Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday spoke with leaders of a Michigan anti-Israel group ahead of her campaign rally in Detroit, expressing her openness to discussing an arms embargo on Israel in its war against Hamas terrorists. Her national security adviser quickly walked back the remark.
The Democratic presidential nominee signaled her interest in the arms embargo when she talked with the founders of the Uncommitted National Movement—which mobilized tens of thousands of Michigan Democrats to abstain from voting for President Joe Biden in the primary earlier this year due to his support for Israel. Harris's national security adviser Phil Gordon later said on X that the Democratic nominee "does not support an arms embargo on Israel" and "will always ensure Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups."
Harris’s comments come as she leans into her party’s radical wing, positioning herself as even more critical of Israel than Biden and announcing her running mate to be Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, whose far-left policy record has faced heavy scrutiny and backlash.
The anti-Israel group’s founders—Abbas Alawieh, former chief of staff for Rep. Cori Bush (D., Mo.), and Layla Elabed, sister of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.)—were in the welcoming line for Harris and Walz ahead of their Detroit rally and told Harris that voters wanted her to introduce an arms embargo immediately. Harris said she was open to a meeting and directed the two leaders to her staff.
Harris received endorsement last week from the Black Muslim Leadership Council Fund, an anti-Israel group who had refused to back Biden’s reelection bid over his response to the Israel-Hamas war. The group cited Harris’s more hardline stance toward Israel, noting that she skipped Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s congressional address last month and has otherwise "shown more sympathy towards the people of Gaza."