The crowd went wild during Kamala Harris’ largest campaign rally yet, and the Democratic candidate became upset when things got out of hand.
On Wednesday night, the jubilant crowd in Detroit sang along to Beyoncé and shouted for Donald Trump to be “locked up” as speakers cursed and hurled insults in their favor of Harris, pausing only to urge emergency services to respond after several people fainted from the heat.
Even vice presidential candidate Tim Walz was feeling the mood.
“Holy God, can you have a party here in Michigan,” he told them.
The mood rose a notch when he introduced Harris. She emerged to a roaring ovation that lasted for several minutes, but then struggled to regain control of the stormy rally.
Some 15,000 people emerged from a hangar at Detroit’s airport, the largest crowd so far during Harris’ presidential campaign.
And when a group of Gaza protesters started shouting at her, Harris became angry.
“If you want Donald Trump to win, say so. Otherwise, I will speak,” she told them as her supporters cheered her on.
“If you want Donald Trump to win, say so. Otherwise, I’ll speak,” Kamala Harris snapped at a group of pro-Gaza protesters
Harris first encountered pro-Gaza protesters during her presidential campaign when a group of them entered the event to boo her from the sidelines.
“Kamala Kamala, you can’t hide, we don’t want genocide,” they chanted.
At first, Harris downplayed the interruption to her speech. “I’m fine,” she said.
The crowd shouted ‘Ka-ma-la, Ka-ma-la’ to drown them out.
But as the anti-Israel protests continued, Harris became more pointed: “I’m here because we believe in democracy. Every voice matters, but I’m speaking now.”
It was the most intense rally yet for Harris and her running mate, who are on a multi-state tour. The war in Israel is a major concern in Michigan, which has a large Muslim population. Harris, as part of Joe Biden’s administration, has faced criticism for not doing enough to help civilians in Gaza.
But the event was rowdy from the start, starting with Harris’ rock-star entrance.
She took a trick from Donald Trump’s playbook for the event and arrived at the campaign rally in her Air Force plane.
She and Walz arrived at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport on Air Force Two, landing as Beyoncé’s “Run the World” played.
“Who runs the world? Girls,” blared over the loudspeakers as the plane came over the tarmac.
Harris stepped out to the sound of Beyoncé’s “Freedom,” her signature campaign song, and walked from the plane to the airport hangar, where a crowd of 15,000 people was waiting to greet her. So large that the crowd overflowed and spilled onto the tarmac.
Trump repeatedly used Air Force One as a backdrop for his campaign speeches during the 2020 election. He held his rallies at airports across the country, entertaining crowds as the blue-and-white plane pulled up to the hangar, allowing the then-president to make a dramatic entrance.
Air Force Two arrives for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz meeting in Detroit
“Holy God, can you have a party here in Michigan,” said Tim Walz
From then on, the audience became more and more exuberant, fueled by the speakers dropping more and more four-letter words.
United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain kicked things off by criticizing Trump for his treatment of the industry. The powerful union endorsed Harris for president two weeks ago.
“Trump talks about reviving the auto industry. Donald Trump doesn’t know a damn thing about the auto industry,” Fain shouted.
“And he doesn’t give a damn about the working class in this country.”
As Fain continued speaking, he let it out: “I’m f***ing angry.”
Other speakers also kept the mood up, including Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who is seen as a future presidential candidate.
“We need a strong woman in the White House and it’s high time that happened,” she said in her speech.
Walz commented on the vote.
“Holy God, can you have a party here in Michigan,” he said.
He let loose during his remarks, praising Whitmer for knowing how to “fix the damn roads” and telling the crowd “you’ve got a treasure here in Michigan.”
And he acknowledged how crazy his life has been the past two days, since Harris called him Tuesday morning and offered to be her running mate.
We are 91 days away from the election, he told the crowd. “Ninety,” they shouted back.
“90. Jesus, I haven’t slept in 24 hours,” he said, rubbing his face.
It was full of lyrics that appealed to the public.
And he had plenty of sharp remarks ready to throw at Republicans.
“The one thing I won’t forgive them for is trying to steal the joy from this country. But you know what? Our next president brings the joy. She radiates the joy,” Walz said.
Supporters cheer on Kamala Harris and Tim Walz
Harris and Walz walk across the Air Force Two ramp to the rally
The crowd of 15,000 people poured out of the hangar
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz step out of Air Force Two
It wasn’t just the rhetoric that was popular.
All speakers had to interrupt their speech to direct medical staff to the right place in the crowd, while several people fainted.
At least six people needed medical attention during the rally. Volunteers were on hand with water and Fig Newtons.
Cries of “water, water” and “medic, medic” could be heard from the crowd as people collapsed.
Walz also had to stop to give instructions to the doctors.
“Thank you for taking care of your neighbors,” Walz said as the crowd made way for the medical workers. “Look, we share a lot of things. That’s one of them. We’re neighbors and we’re not weird.”
He introduced Harris, who gave her usual speech.
Kamala Harris takes pictures with the audience after her remarks
The crowd went wild when Air Force Two arrived; Donald Trump also used his Air Force plane to attend rallies when he was president
Kamala Harris speaks with Air Force Two behind her
But Harris added one more thing she made on Wednesday.
She held back supporters who were chanting “lock him up” about Trump, her Republican rival, as she did earlier in the day at her rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
She had given her standard speech, detailing her background as a prosecutor, claiming that it gave her the skills to deal with men like Trump. Then the crowd started chanting, “Lock him up.”
Harris stood up for Trump.
“Wait a minute,” she said. “The courts are going to handle that. We’re going to beat him in November.”