Vice President Kamala Harris shut down hecklers attempting to interrupt her speech during a campaign rally in Detroit, Michigan, on Wednesday night.
The Democratic presidential nominee was speaking to supporters about the infamous Project 2025 conservative policy initiative when a group of pro-Palestinian spectators could be heard chanting, in part, “We won’t vote for genocide.”
Harris paused her speech to tell the group, “You know what, if you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking.”
The crowd erupted into cheers after Harris addressed the interruptions, as supporters then countered with their own chant: “We’re not going back.”
KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images
The Context
Harris’ stop in Michigan is part of her campaign blitz in several battleground states this week alongside her newly appointed running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. The Democratic pair had made a stop in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, earlier in the day, which reportedly drew a crowd of 12,000 supporters, according to The New York Times.
The campaign event Wednesday night was attended by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and United Auto Workers union President Shawn Fain. Michigan, with 15 electoral votes, is a key state for Democrats to secure in November. President Joe Biden flipped the state by roughly 200,000 votes in 2020.
Michigan has also been home to some of the harshest pushback the Biden administration has seen over its handling of the war in Gaza. During the primary elections this year, 13.2 percent of Democratic primary voters cast an “uncommitted” ballot in protest of Washington’s policies on Israel, an issue that has divided the left-leaning wing of the Democratic Party.
What We Know
The interruptions by pro-Palestinian supporters at Harris’ rally on Wednesday were shouting, “Kamala, Kamala, you can’t hide. We won’t vote for genocide,” according to ABC News White House correspondent Selina Wang.
Protesters of Biden’s policies in the Middle East have demanded that the White House stop sending military aid to Israel and spur an end to the nearly 10-month war in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. Wang reported that the protesters on Wednesday were escorted out after chanting, and that some supporters tried “to drown it out.”
This is a developing story and will be updated as further information becomes available.
Update 08/07/24, 9:14 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and background.
