered a sharp rebuke of “scab” Donald Trump’s campaign.
“Which side are you on?” Fain asked the crowd, the size of which the Harris campaign once again highlighted in social media posts. (15,000 filled the venue, according to a campaign aide.)
“On one side, you’ve got a billionaire that serves himself and his billionaire buddies. And on the other side, we’ve got a strong, intelligent and—I’m just going to put it bluntly—a badass woman who stood with us on the picket line.”
Earlier in the day, the Democratic ticket stopped in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, for a rally, drawing some attendees from Walz’s home state of Minnesota, just an hour’s car ride away.
