Protesters disrupt Kamala Harris' first stop on book tour over Gaza

[riversedge]

Source: USA Today




Sept 25 9:31 a.m. ET

NEW YORK - Kamala Harris’ first event in her multi-city book tour was disrupted by several pro-Palestine protesters Sept. 24, prompting the former vice president to suggest her early position on the Israel-Hamas war was not in lockstep with the Joe Biden administration.

“People in our administration can tell you what my voice was in those rooms – in those closed rooms – in the Oval Office,” Harris said to the packed venue in New York City. “I was not president. I couldn’t make the decisions, but I made my position clear.”

The event was the first stop in Harris’ book tour, to promote her new memoir, “107 Days,” chronicling her run for president in 2024.


At least three protesters interrupted Harris during the first of two on-stage interview events at Town Hall in Manhattan Wednesday night, one screaming she has “blood on her hands” over the Israel-Hamas war. The demonstrators were booed loudly by a crowd of nearly 1,500 and escorted out of the building by security. A group of more than a dozen also congregated outside the venue, drawing an increased law enforcement presence.



Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/09/25/kamala-harris-gaza-protest-book/86339281007/

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Link to tweet

?width=1320&height=856&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris arrive ahead of the 60th inaugural ceremony on January 20, 2025, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. Trump becomes the 47th president of the United States in a rare indoor inauguration ceremony. The parade was also moved inside Capitol One Arena due to weather.

[ananda]

1. Biden was old guard, and always tended toward moderate.

He did move some to the left, but not nearly enough.

[travelingthrulife]

6. Do you remember that pesky little thing called a global pandemic???

Biden did a masterful job of getting us out of that and having our economy recover fastest in the world.

[ananda]

8. I never said he didn't, and that is called a straw man.

...

[travelingthrulife]

11. It is not a strawman argument.

His priorities the time were urgent and he fulfilled them.

Moving the needle to the left was probably not in the top ten.

[ananda]

23. I never said he didn't do that either.

I said he was old guard, which he was; and that he
tended toward moderate, which he did... he even
voted for Clarence Thomas.

I also said he moved some toward the left in his
last years, but not enough.

All of this is just true.

[Happy Hoosier]

27. "I also said he moved some toward the left in his last years, but not enough. All of this is just true."

That is the very definition of an opinion.

Stop gas-lighting.

[Doodley]

37. I don't see anything above your post that matches the definition of gaslighting.

[Happy Hoosier]

53. Then you're wrong.

To claim opinion as "just true" is an attempt to establish an opinion as fact.

[ananda]

40. Well, I can see how "not enough" might be an opinion, since...

he might not have had much of a choice about that
considering the way the rightwing works.

Remember those words of Harry Truman about
people always voting Republican when they don't
think there's a real difference.

[Happy Hoosier]

55. That is the part that is opinion.

Also, not sure we can say for sure he moved left. We can't know his heart. Many people, myself included, favor policy that is not exactly aligned with what we think OUGHT to be.

Politics is the art of the possible. Do you think Obama's opinion of marriage equality ACTUALLY changed, or do you think his stated position was determined by the realities of politics? Once marriage equality was not a political liability and possible, he enthusiastically supported it publicly.

[ananda]

71. No, I've been watching Biden since the 80's.

He was a spokesman for the moderate faction
and used to drive me crazy.

He was always a handsome devil, though.

[thebigidea]

75. Biden voted NAY on Clarence Thomas

https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1021/vote_102_1_00220.htm

You can quibble about the hearings, but he did NOT vote to confirm him in the Senate vote.

[ms liberty]

56. Wtf? Why are you bringing the pandemic into it, when ananda was talking about

Biden's general governing view as being moderate versus liberal. I happen to disagree with it somewhat, but it is a valid viewpoint and has nothing to do with the pandemic, a specific event that Joe did an amazing job on, btw.

[LyfeTimeDem]

12. THAT misinformation right there

is a big part of the problem...misinformation about our own like that...


On the issues (all of the issues) Joe Biden:
https://share.google/sOrdMv07Suydm6cb9


https://www.ontheissues.org/joe_biden.htm

[mcar]

22. He's the most progressive president we've had in decades

[Eliot Rosewater]

29. Not in decades, ever.

[mcar]

33. Yes, that could be argued, couldn't it?

[deurbano]

74. Best on labor, best on caregiving... etc.

We were so close to major progress on actual issues that dramatically affect us (not the created panics), but Manchin and Sinema were there to thwart it.

[rampartd]

2. any supporter of palestine who is spouting off at ms harris has earned whatever krasnov does to them.

