Former Vice President Kamala Harris returned to politics on Wednesday night, giving a harshly critical speech of President Donald Trump. The speech coincided with Trump’s 100th day in office since his inauguration in January.
Speaking at a dinner in San Francisco, California, celebrating the 20th anniversary of Emerge, an organization that supports Democratic women running for office, the former vice president criticized Trump on a variety of issues and warned of a looming constitutional crisis. She began her speech, however, by expressing gratitude for returning home.
“It is so wonderful to be home and be back with all the leaders who are here,” Harris said. “And to celebrate this extraordinary organization, which is an organization of so many exceptional leaders. Those who found the courage to run for office and those who support them.”
Harris spoke to the crowd about American ideals and how the country hasn’t “fully lived up to these ideals.” She mentioned the concept of the “American Dream” and how the concept of it has been slipping away. She also discussed how the country deserves leaders who improve people’s lives, a point she said the current administration is not doing.
“Throughout my career and life, I have always believed in the ideals of our nation,” Harris said. “The ideals reflected in the Declaration of Independence, that all are created equal and endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights. Ideals advanced and affirmed by the service and sacrifice of generations of patriots. The ideals that ground the Constitution of the United States, that here in our country, power ultimately lies, not with the wealthy or well-connected, but with all of us, with ‘We the People.’”
“Now I recognize that America has never fully lived up to these ideals,” the former vice president said. “That for all the gains we made, the American Dream has for decades been slipping out of reach for so many. And the American people deserve leaders who make their lives better and make our country stronger.”
“But sadly, we have seen quite the opposite over these past few months,” Harris added.
She then heavily criticized the president’s first 100 days of his second term, accusing him of ushering in an era of fear. She celebrated those who showed courage to stand up to the Trump administration while also calling for more people to do so.
“Now I know tonight’s event happens to coincide with the 100 days after the inauguration,” Harris said. “And I’ll leave it to others to give a full accounting of what has happened so far. But I will say this, instead of an administration working to advance America’s highest ideals, we are witnessing the wholesale abandonment of those ideals.”
“We all know that President Trump and his administration and their allies are counting on the notion that fear can be contagious,” Harris said. “They are counting on the notion that if they make some people afraid, it will have a chilling effect on others. But what they have overlooked is that fear is not the only thing that’s contagious. Courage is contagious. The courage of Americans who are banding together in the face of the greatest man-made economic crisis in modern presidential history.”
She then pivoted to Trump’s tariffs, which caused quite a bit of economic turmoil within the president’s first 100 days in office.
“Americans, across the political spectrum, who are declaring that the president’s reckless tariffs hurt workers and families by raising the costs of everyday essentials, devastate the retirement accounts that people spent a lifetime paying into, and paralyzed American businesses, large and small, forcing them to layoff people, to stop hiring or pause investment decisions,” Harris said.
Harris warned of a constitutional crisis and the “crumbling” of the nation’s checks and balances. She blasted Trump for ignoring court orders and arresting judges. She then returned to her claim that the Trump administration is instilling a culture of fear in the country and that they are using a tactic to “divide and conquer” to advance their political agendas – an agenda the former vice president said was a “high-velocity event” and “decades in the making.”
Harris ended on a more uplifting note that contrasted the dark tone of most of her speech. She said that the challenges the country faces today from the Trump administration can be overcome if people work together, stick together, and do the hard work to ensure their voices are heard.
“Those who try to incite fear are most effective when they divide and conquer, when they separate the herd, when they try to make everyone think they are alone,” Harris said. “But in the face of crisis, the lesson is don’t scatter. The instinct has to be to immediately find and connect with each other and know that the circle will be strong.”
“I am not here tonight to offer all the answers, but I am here to say this,” Harris said. “You are not alone, and we are all in this together. And straight talk, things are probably going to get worse before they get better. But we are ready for it. We are not going to scatter. We are going to stand together, everyone a leader.”
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She then encouraged the people in the room to run for office, stick together, and keep working hard to achieve their goals. She stressed that the country belongs to the people, not politicians.
“Everyone here, please keep doing what you are doing,” Harris said. “And to everyone, let’s lock it in, gear up for the hard work ahead, and please always remember that this country is ours. It doesn’t belong to whoever is in the White House. It belongs to you, it belongs to us, it belongs to We the People.”