Harris has faced pushback from many pro-Palestinian voters frustrated that she hasn’t unveiled a policy agenda for U.S. actions in the Middle East distinctly different from President Joe Biden’s largely pro-Israel stance. With time running out to persuade this voting bloc to support the vice president, Sanders made a final appeal.

“I understand that there are millions of Americans who disagree with Biden and Harris on the terrible war in Gaza. I am one of them,” Sanders began in a post to X. He then explained, however, that he continues to support Harris because he believes she will change her position after the election. 

“I promise you, after Kamala wins, we will together do everything that we can to change U.S. policy toward [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu,” the Vermont senator vowed.

“Let me be clear. We will have, in my view, a much better chance of changing U.S. policy with Kamala than with Trump,” Sanders continued. 

I’ve been all over the country in the last month.

And I get asked the same question, over and over again:

“I disagree with Kamala’s position on the war in Gaza. How can I vote for her?”

Here is my answer: pic.twitter.com/r4fzWz8yXF

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) October 28, 2024

Sanders and other members of the pro-Palestinian movement say Israel is an “occupying” force and have pointed to the killing of thousands of civilians in Gaza to argue that the Jewish nation should stop its military campaign in the region.

Former President Donald Trump and his allies, including his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have argued instead that it is Hamas, in fact, that has caused the deaths of Palestinian civilians because the terrorist group has used civilians to hide from Israel and its efforts to eradicate the group after the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.

Here’s my conversation with @jaredkushner, former Senior Advisor to President Donald Trump, and one of the most influential presidential advisors in modern history. We discuss the Hamas attack on Israel in the full context of the history and geopolitics of the region. This… pic.twitter.com/T8r99Ssi2c

— Lex Fridman (@lexfridman) October 11, 2023

The arguments from the Trump camp haven’t won over Sanders. 

“Many of you have differences of opinion with Kamala Harris on Gaza. So do I, but we cannot sit this election out. Trump has got to be defeated,” Sanders said on Tuesday. 

His words come as prominent anti-Israel groups in Michigan have refused to back Harris ahead of the presidential election. Arab American PAC, the “Abandon Harris” movement (based in Dearborn, Michigan), and the “Uncommitted” movement have declined to endorse the vice president because she hasn’t pledged support for an arms embargo against Israel, among other concerns. 

Their refusal to back Harris in Michigan has proved concerning for the Democratic Party as the presidential campaign in the battleground state is shaping up to be a razor-thin race. 

As he pressed the pro-Palestinian activists to back Harris, Sanders continued to argue that “as important as Gaza is, and as strongly as many of us feel about this issue, it is not the only issue at stake in this election.” 

Sanders urged voters to consider a litany of other topics, including abortion, climate, and tax policy, when they cast their ballot, saying that if Trump wins, the nation will face an “enormous setback” on every policy front, not just Gaza. 

Sanders and Harris mounted dueling campaigns during the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. Though they both ran as progressives four years ago, Harris has shifted to the center on numerous topics as she battles to win the 2024 presidential election. However, the Vermont senator has lobbied her to come back further to the left. In addition to the war in Gaza, Sanders has urged Harris to back raising the minimum wage and expanding child tax credits. 

While most Democrats quickly endorsed Harris after her swift ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket in July, Sanders held off on backing her for days, worrying that her platform didn’t push the agenda of the “working class” hard enough. 

However, since Sanders endorsed her in late July, Harris has adopted many positions for which Sanders called.

She announced her support for increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour earlier this month, a move Sanders wholeheartedly praised. 

Harris also committed to expanding child tax credits in August, a move Sanders hailed as “long overdue.

“I look forward to working with Vice President Harris when she becomes president to implement her economic agenda, and more, within her first 100 days in office,” Sanders said in a response to the vice president’s support for the tax policy.