Uncommitted delegates have been staging a sit-in outside the Democratic National Convention hall after being informed last night that a Palestinian American would not get be given a speaking slot in the event.
In response, a number of progressive lawmakers and officials, as well the United Auto Workers, have called on the Harris campaign and DNC officials to reverse the decision.
Several progressive lawmakers have issued public statements of support for a Palestinian speaker on the final night of the convention, including Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.; Summer Lee, D-Pa.; Delia Ramirez, D-Ill.; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; Greg Casar, D-Tex.; Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.; and Maxwell Frost, D-Fla.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also endorsed the idea today, as did Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison — who was the first Muslim elected to Congress before running for his current job — and actors and activists Mandy Patinkin and Mark Ruffalo.
“We’re not here to cause trouble, nobody is trying to sneak in or anything. We won delegates. We negotiated with the campaign. We did everything we were supposed to and we can’t even get a symbolic gesture," Georgia state Rep. Ruwa Romman, a Palestinian American who was one the proposed speakers, said through tears Wednesday night.
That’s basically what the person they offered to speak said they wanted to say. It would build up Kamala and denigrate Trump like everyone else speaking. But they wouldn’t have it for some strange reason.