Harris campaign says VP did not agree with protester accusing Israel of genocide

An official from Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign says she “did not and does not agree” with a heckler who accused Israel of perpetrating a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza during a campaign event yesterday in Wisconsin.

After telling students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee that she is “invested” in them, the student heckler, wearing a keffiyeh, accused her of being “invested in genocide.”

“I respect your right to speak. I’m speaking right now. I know what you’re speaking of. I want the ceasefire,” she said, as the heckler pressed her on “the genocide.”

As he was removed from the hall, the heckler questioned Harris on civilian casualties in Gaza to which she replied, “What he’s talking about, it’s real. That’s not the subject that I came to discuss today, but it’s real, and I respect his voice.”

Some right-wing pundits interpreted Harris’s comment that “it’s real” as her accepting the heckler’s claim Israel is committing genocide, while others said she was specifically responding to his mentioning of casualty figures.