John Oliver Makes 11th-Hour Plea For Pro-Palestinian Voters To Support Harris

In the final Last Week Tonight episode before Election Day, host John Oliver made a last-minute plea for hesitant pro-Palestinian voters to cast their ballot for Vice President Kamala Harris, arguing that she will be easier to hold accountable than former President Donald Trump when it comes to the U.S. role in Israels ongoing attacks on Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon.

With just one day left in the presidential campaign, the Democratic nominee continues to struggle to earn the trust of voters who strongly oppose the Biden administrations nearly unconditional military and diplomatic support for Israel specifically in Michigan, a crucial swing state with large Muslim and Arab American populations.

First, let me say I wish Harris had done more to reach out to you, beyond sending Bill Clinton to basically scold you this week, Oliver said in Sundays episode, referring to the former presidents incendiary speech in Michigan, where he defended Israeli military strikes that have killed tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians.

Some pro-Palestinian voters hoped that Harris would do more to reach out to Palestinian Americans after she replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee. But with the vice president publicly claiming that her stance on Gaza policy would essentially be unchanged from Bidens , many Democratic voters who support a free Palestine are on the fence about whether to continue backing their partys chosen candidate.

What I have endorsed is that people come out and vote, to not sit on the sideline, regardless of all that has unfolded and happened to you directly or indirectly, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud told Democracy Now . What I can assure you is that sitting on the sideline will accomplish nothing.

And so, Ive called on people to vote their moral conscience, Hammoud said. To go out, to at least begin with the local ballot questions, the local elections, and then work their way up to the ballot as they get to that presidential question.

Oliver pointed to the positions of some Muslim and Arab American leaders with the so-called Uncommitted movement, who organized a protest vote during the primary election which gained so much traction that the movement sent at least 30 delegates to represent the pro-Palestinian vote at the Democratic National Convention, although they were denied a speaking slot. 

The movements leaders declined to formally endorse Harris after she didnt meet with them to discuss potential policy changes , nor would she meet with Palestinian families in Michigan whose loved ones have been killed in Gaza. Yet they vehemently warned the movements followers against casting their ballot for Trump or a third-party candidate, such as Jill Stein , the Green Party nominee who has won noticeable support from some pro-Palestinian voters after hinging her campaign on calling out Israels attacks on Gaza with U.S. weapons.

The push for Palestinian human rights will never be easy. But with a second Trump presidency, both civilians in Palestine and our antiwar movement here in our country will suffer, Uncommitted co-founder Abbas Alawieh said in a Friday ad mobilizing Michigan voters against the Republican candidate.

Oliver echoed that sentiment, highlighting Trumps cozy relationship with right-wing leaders in Israel and his stated plans for the future of Palestinian enclaves, as well as proposals in the right-wing presidential transition blueprint, Project 2025, that threaten aggressive action in the U.S. against pro-Palestinian protests. On top of that, the late-night host stressed that a Trump reelection will reverberate far beyond four years in the White House if he is again given the opportunity to appoint U.S. Supreme Court justices.

Some of the Uncommitted leaders have stressed that they are voting for Harris because she can be more easily pressured to change policy positions. Georgia state Rep. Ruwa Romman recorded a TikTok post last month saying that she voted for the Democrat in her crucial swing state as a promise that I and those who stand with me will not stop demanding the end of mass slaughter and violence everywhere.

Harris told reporters on Sunday in Detroit that she is honored to have the support of some Arab American leaders but that she knows the community is not a monolith.

There are many issues that are the issues that all Americans face and then, of course, some that are specific to what is happening in Gaza, she said, repeating the messaging from her campaign and the current White House that the U.S. is committed to a cease-fire deal, the return of hostages, the security of Israel and the self-determination of Palestinians. 

The Biden administration is still approving weapon sales to Israel, despite about two-thirds of Harris voters believing the U.S. should not provide unrestricted assistance to the military if the Israel Defense Forces continue to indiscriminately harm civilians in Gaza and Lebanon, according to a poll released Monday by the Arab American Institute. 

Here is how I look at it: The struggle for justice isnt just about what happens on Election Day, Oliver said. Its a fight waged constantly day in, day out  in protests, on the street, meetings with legislators and in the thousand small actions that cumulatively move the government forward, an inch at a time.