Addressing hecklers, Harris says time is ripe for ceasefire to ‘bring hostages home!’
Pausing to acknowledge Gaza war protesters at Arizona rally, Democratic presidential candidate says she’s working with Biden ’round the clock, every day’ to reach deal
United States Vice President Kamala Harris paused during a campaign rally in Arizona on Friday to directly address hecklers who interrupted her for the second time this week with chants about the Gaza war, and reiterated her call for a ceasefire and the release of hostages held by terror groups since October 7.
“Hold on a second,” she said at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, waiting for the crowd to quiet down. “We are all in here together… because we love our country. We’re here to fight for our democracy, which includes respecting the voices that I think that we are hearing from.”
“Let me just speak to that for a moment and then I’m gonna get back to the business at hand. So let me say, I have been clear. Now is the time to get a ceasefire deal and get the hostage deal done. Now is the time,” she said emphatically.
Harris added that she and US President Joe Biden are “working around the clock every day to get that ceasefire deal done and bring the hostages home,” to cheering and applause from the rally audience.
“So I respect your voices, but we are here to now talk about this race in 2024,” she said, before returning to speak about her recently-tapped running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
Earlier this week, war protesters interrupted Harris during a Detroit-area rally. She told the group chanting about the “genocide” in Gaza to quiet down unless they “want Donald Trump to win.”
Kamala Harris responds to Gaza demonstrators in Arizona: “Now is the time to get a ceasefire deal and get the hostage deal done.” pic.twitter.com/M7bhIFXkG4
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) August 10, 2024
Separately Saturday, Harris’s national security adviser said he was troubled by allegations of sexual abuse against Palestinian security prisoners held in Israel, reiterating concerns voiced earlier by the US over the matter.
The allegations “require swift and credible investigation. Perpetrators of sexual violence everywhere must be held to account,” Phil Gordon wrote on X.
The Democratic presidential nominee will visit Nevada on Saturday with Walz, on the final stop of a battleground blitz in which Democrats are showing new energy after Biden exited the race and Harris replaced him at the top of the ticket. That new enthusiasm has enabled them to boost turnout efforts in swing states such as Nevada and Arizona.
Harris’s choice of Walz for running mate Sunday signaled a renewed push to win midwestern votes. He was selected after the Democratic Party’s left flank waged a fierce campaign against the selection of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Jewish centrist with a pro-Israel record, who was considered a front-runner for Harris’s running mate. The Harris campaign has rejected claims that it had caved to the left-wing effort as “ridiculous and offensive.”
The US vice president has been accused of striking a different tone on the Israel-Hamas war from Biden, who withdrew from the presidential race on July 21. After meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on July 25, Harris said she “will not be silent” on Palestinian suffering, drawing a complaint from a top Israeli official who accused her of emboldening Hamas.
An aide to Harris rejected a claim Thursday that she had agreed to discuss imposing an arms embargo on Israel during an exchange with pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel activists who are pushing for changes to US policy.
Before a Detroit rally on Wednesday, Harris met briefly in a photo line with 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 in the war against Hamas.
The far-left group issued a press release afterward saying that during their brief conversation with Harris, the vice president expressed openness to discussing their call for an Israel arms embargo and directed her staff to be in touch with the two Uncommitted leaders.
Harris’s national security adviser Phil Gordon then issued a statement saying that Harris opposes an Israel arms embargo.
“Vice President Harris has been clear: she will always ensure Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups. 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,” Gordon tweeted.
Agencies contributed to this report.
