US Vice President Kamala Harris confronts protester at Detroit Democratic fundraiser over Gaza conflict

At a Detroit Democratic fundraiser on Saturday (June 8) night, US Vice President Kamala Harris lost all patience with a yelling protester and told her, rather strongly, that it was Harris' turn to speak.

At the $200-a-plate Michigan Democratic Party Legacy Dinner, the vice president started by openly addressing the violence in Gaza to ease tensions that would have been raised by pro-Palestinian protesters.

Harris' attempts remained in vain because, as the Vice President spoke, the audience erupted in several pro-Palestinian chants, with one lady calling out, "It's genocide!" many times.

Harris stopped her address to express her disapproval of the heckler. “For the past eight months, President Biden and I have been working every day to bring this conflict— I’m speaking right now. I value and respect your voice, but I’m speaking right now,” she said as the protester was pulled from the room by security.

She spoke into the microphone and stated, "It's time for this war to end," using language that Biden has been using more frequently lately.

Although Harris was able to continue with the speech after these remarks appeared to calm the audience, the incident was a major gut check for both Biden and her.

There are a lot of Arab Americans in Michigan, particularly in and around Detroit. The state is home to almost 300,000 people of Arab heritage, many of whom are from Gaza.

For them, the conflict between Israel, a US ally, and the terrorist forces of Hamas is serious. Despite being US citizens, they have friends, familyand parents who are serving in the military.

(With inputs from agencies)