How much did Kamala Harris's Gaza policy contribute to her election loss? 

Minutes before Vice President Kamala Harris conceded defeat Senator Bernie Sanders contended that the campaign failed to deal with three critical issues: wealth inequality, healthcare and Palestine

Vice President Kamala Harris had been conscious of navigating the issue of Gaza. Photo: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

Senator Bernie Sanders led the charge. Minutes before Vice President Kamala Harris took to the stage at Howard University to address the nation and concede defeat to now-president-elect Donald Trump, he produced a withering statement online.

The 83-year-old contended that the campaign failed to deal with three critical issues: wealth inequality, healthcare and Palestine.

The crowd at her concession event was thinner and more muted than the night previous when they congregated on election night. Photo: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

"It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working-class people would find that the working class has abandoned them," Sanders wrote. "While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they’re right."

A day after he won a fourth Senate term, the Vermont independent pointed to another failing of the Biden administration, where Harris was deputy. Sanders has long criticised their Middle East policies.

“Today, despite strong opposition from a majority of Americans, we continue to spend billions funding the extremist Netanyahu government's all-out war against the Palestinian people which has led to the horrific humanitarian disaster of mass malnutrition and the starvation of thousands of children.” 

Harris graduated from Howard University in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in political science and economics. This is her tribe. The crowd at her concession event was thinner and more muted than the night previous when they congregated on election night. 

By now it is truly about the diehards. They felt this deeply, it was an emotionally charged gathering. There was disappointment for her. There was, once again, a splinter group disappointed in her.

Protesters were positioned outside the entrance on both nights. ‘The people demand: Stop arming Israel,’ urged a flag on election day. On day two, John Wright Rios from Maryland came with a poster of his own: ‘Confront US complicity in Gaza war crimes.’ 

How big a factor was it in the election results? Enough for Trump to include Arab Americans and Muslims while crediting minority groups in his victory speech. His path to victory in Michigan included a visit to Dearborn where he searched for votes and found them.

“I’m here today to express my grief and sorrow about the results of the election but also more importantly to speak out about the incredible atrocities and genocide that the Biden administration has been financing against the people of Gaza,” said Wright Rios in front of the main gate. Few attendees interacted with him.

In an ABC News preliminary exit poll, only 4% said foreign policy was their most important issue. In Michigan, 38% said US support for Israel is about right. 29% opted for too strong while 27% said it was not strong enough. Harris had been conscious of navigating that tricky coalition. She spent the Sunday before the election canvasing the state and said she wants a speedy end to the war.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office released a statement to confirm he was “among the first” world leaders to call and congratulate Trump. As dejected attendees spill out for the main lawn at Howard University, this particular picketer is adamant the conflict played a part in Harris’ defeat.

Robin Galbraith walks out of Howard University in Washington as Kamala Harris delivers her concession speech. Photo: AP/Nathan Howard

“In two big ways, in Michigan because of the large Arab-American, Palestine, Muslim population there. Also, because so many young people, especially activists on campuses, are deeply disillusioned. People of goodwill, people who think genocide is not ok. 

"Many of them didn’t vote. Many of them voted third party. I don’t agree with that because look what happened, we have Trump. Those are big factors in why we are in the situation that we are in.”