US presidential candidate Kamala Harris orders pro-Palestine protestors to keep quiet unless they ‘want Donald Trump to win’

The United States’ Vice President and current presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, told pro-Palestine protestors at a rally to keep quiet unless they “want Donald Trump to win”, as she continues to juggle between unconditional support for Israel and displays of a willingness to hold it to account for war crimes in Gaza.

At a rally in Detroit, Michigan, this week, Kamala Harris’s speech was met by chants by pro-Palestinian protestors chanting “Kamala, you can’t hide, we won’t vote for genocide.” She insisted that “I am here because I believe in democracy and everybody’s voice matters. But I am speaking now.”

When the protestors continued to chant during her speech, Harris sternly said “if you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking.”

Although much of the audience then chanted in support of her by saying “we’re not going back!”, the presidential hopeful’s harsh tone signalled to many her seeming willingness to crackdown on and suppress pro-Palestinian sentiment.

It came at a time when Harris, her campaign and some media reports have been portraying the Vice President in an increasingly pro-Palestinian light, claiming that she is open to implementing stricter policies in regard to Israel’s ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip and its genocidal acts there, especially as she drew condemnation from Israeli officials last month by calling for an end to the conflict in the besieged Palestinian Territory.

Read: Kamala Harris and the papier-mâché coronation

Her contradictions toward the Israeli-Palestinian issue were further seen after she briefly met Abbas Alawieh and Layla Elabed – the founders of the Uncommitted National Movement which led a mass protest vote in the Democratic Party primaries over US President Joe Biden’s support for Israel – before the Detroit rally.

According to a press release by that group afterwards, Harris had expressed openness to discussing their call for an Israel arms embargo and directed her staff to be in touch with the pair. Her campaign then denied that, however, saying in a statement that “Since October 7, the Vice President has prioritised engaging with Arab, Muslim and Palestinian community members and others regarding the war in Gaza.”

During her short discussion with the pair, Harris had only “reaffirmed that her campaign will continue to engage with those communities. The Vice President has been clear: she will always work to ensure Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups. The Vice President is focused on securing the ceasefire and hostage deal currently on the table.”

On Thursday, Harris’s National Security Adviser, Phil Gordon, then revealed that the presidential candidate entirely opposes an arms embargo on Israel, stating that she “does not support an arms embargo on Israel. She will continue to work to protect civilians in Gaza and to uphold international humanitarian law”.

Read: The political pretence of the US Democrats and the Palestinians