In Washington, D.C., Protesters can make things awkward for people running for president. They talk over candidates, yell at them, and often throw them off track.
But as the campaign comes to a close, Vice President Kamala Harris is trying a new approach to turn awkward situations into moments of energy that she can use to rally her fans and drop hints about her message against her Republican opponent, Donald Trump.
Pro-Palestinian protesters showed up at all three of the Democratic nominee’s events on Wednesday, in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
They used chants, banners, and even a whistle to criticize Harris for how she and Vice President Joe Biden have handled the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
Protesters in Gaza have long gone after Harris’s events and Biden’s when he was still the party’s choice, hoping that the trouble will bring attention to their cause in the media.
They have often caused long pauses while security police remove the protesters or made people feel uncomfortable.
After three months as a candidate, Harris is trying to stick to her carefully polished closing message in the last week of the campaign.
Her latest move is meant to both back up the concerns of protesters and use them as proof in her case against the former president.
A protester in North Carolina said that Harris was “disrespecting the Palestinian community.” Harris used this to attack Trump.
Harris said in Raleigh, “But here’s the thing: we know we’re fighting for a democracy.” “I don’t think that people who disagree with you are the enemy like Donald Trump does.”
A few hours later, Harris used a similar protest to support democracy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
She said, “Look, I’ll say it again: we are fighting for democracy, and we love it.” “It’s the best system in the world, but it can get hard at times.”
As she left Wisconsin for the night and was met with protests, Harris used a familiar line from when Vice President Mike Pence tried to cut her off during their 2020 debate.
Harris said, “We all want the war in Gaza to end and the hostages to be freed. I will do everything I can to make that happen.” “And everyone has the right to be heard, but I’m going to speak now.”
At each stop, the moments got a lot of people excited about Harris’s events, drowning out the protesters and giving her fans a way to get together.
In Wisconsin, the reaction was so strong and long-lasting that a second group with a banner couldn’t make it through.
Some pro-Palestinian people who are against Harris see her focus on democracy and her admission that protesters have the right to be heard as a softening from the Democratic candidate, even though the protests on Wednesday were drowned out.
“It’s good that she’s changed how she talks, but now is not the time for that,” said Mustapha Hammoud, a member of the Dearborn City Council.
“There has been more violence in the war instead of peace.” We can’t just listen to talk; we need real results. Hammoud told The Associated Press in September that he had been a Democrat until lately.
Protests are a normal part of being a presidential candidate.
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When there was a protest in Nevada in 2016, Trump said, “I’d like to punch him in the face.” In the same year, Black Lives Matter activists often chanted against Hillary Clinton.
At one event, they drowned her out for ten minutes, and civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis had to tell the group to stop.
And in 2020, after Biden won a bunch of state primaries on Super Tuesday, protesters against the dairy industry rushed the stage, causing Jill Biden to push the activists out of the way to protect her husband.
After the fight, Jill Biden told reporters, “I’m a good Philly girl.”
Since she won the Democratic nod earlier this year, Harris has been more confrontational with protesters than Biden.
Pro-Palestinian protesters stopped Harris in the middle of an event in August and chanted, “Kamala, Kamala, you can’t hide; we won’t vote for genocide.
” Harris told them, “If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that.” If not, I’ll speak up.