[markodochartaigh]

30. Somehow

I doubt that Trump will go after anyone haranguing the ex vice president. I also doubt that anyone attacking an ex official who was not responsible for decisions instead of responsible current office holders is really a supporter of Palestine.

[rampartd]

48. i've suspected some of these idiots were agents provacateur

since they showed up.

biden did what he could for the gazans, not much, i admit, but anyone thinking trump wouldn't make it worse was delusional

[wolfie001]

32. Easy for MAGA to manipulate these f6cking idiots

Mix in some homophobes and they're all on the same page. Disgusting how stupid so many people are. They should be in front of the WH and the Israeli Embassy. I'm sure some of these organizers are working with RW operatives.

[Scrivener7]

3. Oh, FFS.

[riversedge]

4. Though Harris wrote several times about tension between her and the administration, she also came to Biden's defense,

Though Harris wrote several times about tension between her and the administration, she also came to Biden’s defense, pushing back against allegations involving his mental fitness, and heaping compliments on the former president’s job performance.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/09/25/kamala-harris-gaza-protest-book/86339281007/

[LyfeTimeDem]

13. AND???

Some of us understood ....SHE was their only chance....before her...only Biden was. Biden nor Harris are == Trump

That you cannot see that even now....speaks volumes about why we are here.

P.S. this is Democratic Underground.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

16. To me, none of that matters...

...some (perhaps many) people didn't vote for her because of Gaza, and that continues to be a loss for all of us.

And as a private citizen, there is nothing she can do now except speak out against it - what is the point of protesting her appearances?

[Zorro]

45. She is a soft target

[BaronChocula]

59. Most on-point comment yet

In this thread.

Democrats in general are softer targets because they aren't angry, punitive, or threatening.

Something about going after a former Democratic veep who wasn't in charge of policy and is now a private citizen who happens to be a woman of color strikes me as Charlie Kirk-ish.

[deurbano]

73. And she has no power to arrest and/or deport them, so they can feel virtuous without personal risk.

(Not that she did that when Biden was in power.)

[quakerboy]

83. its safer and easier than protesting trump

Shes female, not white, and not a reigning dictator. Who else can they safely protest with no consequences or effect?

[travelingthrulife]

5. So these stupid people are unable to blame the GOP? Afraid of Krasnov?

She was VP you ignorant fools. You expected her to stop a war that has been basically going on for centuries, if not millenia.

I am glad they were booed out of the building.

[WomanWhoRoars]

7. Why go after her...

...when it's Trump's problem now? This seems like a set up.

[NCDem47]

9. Came here to say same thing.

She has no power. I love her and voted for her, but she has no power or influence over any of it now.

What shit stirring does this prove? Bad actors just looking to harrass and drive her off the book tour? Gotta ask.

[LyfeTimeDem]

14. that the Far Left .....

Hate us Democrats more than they do Republicans

[Autumn]

20. There is no far left. That talking point exists only in Republican Fantasy Land

There are only Moderates and Progressives in the Democratic party..

[LyfeTimeDem]

25. hahahahahahaha

Right and the Democrats are "Center Right"?

This is false on it's face and easily disputed

Mandami is a full on self-defined Socialist....we have both Democratic Socialists of America and Communist Party of the USA... these people protesting Kamala Harris ....kinda prove my point

Yes there is a group that hate Democrats more than they do Republicans, and they use propaganda too....I might point out that Bernie Sanders (which I remind you is an "independent" that runs on the Democratic Party resources) said that Vladimir Putin's trollfarms (that opposed Hillary Clinton) targeted his supporters too....

[Autumn]

38. Well welcometo DU.

Thanks for proving my point.

Where did you get this?

Right and the Democrats are "Center Right"?

lol

Try reading what i posted, cause that's nothing I said.

[LyfeTimeDem]

39. P.S. I am not a "Moderate"

I am a traditional life long Center Left Liberal Democrat. Aka the Base of the Party.

Joe Manchin was a "Moderate" and there are still a handful of those Blue Dogs left. He still voted with the Liberals 80% of the time.

Im kind of tired of the intentional insult of lumping us in with the Blue Dogs.....when I have been voting since before Blue Dogs were still a force.

And in case the old trope comes up about how "Democrats have moved Right" comes to anyone's mind:

[Autumn]

47. You are arguing things I never said. There is no far left in the Democratic party.

Period. Have a nice day.

