On Friday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes stated that 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris needs “more definition” of her position on the Middle East, “and with time, that will come, but we don’t have a lot of time.”
Guest host José Díaz-Balart asked, “I spoke to a state representative who represents part of Dearborn. He told me that a lot of his constituents have been personally, so personally impacted by the conflict in the Middle East, and he talked about the suffering that has been happening in Gaza, the bombings inside Beirut. And they say they want to hear more from the candidates. It’s interesting, because, when I asked them, what message would you have for both campaigns? He says, just be more defined, be clear. I don’t know if you could say that the Trump campaign has been clear on many issues, this not being one of them. But has the Harris campaign been clear enough on these issues?”
Barnes answered, “[T]he Trump campaign and Trump himself have been pretty clear, the words that have come out of his mouth are words that folks should heed. The way he talks about immigrants, the way he talks about a Muslim ban, the way he talks about how he thinks that Netanyahu should double down on the horrific horrors that have been reigned upon the folks in Gaza. Those are real. Those are words that have come out of his mouth. And those are words that folks should pay attention to. On the Harris side, absolutely, I think that more definition, and with time, that will come, but we don’t have a lot of time. What we have to know is that this is a compassionate woman who has used language that folks should understand is very different from the way President Biden talks about this issue and she’s had great conversations here in Michigan with folks about this issue. This is why organizations like Emgage have endorsed, because they understand the difference between a Kamala Harris presidency and a Donald Trump presidency is literally life and death.”
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