Harris tries to turn Gaza protests into a way to energize the crowds at her rallies

WASHINGTON (AP) — Protesters can create awkward moments for presidential candidates. They interrupt, heckle and, oftentimes, knock a candidate off track.

But Vice President Kamala Harris is trying a new strategy late in the campaign to turn what would otherwise be awkward interactions into moments of energy used to rally her supporters and subtly drive her message against her Republican opponent, Donald Trump.

At all three of the Democratic nominee’s rallies on Wednesday — in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — pro-Palestinian protesters broke in with chants, banners, and even a whistle to criticize Harris for how she and President Joe Biden have handled the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Gaza protesters have long targeted Harris' events, and Biden's when he was still the party's nominee, hoping to use the disturbances to draw media attention to their cause. They have often prompted prolonged pauses while security officers remove the demonstrators or create uncomfortable interactions.