[LyfeTimeDem]

65. Im a Liberal, not a Moderate...like this description

?si=XHmJMKGFB-iie6z2

My day is just fine, thank you

[LyfeTimeDem]

66. there are a handful of Moderates lefr

Post Joe Manchin leaving

Don't try to lump Center Left Democrats in with them.....we have alway right here:

https://share.google/3t0o94udO7pn7ZjMt

[LyfeTimeDem]

68. You called Liberals

the Moderates so you can cast them into the same bucket as the old School Blue Dogs like Joe Manchin was

And its meant to be insulting....a pejorative

The Liberals are still the bulk and bread and butter of the Democratic Party

[thucythucy]

41. There is in fact an infinitesimally small American "far left."

In my opinion this would include groups such as the Socialist Workers Party, the Workers League, the Spartacist League, the Fourth International Caucus, etc.

These tend to go after Democrats far more than the GOP, and at the same time seem always to push the "there is no difference between Democrats and Republicans" BS.

Granted, these folks aren't in the Democratic Party, and the GOP line about "far left Democrats" is BS. And I don't know how many of these groups are still active, but I occasionally still see leaflets and such from some of them at demos.

Fun fact: the SWP sued the FBI in the 1980s for harassment, a suit it won, and a court ordered report issued at the time revealed that a third of its members were FBI informants. So how many in these groups are actual lefties, and how many are government or right wing provocateurs is always a relevant question.

[Autumn]

44. As I said the far left are not members of the Democratic party. The Pukes

use them to smear the Democratic party. As for me, I am whatever Bernie Sanders and AOC are Maybe a progressive socialist? Who knows.

[LyfeTimeDem]

70. okay well

Im a Liberal and I resent being tossed into a bucket with the Blue dogs particularly for those that seem to be confused if they are a Democrat or not.

[electric_blue68]

63. Ah, yes. Some of the SWP used to hang out around my art college in the east village. ...

..in the early '70's.
Occasionally they'd be in our big hallway next to our cafeteria with their newspaper.
They were such a sourpuss looking group....I had no interest in talking to them! 😄

[thucythucy]

67. They were also intensely sexist.

At one point the SWP lost many of its women members who were tired of dealing with its macho "revolutionary" mind set.

They also, in the late eighties, launched a major campaign to defend one of its white members who had been convicted of raping a fifteen year old black girl. The campaign used all the traditional sexist tropes about rape--for instance, that women and girls often lie about rape. As if convicting a white college educated man of raping a working class black girl is ever easy.

The Spartacist League used to show up on campus when I was an undergrad, and I had much the same reaction as you. Their rhetoric and literature were pretty much a caricature of Marxist-Leninist gibberish.

[electric_blue68]

80. Woah! And Woah!...

I never listened enough to them to even parse the sexism they had. As for their defense of a rapist - despicable!

[thucythucy]

81. Yeah, they're basic argument was he couldn't be a rapist

because socialist men don't ever rape.

I used to volunteer at a rape crisis center and you can imagine how that went down among the workers there!

[electric_blue68]

82. Omg, what BS! Inexcusable!

😬😬😬

[LyfeTimeDem]

64. im no Moderate or Progressive

I'm a Liberal....Joe Manchin was a Moderate

[riversedge]

18. I doubt anyone will drive Harris off her book tours.

[RazorbackExpat]

15. It sounds as fishy as the Pacific Ocean

[sheshe2]

50. I agree, a set up once again.

They were everywhere protesting Biden, then Harris. They stirred up the uncommitted crowd… trump wins and like a miracle, they disappear. Now suddenly , she is back and voila, so are they.

Never once have they held tsf accountable EVEN NOW WHEN he is in CHARGE!

Come on, tell me this doesn’t stink to high heaven.

[LyfeTimeDem]

10. have these morons not yet

Figured out that she is not the President?

She was the Gazan's only chance. They failed.....and now millions more are in jeopardy.

Jesus take the wheel

[riversedge]

17. A protesting man in red shirt with MAGA print on his t-shirt...........

@LqLana
Don't get it twisted. This is domestic terrorism. The guy in the WH has made racism great again. They no longer hide in the shadows. Racists are angry at Black people while white men out here mass murdering. #DemsUnited

Link to tweet

[Walleye]

31. Angry man yelling. Not exactly original or new. Trying to provoke a fight and not getting anywhere

Because Democrats are basically peaceful people, I think. That’s how they take advantage of us, not that I am against it. I am all for being peaceful. I believe in Martin Luther King and Gandhi. The guy in the red just look like a stupid maniac. What do they expect to accomplish this way? I wonder, maybe it’s the only thing they can get off on

[BootinUp]

19. The more things change the more they do not.

[mcar]

21. Seriously?

I'm starting to think these protestors don't give AF about Gaza; they just hate Biden/Harris.

Have they protested Trump ever?

[PunkinPi]

54. They don't and never did actually care about Gaza.

IF they had, they would've listened to the Palestinians who were asking them to vote for Kamala.

I'm convinced they are an op.

