Protesters demand a ceasefire in Gaza during Harris’ speech in Washington

American pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted US Vice President Kamala Harris called for an end to the elections in his closing speech on Tuesday in Washington DC the years-long war against Gaza and a complete arms embargo against Israel.

Groups of protesters appeared throughout the crowd, with videos on social media showing chants of “Stop Armament Israel!” and “Arms embargo now!”

The protests led by advocacy groups such as DC for Palestine, DCLocal2Global, DMV Dissenters, CODEPINK, ShutdownDC and the Palestinian Youth Movement reflect growing dissatisfaction with Harris’ support for Israel amid the attacks on Lebanon and Gaza.

CODEPINK reported that demonstrators were quickly removed by security during the rally.

Harris has refused to end arms shipments or impose conditions on US military aid to Israel if elected, although she has called for a ceasefire.

This stance has raised concerns among Arab, Muslim and progressive groups, posing a risk to its support in key swing states such as Michiganwhich has a large Arab-American community.

According to one recent YouGov poll, former President Donald Trump Harris narrowly leads among Arab-American voters, with 45 percent favoring Trump and 43 percent supporting Harris.

Harris urges US to turn the page on Trump’s ‘chaos’

Harris urged Americans during her speech, against the glowing backdrop of the White House, to write the “next chapter” for their country and reject the chaos and division of Donald Trump.

The Democratic vice president, like her, warned against Trump’s desire for ‘unchecked power’ addressed a mass meeting at the site where her Republican rival incited a crowd before the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

“This is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with resentment and bent on unchecked power,” she said in the speech, just a week before Americans go to the polls in the most dramatic and divisive election of modern times .

But Harris then pivoted to an optimistic vision of the future of the United States, using the setting of the White House, lit against the night behind her, as a symbolic pitch to show she is ready for the presidency.

“America, I’m here tonight to say, that’s not who we are,” Harris told the huge crowd of flag-waving supporters.

“Each of you has the power to turn the page and begin writing the next chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told.”

Harris’ campaign claimed that 75,000 people attended the rally. The number could not immediately be verified, but the crowd was unusually large in an election that saw much enthusiasm on both sides.

‘Chaos and division’

The crowd stretched from the Ellipse, a park adjacent to the White House grounds where Harris spoke, all the way back to the Washington Monument, the obelisk that towered over the National Mall.

Speaking from behind bulletproof screens next to blue signs reading “Freedom,” Harris warned that the election was a choice between a “country rooted in freedom for every American, or ruled by chaos and division.”

Harris reminded the crowd that Trump stood in the same spot nearly four years ago and sent “an armed mob” into the Capitol.

After Trump urged his supporters to “fight like hell” in a speech, many then marched to the iconic domed seat of government to mark the certification of President Joe Biden‘s victory, in an attack that injured 140 police officers and shocked the world.

But while her speech began with the dramatic attack on Trump, she quickly transitioned to a summary of her detailed plans to help America’s financially struggling middle class.

She got the biggest cheers when she referred to Republicans wanting to restrict abortion and said the government “shouldn’t be telling women what to do with their bodies.”

Harris also addressed one of her key weaknesses: the fact that some voters still see her as a continuation of Biden, who withdrew from the race for the White House in July.

“My presidency will be different because the challenges we face are different,” she promised.

‘Cleaning’

Although there is still a week to go, the Harris campaign called her speech a “closing argument” — a nod to her career as a prosecutor.

Harris and Trump remain stuck in the polls as they both desperately try to convince undecided voters in seven key swing states.

Trump has spent the past two days trying to quell a firestorm at his weekend rally at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden, where a warm-up comedian said Puerto Rico was a “floating island of trash.”

Biden came under fire Tuesday for responding to the comments by appearing to call Trump’s supporters “nonsense,” though he later said he was referring to the Republican’s rhetoric.

“The only trash I see floating out there is his supporters,” Biden said during a campaign call for Harris.

Trump called the comments “terrible,” as did his running mate J.D. Vance said they were ‘disgusting’.

In a TV appearance, Trump said the comedian who made the comments about Puerto Rico “probably… shouldn’t have been there.”

However, Trump previously called the New York event a “love fest,” the same phrase he has used to describe the riot at the Capitol.

The Republican later rallied in the working-class Pennsylvania neighborhood of Allentown, perhaps the most crucial of the seven battleground states expected to decide the election — and a city that is home to a large Puerto Rican community.

Fears of a repeat of the chaos of four years ago are heavily linked to this year’s election, with Trump repeatedly indicating he might again refuse to accept the outcome if he loses.