A protester demanding an end to the war in Gaza derailed the start of Kamala Harris’ speech at a campaign event with Michelle Obama on Saturday less than 10 days until the election.
The vice president took the stage in Kalamazoo, Michigan, after the former first lady launched a blistering attack on Donald Trump and plead with men planning to vote for him.
Just after the Democrat began her remarks, she was heckled with chants of ‘no more Gaza war’ from a member of the audience.
Harris paused for a moment as the crowd booed, then said: ‘On the topic of Gaza, we must end that war.’
Her comment came in a state on a weekend where Donald Trump received the endorsements of Muslim leaders in a rally across the state.
Harris’ response also came hours after Israeli fighter jets struck 20 military targets in Iran as retaliation for Tehran’s missile attacks earlier this month.
A protester demanding an end to the war in Gaza derailed the start of Kamala Harris ‘ speech at a campaign event with Michelle Obama on Saturday
Outside her rally in Kalamazoo, a small group of about a dozen pro-Palestinian protesters marched and chanted that Harris and Biden ‘cannot hide.’
Nationwide, the war in Gaza is a huge issue in the 2024 presidential election. But in Michigan, one of the seven battlegrounds that will decide the race, it is pivotal.
The state’s large Arab-American population is angry and deeply split over backing Harris because of her administration’s involvement in the war.
The Mayor of Dearborn, the only majority Arab city in the U.S., Abdullah Hammoud, is refusing to back either candidate
President Joe Biden and the U.S. have only recently started to criticize Israel’s relentless military campaign in Gaza and called for a ceasefire.
Recent polls have shown Trump is gaining in popularity among Arab-Americans, who could be the deciding factor in the swing state despite him implementing a ban on immigrants from Muslim-majority countries at the start of his first term.
With 10 days until the election, the Harris and Trump are locked in a dead heat with polls showing them tied across the country.
In a bid to swing the momentum back in her favor, Harris has used star power in recent days with appearances from Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen and Barack Obama.
She carried on Saturday with Michelle Obama making her first appearance on the campaign trail with less than two weeks to go.
The former first lady called for a ‘grown up in the White House ’ and blasted Trump for lies, childish antics and moral decline before making an emotional appeal directly to men.
Obama’s appearance in Kalamazoo comes as polls show the presidential race in a dead heat with just ten days to go before the election .
The former first lady questioned why Harris is being held to a higher standard and must prove she belongs while with Trump ‘we expect nothing at all, no understanding of policy, no ability to put together a coherent statement.’
The vice president took the stage in Kalamazoo, Michigan , after the former first lady launched a blistering attack on Donald Trump and men planning to vote for him
Michelle Obama made her first campaign appearance with Kamala Harris on Saturday with a plea to men planning to vote for Trump
Obama’s appearance in Kalamazoo comes as polls show the presidential race in a dead heat with just ten days to go before the election
Obama accused ex-president for ‘gross incompetence’ while people ask Harris to ‘dazzle us at every turn.’
She highlighted what she called Trump’s obvious mental decline, being a convicted felon and being found liable of sexual assault.
Obama said Harris ‘dominated her opponent so thoroughly in the debate he refused to debate her again.’
‘Why on earth is this race even close?’ the former first lady asked as the crowd went wild.
Obama said she lays awake at night wonder ‘what on earth is going on? She said Harris has demonstrated she’s ready but asked: ‘as a country, are we ready for this moment?’
Harris with Obama at the Wings Event Center. The former first lady questioned why Harris is being held to a higher standard than Trump and praised her as ready to meet the moment
The former first lady said she fears for the country and its children if people forget the stakes in the election. She said if Trump becomes president, at some point ugliness will touch everyone’s lives.
Obama said she was out campaigning in Michigan because of that fear stating ‘and you know I hate politics.’
But halfway through her speech, the former first lady took an extremely somber note when she pleaded for men not to leave women’s lives in the hands of politicians when it comes to reproductive health care with the overturning or Roe v Wade.
Obama went through graphic details the dangers of being pregnant and childbirth.
She asked men from the core of her being ‘to take our lives seriously’ and said a vote for Trump is ‘ vote against us.’
She also beseeched women to remember ‘we are more than baby making vessels.’