[Aristus]

24. Fuck those assholes.

I sympathize with the people of Gaza, and denounce the genocide going on there (You'd think Israel would know better, but I guess not).

But blaming Kamala Harris for Gaza is the reason we're in this Trumpian shit right now, and are unlikely to get out of any time soon, unless Trump bites the big one, and we aren't that lucky.

[Walleye]

26. Come on guys show some courage. Protest against the villain in the White House.

Protesting Harris over Gaza is just plain stupid, I’m sorry

[LyfeTimeDem]

72. they did it massively

outside the Ellipse for her last speech. ....blocking our exit.. banging pans in our faces and screaming at us and Harris calling us all "baby-killers".....I said then they were going to cost us this election

[lostincalifornia]

28. There is no cure for stupidity. THESE IDIOTS ARE THE ONES THAT HAVE BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS,

by contributing to having the sociopath occupy the white house again by refusing to vote for VP Harris in 2024.

She had a four point plan if elected:

1. Immediate ceasefire.
2. Release all hostages.
3. Rebuild Gaza.
4. Immediate negotiations to start on a two-state solution.

[roscoeroscoe]

34. Of course, why not, useless nonsense

Predictable waste of time, and simply pointless. Thanks partly to Democratic non-supporters like this, you get Trump. Happy now? You sure stopped any possibility of Harris working for peace AFTER GETTTING ELECTED.

Rant over.

[mzmolly]

35. Assholes. Where are they when Trump is gallivanting around?

[Raven123]

36. If I recall correctly, Netanyahu went into Gaza after the Hamas attack

A lot has happened between then and now, and Harris was/is not in a position of power to do anything.

Makes me wonder about who these protestors are.

[ImNotGod]

42. These protestors have already done enough damage to this country, its time for them to go back to their mother russia.nt

[kacekwl]

43. Sure, she's the problem.

It wouldn't be the current administration.

[walkingman]

46. These people really need to understand they are undermining their own cause.

[Doodley]

49. They are not protesters. They are trolls, either paid, or mentally unstable, brainwashed by the right.

[maxsolomon]

52. Well, the question is who they were.

WOL? That would be my guess.

WOL is none of those.

[maxsolomon]

51. We all have "blood on our hands" when it comes to Gaza.

Our national policy has always been Zionist. We have always subsidized Israel and the Israeli military. Both parties.

After 10/7 there was zero chance the US would back off support of Israel.

Could Biden have taken a harder line with Netanyahu? Yes. Would it have moderated or ended their siege of Gaza? Probably not. Hamas are religious fanatics who were backed by Iranian and Lebanese religious fanatics, and Israel is run by religious fanatics.

And thanks to the anti-Zionist Left, now the US is, too.

[UpInArms]

57. Fuck them

Because of them, we have TFG

What has he done for them?

Asswipes … every one of them

[bottomofthehill]

79. Bullshit merchants one and all.

[Vinca]

58. Are they protesting at the White House? Gaza has gone from conflict to genocide with Trump's blessing.

[QueerDuck]

60. But they remain silent when it comes to protesting the GOP or Trump. Why?

Aren't these the same jackasses who protested Pride Parades, too? I thought so. Why?

[Buddyzbuddy]

61. Let me see if I can figure this out.

The current Felon in charge has made plans to build a resort where Palestinians currently occupy. In order to do that he will need to demolish all structures and remove all people other than construction crews. Check and check.

Whereas the person that was not elected (questionable) to office spoke of the Palestinian children and innocents being killed, empathetically.
I don't believe a true Palestinian would take the time to protest her. I surmise it's a setup by any number of people that took advantage of an opportunity.

I also believe those here that immediately chose to bad mouth Joe Biden are not who they portray themselves to be. What they succeeded in doing is changing the subject matter and getting DU members criticizing each other. Joe Biden was and is a really good man that gave all he had for the betterment of our Country, a true Patriot. A truly compassionate man that has admitted to some bad decisions but with no ill intent.
There is no comparison of the current occupant of the Whitehouse and Former President Biden and that includes for the current Israeli/Palestinian situation.

As for Kamala Harris's book, I haven't read it, but the excerpts I've heard, I don't think I want to read it. I may have to if she chooses to run again. I suspect I will not be happy about the contents.
Have a good day my DU family.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

62. Why aren't these idiots protesting Trump?

[sarisataka]

69. So are they getting an early start on Abandon Harris 2028?

[RandySF]

76. JFC

[LonePirate]

77. Yawn! Wake me when they finally start protesting people in power.

This performative nonsense of protesting Harris accomplishes absolutely nothing.

[bottomofthehill]

78. Fuck them. They gave us President Trump

Go find something else to whine about.