‘I am speaking now’: Harris responds after Michigan rally interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters
By Nnamdi Egwuonwu, Jillian Frankel and Gabe Gutierrez
The interruptions suggested the war in Gaza remains a salient issue among voters.
A handful of pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris during her rally remarks at an airport hangar Wednesday night prompting her to reprise a familiar line.
About halfway through the vice president’s remarks, roughly half a dozen protesters began to chant, “Kamala, Kamala you can’t hide! We won’t vote for genocide.”
Harris first acknowledged the protesters by borrowing a strategy President Joe Biden used earlier this cycle when pro-Palestinian demonstrators routinely interrupted his events, affirming the protesters’ right to voice their opinions while trying to redirect attention to the remarks.
“I’m here because we believe in democracy. Everyone’s voice matters,” she said. “But I am speaking now. I am speaking now.”
Harris famously told then-Vice President Mike Pence “I’m speaking” in cross-talk at a vice presidential debate during the 2020 election cycle.
As the protests continued, Harris’ tone grew more forceful.
“You know what? If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking,” Harris said, aided by a crowd of several thousand attendees who chanted “Kamala” in an effort to drown out the protests.
Campaign staffers soon escorted the protesters out of the venue.
The interruptions the first Harris has encountered at a rally since she replaced Biden atop the Democratic ticket suggested the war in Gaza remains a salient issue among voters in Michigan, which has the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the country.
Leaders of the Uncommitted National Movement, which supported voting “uncommitted” on Democratic primary ballots rather than voting for Biden, briefly spoke with Harris at the Detroit rally.
“Michigan voters want to support you, but we need a policy that will save lives in Gaza right now. 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,” Layla Elabed, a co-founder of Uncommitted, told Harris, according to the group.
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