Harris opens book tour amid Gaza war protests, condemns Netanyahu and Trump
Former vice president uses Town Hall appearance to address Gaza war, express sympathy for Palestinians, and criticize Trump, as protests erupt outside and inside the venue.
New York — Kamala Harris opened her book tour for 107 Days with a stop at Town Hall in Times Square on Wednesday night, a high‑profile event that quickly collided with protests tied to the Israel‑Gaza war. The former vice president used the appearance to express sympathy for Palestinians and to criticize Donald Trump for what she described as giving the Israeli government a blank check. What’s happening to the Palestinian people is outrageous and it breaks my heart, she said from the stage, as a protester interrupted the talk shortly after it began. She added that Trump has given Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a blank check to do whatever he wants.
Outside the venue, demonstrators gathered on the sidewalk, and inside, the program diverged when a protester began shouting from the audience. Harris urged calm, telling the crowd to take the temperature down. She noted that, as vice president, she had spoken out about starvation in Gaza about a year and a half earlier and had taken heat from the Biden administration for addressing the issue. The disruption continued, but she returned to her message, arguing that U.S. policy should not be a blank check for any government when civilians are paying the price.
During the discussion, Harris referenced her support for Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat challenging for New York City mayor who has also spoken out against the war in Gaza. She said the two spoke earlier in the day and that she was excited about his candidacy because he is bringing people in who have felt left out and are now part of the conversation. You are bringing people in, and you are showing that there are voices that want to be heard, she said, calling Mamdani a powerful addition to the race.
Throughout the evening, Harris also took aim at Trump and his allies, arguing that the Republican president and his supporters have sought to quash dissent. She criticized the former president for comments she described as inflammatory in recent interviews, and she reiterated her claim that the 2024 election loss was one of the closest in the 21st century. Trump responded on social media, blasting Harris as dumb as a rock, a remark she did not directly repeat from the stage.
The discussion occurred against a broader backdrop of a war that has intensified in Gaza since the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023. Gaza Health Ministry figures, referenced during the event, have underscored the massive civilian toll and the depth of the humanitarian crisis, contributing to a continuing political debate about U.S. policy toward Israel and the Palestinians. The U.S. does not elect presidents by popular vote; Trump won the presidency in 2016 despite losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton, and he edged Harris in the electoral college 312‑226 in the 2024 cycle, a reminder that domestic politics and foreign policy tensions can intersect in complicated ways. The two closer elections since 2000 were George W. Bush over John Kerry in 2004 and the Bush‑Kerry contest in a then‑tight race, highlighting the fragility of voting outcomes in a polarized era.
Audience members offered mixed assessments of Harris’s political future. Valerie Lewis, 56, of New York City, said she would love to see Harris run for president again and hoped the tour could serve as a unifying moment. Her husband, Eugene Dixon, 65, was more skeptical, saying he didn’t think the country was ready for a woman president. The exchange underscored the ongoing debate within the Democratic Party about leadership and how to address the Gaza crisis while balancing other policy priorities.
Harris did not lay out a concrete timeline for her next moves. She has previously passed on opportunities to run for California governor and has not publicly announced a new campaign plan. The book, which recounts the rapid campaign she mounted after Biden left the 2024 race, has already fueled discussion about whether Harris will pursue another bid in the future. The Town Hall appearance drew a near‑capacity crowd, reflecting enduring interest in her role and in how Democrats intend to chart a path through a brutal, highly politicized conflict in the Middle East.
The scene outside the venue captured the tension surrounding the war: protesters with placards on the sidewalk and a steady stream of spectators arriving for the night’s events. The exchange inside—between a former vice president seeking to shape a national conversation and a public still wrestling with how to respond to the Gaza crisis—highlighted the political stakes for the Democratic Party as it grapples with questions of strategy, human rights, and U.S. foreign policy.
As the night concluded, Harris left the stage with a message that her book tour will be a platform for discussion, not a single point of view. The war in Gaza will continue to shape the policy debates in Washington and beyond, and Harris’s tone—empathic toward civilians, critical of leadership on both sides of the aisle—signals a willingness to engage on difficult questions and to press for accountability where she sees it as warranted.