Kamala Harris Spars With Activist at Event: 'People Are Dying'

Vice President Kamala Harris dismissed a heckler at an event last weekend after the man began shouting about Harris' lack of effort in addressing climate change.

The Daily Caller shared a video posted to X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday afternoon that showed a heckler interrupting Harris' speech. He can be heard yelling above the vice president, who is speaking at a podium. He yelled so loudly at times that Harris could not be heard. A spokesperson from Harris' office told Newsweek that the protester interrupted the event last Saturday in Massachusetts.

"We are in the middle of a climate emergency. Eighty people have died in Hawaii, Thousands have been displaced by the climate chaos," the protester yelled. "The planet is burning, and people are dying."

"I'm speaking," Harris responded as the heckler was removed from the crowd by security.

Last week, deadly wildfires raged across Hawaii. The fires spread across several islands, spurred by winds from Hurricane Dora, and hit Maui particularly hard. It is believed the fires were generated by a mix of hot and dry conditions, but their direct cause is not yet known.

As of Tuesday, at least 99 people were reported dead from the devastating fire that engulfed parts of Maui, and the island's historic town of Lahaina was mostly destroyed. Thousands of people were displaced, and hundreds of others remain missing. Search-and-rescue efforts continued to comb through the rubble.

Biden issued a disaster declaration for the state two days after the fires began, which allows for federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. The White House said Wednesday that Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Maui on August 21.

On Tuesday, Biden posted on social media that he had recently had a conversation with Hawaii Governor Josh Green.

"I reassured the Governor that Hawai'i will continue to have everything it needs from the federal government, and directed [Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell] to keep surging resources and personnel as long as it takes. Every asset they need will be there for them," Biden wrote.

However, the president stopped short of saying that he would visit the disaster-stricken state. The president has faced criticism for taking time before the White House announced the upcoming trip to Maui, with some critics saying that his response was dismissive.

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Shortly after Biden's comments, Bloomberg reporter Jennifer Jacobs wrote on X that Biden had promised he would travel to Hawaii as soon as he could. Biden made that comment during an event in Wisconsin.

Newsweek reached out to the White House by email for comment.

During the heckling of Harris' speech, the man pressed Harris on efforts to combat climate change.

"We were wondering if you would uphold your promises," he said. "You and Joe are failing on climate."

Last August, Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, which dedicated $369 billion to go toward America's green energy transition. The law aims for a 40 percent reduction in national carbon emissions by 2030 while also spurring growth in the green energy sector by providing tax credits for the purchase of electric vehicles and solar panels.

Climate change continues to affect the severity of natural disasters, and experts say that will remain the case as long as global warming exists.

"We can expect the kinds of conditions experiencing now to continue to intensify in the future as global warming continues," Noah Diffenbaugh, a professor at Stanford's Doerr School of Sustainability, previously told Newsweek.

Update 8/16/23, 9:55 a.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.

Update 08/16/23, 1:03 p.m. ET: This story was updated with information about President Joe Biden's trip to Maui next week.