‘I am speaking’: Kamala Harris slaps down hecklers in dramatic moment at Michigan rally
Kamala Harris has snapped back at hecklers in the first rocky moment of her campaign since she took over from Joe Biden.
US Vice President Kamala Harris has endured her first tussle with hecklers since taking over from President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee, clashing with a group of pro-Palestinian protesters at a rally in Michigan.
Ms Harris is currently on a tour of America’s key swing states with her newly unveiled vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. One of their stops on Wednesday, US time, was an aircraft hangar in Detroit, Michigan, packed with their supporters.
And, it transpired, a group of protesters.
In the middle of Ms Harris’s speech, the group started to chant the slogan: “Kamala, Kamala, you can’t hide, we won’t vote for genocide.”
They were, quite clearly, referring to Israel’s retaliatory military campaign in Gaza, which has killed about 40,000 people. The conflict was sparked by Hamas’s attack on southern Israel last October, in which more than 1000 people were killed and hundreds taken as hostages.
“I’m here because I believe in democracy. Everyone’s voice matters,” Ms Harris said, addressing the protesters directly.
“But I am speaking now. I am speaking now.”
After a cheer from most of the crowd, she got back to her script, attacking Republican nominee Donald Trump for, in her words, wanting “to give tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations”.
The hecklers kept chanting, though, and forced her to stop again.
“You know what? If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise I’m speaking,” said Ms Harris. She continued to stare at the protesters, her expression icy, as the crowd once again cheered.
“We’re not going back. We’re not going back,” it chanted.
Harris to protesters repeatedly heckling at Michigan rally (about Gaza war):
— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) August 8, 2024
“Everyone’s voice matters. But I am speaking now…
“You know what? If you want Donald Trump to win say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking.†pic.twitter.com/oitlBMZi5J
The Biden administration’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war has caused it political problems from both sides. On the left flank, activists accuse it of supporting “genocide” by providing weaponry and diplomatic help to Israel. On the right, Mr Biden has been accused of being insufficiently supportive of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
The issue was an awkward factor in Ms Harris’s selection of a vice presidential nominee.
The initial favourite, Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro, faced suggestions that his Jewish faith would alienate some voters on the left – even though his stance on Israel differed little from other potential candidates.
Ms Harris ultimately chose Mr Walz, foregoing the boost Mr Shapiro theoretically could have provided on his home turf. Pennsylvania is likely to be more influential than any other state in deciding November’s presidential election.
‘Not confident’: Biden speaks out
Elsewhere, Mr Biden has given his first sit-down interview since announcing his withdrawal as a candidate in the election. Notably, Ms Harris has yet to do one – an escalating source of criticism from her opponents, who feel she is dodging scrutiny.
Speaking to CBS, the President said he was “not confident” Mr Trump would concede peacefully if he lost to Ms Harris in November.
“If Trump loses, I’m not confident at all,” he said.
“He means what he says. We don’t take him seriously. He means it.”
Mr Trump refused to accept his defeat to Mr Biden in 2020. Instead, he spent months repeating debunked claims about widespread voter fraud, culminating in the riot at the US Capitol Building on January 6, 2021.
A mob of Mr Trump’s supporters stormed the building, assaulting law enforcement in the process, in an attempt to stop the election result from being certified.
The full interview with Mr Biden will air over the weekend.
As Ms Harris and Mr Walz embarked on their swing state tour this week, and Mr Trump’s vice presidential pick J.D. Vance also crisscrossed the country, the former president himself remained out of public view at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago.
He has continued to post on social media, and phoned in for one interview with the Fox News morning show Fox & Friends on Wednesday.
Mr Trump’s main contribution to the public debate in that time has been to come up with a new nickname for his opponent, albeit a confusing one.
Since Monday, he has been referring to Ms Harris as “Kamabla”. It appears to be his latest attempt to find a moniker for Ms Harris that will actually stick, having previously trialled “Lyin’ Kamala” and “Laughin’ Kamala”.
“People vote with their STOMACH, and food is now at an highest because of Kamabla/Biden INCOMPETENCE. With them in charge, IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE!” the former president wrote in his first post featuring the new nickname on Monday.
“Kamabla has stated, over and over again, that she wants to DEFUND THE POLICE AND, WITHOUT QUESTION, BAN FRACKING. ‘NO MORE FOSSIL FUEL.’ This will quadruple the cost of energy in America! DEPRESSION ANYONE!” he added in a second post.
Mr Trump has used the name more than half a dozen times since then, throwing in the occasional variant “Crazy Kamabla”. We have yet to hear him say it out loud; his public appearances have been sparse.
During that interview with Fox & Friends on Wednesday, Mr Trump referred to Ms Harris merely as “she” and “her”.
The main problem with “Kamabla” is that nobody appears to know what it means.
Mr Vance was of little help when asked about the nickname later in the day.
“I think the president, obviously, he loves to give people nicknames, and I think that he’s going to keep on doing that,” Mr Vance said.
“I would be shocked if it’s the last nickname he gives her before the end of the election.”
Mr Vance indicated he did not intend to use “Kamabla” himself. He either chose not to elaborate on its meaning, or was unable to.
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who was also on Mr Trump’s vice presidential shortlist, was also asked about the name during an interview on CNN.
“This is something I’m personally curious about. Donald Trump has been referring to Harris on social media as ... Kamabla? Do you know where that came from and what that nickname means?” host Kaitlan Collins asked.
“I can’t comment on that,” Mr Burgum replied.
“I do know that when voters are making a decision, they’re going to end up voting, in many ways, on their pocketbook. And if you go to these swing states, those suburban counties, voters are going to say, ‘Am I better off today than I was four years ago?’ And they’re going to have to say, ‘No.’”
Asked directly for an explanation by New York Magazine, the Trump campaign itself offered this explanation: “Kamabla represents all the hurt and misery the Biden-Harris administration has brought to every single American.”
It did not elaborate further.
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