Harris book tour interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters in Manhattan

Former Vice President Kamala Harris kicked off her book tour in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday night, fielding interruptions from pro-Palestinian protesters as she promoted her memoir 107 Days, which she says offers a behind-the-scenes look at her 2024 presidential bid. Harris used the event to present her own perspective on policy and leadership, while signaling a clear departure from the Biden administration on how she would have handled the Israel-Hamas war.

About 1,500 people attended the kickoff, held at a venue in Midtown Manhattan. The crowd listened as Harris laid out her take on Gaza and the war in the hours ahead of a broader tour schedule. The evening’s disruption began roughly 20 minutes after the program started, when a protester in the audience began shouting accusations of genocide, The Washington Post reported.

The protest did not derail Harris, who attempted to steer the remarks back to her book and her views on Gaza. As the noise swelled, she pushed back by saying, “You’re not letting me talk! I respect your right to talk, but you’re not letting me speak!” and urged the crowd to “let’s bring the temperature down.” She added, “Unlike the current president of the United, I understand what’s happening right now in Gaza, what is happening to the Palestinian people is outrageous and it breaks my heart. I get it.”

In her remarks and in the book, Harris addresses the Gaza crisis by recounting her earlier public positions and the political heat she faced for them. She asserted in the book that she was “the first person at the highest level of our United States government or administration to talk about the fact that the people in Gaza were starving,” noting that she drew criticism from within the administration for speaking out. “There are a lot of people that did not like that I spoke out so forcefully and candidly about my concern about what was happening in Gaza,” she said.

Harris also took aim at former President Donald Trump’s approach to the war, arguing that Trump had “given Netanyahu a blank check to do whatever he wants,” a characterization she used to contrast her own stance with the prior administration. “Donald Trump has given Netanyahu a blank check to do whatever he wants,” she said, and she questioned how the international community viewed the actions unfolding in the region, adding, “Anybody see that spectacle of the UN yesterday?”

The scene at Harris’s book event reflected a broader pattern from the 2024 campaign, during which protesters repeatedly interrupted her gatherings to accuse the Biden administration of supporting genocide in Gaza. The Hollywood Reporter noted that multiple interruptions occurred at various forums, including moments when a protester implied the crisis in the Middle East was the fault of Harris herself. Harris acknowledged the pain expressed by protesters, saying, “I understand the pain that that person just expressed, I understand what this moment is… that’s absolutely unconscionable and so painful to know could happen and that our president and our government is standing by and allowing people like [Vladimir] Putin and Kim Jong Un and Xi [Jinping] to get away with whatever.” She added that she preferred to continue the conversation rather than let the disruption derail the discussion.

The Midtown event, described as a turbulent but controlled moment, came as Democrats and supporters wrestle with internal divisions over Biden’s Israel policy as the party closes out a chapter on the 2024 campaign. Harris has repeatedly defended her history on Israel while framing her current views as a distinct stance from the White House line. The book tour, a commercial and political enterprise, is intended to advance her post-election narrative and policy priorities as she faces questions about her future role in American politics.

107 Days, Harris’s new memoir, provides a window into decision-making within the highest levels of government during a period of intense international crisis. While the book has generated controversy and debate, Harris has used the tour to outline the spectrum of her policy beliefs, including humanitarian concerns for civilians in Gaza and a critique of the Trump-era approach to the conflict. The return to public life after the campaign comes as the former vice president seeks to position herself for potential future political ventures, while also contending with a legacy shaped by a tumultuous 2024 cycle.

As the tour unfolds, Harris’s team will likely face ongoing questions about how she balances advocacy on foreign policy with the realities of a polarized political environment in which party leaders frequently clash over strategy and tone. The early exchanges in Manhattan, marked by interruptions but also by moments of pointed commentary, illustrate the delicate balance Harris seeks to strike between laying out a distinct policy platform and responding to a crowd that remains deeply divided over the proper U.S. approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict.