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Vice President Kamala Harris pushed back against pro-Palestine protesters in Detroit, her first major hurdle amid an otherwise positive rollout of her presidential campaign.
Harris was visiting Detroit as part of a tour with her newly-minted running mate Tim Walz. The two had held a large and raucous outdoor rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin earlier in the day.
But Michigan, which has a large Arab-American population located in Dearborn outside of Detroit, has long been a hotbed of criticism for the Biden administration’s support for Israel in its war against Gaza. Earlier this year, roughly 13 percent of the people who participated in the state’s Democratic primary voted “uncommitted” to send a message to the Biden administration.
During the rally, which also featured Walz and Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Harris faced chants from pro-Palestine protesters.
“Kamala Kamala you can’t hide, we won’t vote for genocide,” some of the protesters yelled as Harris delivered her stump speech.
Initially, Harris tried to brush off the protesters while attendees chanted as a way of drowning out them out.
“I’m here because I believe in democracy,” Harris said. “I believe everyone’s voice matters. But I’m speaking now. I am speaking now.”
As protesters continued, Harris eventually pushed back.
“If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I'm speaking,” she said to huge applause.
Harris continued her normal stump speech that she has given several times and includes many lines that have previously gone viral.
“We are joyful warriors, because while fighting for a brighter future may take hard work, we all here know hard work is good work,” she said. “Our work is good work.”
Harris rattled off a series of policies she would sign, such as the PRO Act that would make it easier for people to join a union. Shawn Fain, the head of the United Auto Workers, attended the rally and delivered a speech. Harris also pledged to sign legislation to restore abortion and voting rights.
She made some jabs at Trump, including over his calls to terminate the US Constitution.
“Let us be very clear, someone who suggests we should terminate the Constitution of the United States should never again stand behind the seal of the president of the United States,” she said to cheers. “Never again.”
Harris has in recent months sought to forge her own path on Israel and Palestine separate from President Joe Biden, a longtime supporter of Israel going back to his early days in the Senate.
She chose not to sit behind Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he delivered a joint address to Congress last month and said she “would not be silent” about the “devastating” humanitarian conditions in Gaza amid Israel’s onslaught. Similarly, Harris has also said “the scale of civilian suffering and the images and videos coming from Gaza are devastating.”
At the same time, Harris met with Netanyahu separately and said she has a “had an unwavering commitment to the existence of the State of Israel, to its security and to the people of Israel.”
Michigan is a must-win state for both Trump and Harris. Trump became the first Republican presidential nominee to win the state since 1988 in 2016, when he won by 10,704 votes. Biden, with Harris on his ticket, flipped Michigan back in 2020 by 154,188 votes.
In addition, Senator Debbie Stabenow, who is retiring at the end of the year, attended the rally. Representative Elissa Slotkin won the Democratic primary on Tuesday in the race to replace Stabenow as Democrats hope to keep their majority.
