A protester demanding an end to the war in Gaza interrupted the beginning of Kamala Harris’ speech at a campaign event with Michelle Obama on Saturday, less than ten days before the election.

The vice president took the stage in Kalamazoo, Michigan, following a sharp critique from the former first lady aimed at Donald Trump, urging men who were planning to vote for him to reconsider. Just as Harris began her remarks, she was heckled by audience members chanting, “No more Gaza war.”

Harris paused briefly as the crowd booed before stating, “On the topic of Gaza, we must end that war.”

Her remark was made during a weekend when Trump received endorsements from Muslim leaders at a rally in the state. Harris’ comments also came just hours after Israeli fighter jets targeted 20 military sites in Iran in retaliation for missile attacks from Tehran earlier this month, the UK’s DailyMail.com reported.

WATCH:

WATCH: Kamala Harris is booed, heckled, called “piece of sh*t” during a rally in Kalamazoo, Michigan pic.twitter.com/eWeZWmavxX

— Martin Walsh (@MWalshUS) October 27, 2024

Advertisement

Outside her rally, a small group of about a dozen pro-Palestinian protesters marched and chanted that Harris and Biden “could not hide.”

The war in Gaza is a significant issue in the 2024 presidential election nationwide, but it holds particular importance in Michigan, one of the seven battleground states that will determine the outcome.

The state’s sizable Arab-American population is angry and deeply divided over their support for Harris due to her administration’s role in the conflict, DailyMail.com noted further.

Abdullah Hammoud, the Mayor of Dearborn—America’s only majority Arab city—has refused to endorse either candidate. President Joe Biden and the U.S. government have only recently begun to criticize Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza and have called for a ceasefire.

Recent polls indicate that Trump is gaining traction among Arab Americans, who are set to play a crucial role in this swing state, despite his earlier implementation of a ban on immigrants from some Muslim-majority countries known to harbor terrorists at the beginning of his first term.

In an effort to regain momentum, Harris has leveraged star power in recent days, featuring appearances by Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, and Barack Obama, though critics note that appearing with multimillionaire stars and former presidents contracts with Trump’s appearances at Manhattan construction sites, UFC events, and even working a shift at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s.

On Saturday, she continued this strategy with Michelle Obama, who made her first campaign appearance with less than two weeks remaining until the election.

Meanwhile, Harris isn’t planning on sitting for an interview with popular podcaster Joe Rogan after her GOP opponent did so on Friday.

Trump and Rogan chatted for nearly three hours in an interview that, as of this writing, has been viewed more than 26 million times. And although she was in Houston, Texas, campaigning on Friday — Rogan’s studio is located in Austin — her campaign claimed that there was a “scheduling” issue preventing her from doing his show.

Initial reports claimed that there were discussions between Rogan’s team and the Harris campaign to do an interview, Fox News reported.

HBO “Real Time” host Bill Maher criticized Harris for refusing to sit down with Rogan during his Friday night “After Hours” segment on CNN, calling it a “mistake.”

Maher read an audience question asking the panel what they thought of Trump appearing on Rogan’s program and whether it was a “mistake” for Harris not to appear on it.

“Yeah, I think it is a mistake,” Maher responded. “It’s a mistake she didn’t do this show.”

“Did you invite her?” Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Harris surrogate, asked.

“Of course!” Maher replied, adding, “We would’ve rebooked you for her, I hate to say.”