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3471Former Vice President Kamala Harris returned to the national stage this week, delivering her most direct rebuke yet of President Donald Trump during a major speech at the Emerge America gala on May 1.
In front of a supportive crowd in her home state of California, Harris warned that the country is facing a constitutional crisis and economic turmoil under Trump’s leadership.
“Instead of an administration working to advance America’s highest ideals, we are witnessing the wholesale abandonment of those ideals,” Harris told the audience at the 20th anniversary celebration of Emerge, a group that trains Democratic women to run for office.
“Fear is not the only thing that’s contagious. Courage is.”
Marking the first 100 days of Trump’s second term, Harris criticized his use of across-the-board tariffs, blaming them for what she called “the greatest man-made economic crisis in modern presidential history.”
She called tariffs “reckless” and said that “tariffs hurt workers and families by raising the cost of everyday essentials, devastate retirement accounts that people spent a lifetime paying into, and paralyze American businesses large and small.”
Harris argued the economic damage is intentional and part of a broader conservative effort to shrink government, dismantle public services, and reward the wealthy.
“What we are in fact witnessing is a high velocity event where a vessel is being used for the swift implementation of an agenda that has been decades in the making,” she said.
A Call for Unity Amid Crisis
Throughout the speech, Harris struck a tone of urgency but also hope.
She praised Americans who are standing up against what she called dangerous overreach by the White House, including judges, universities, and grassroots activists.
“The one check, the one balance, the one power that must not fail is the voice of the people.”
She warned that if Congress and the courts fail to hold the president accountable, “that is called a constitutional crisis, and that is a crisis that will eventually impact everyone.”
Referencing a recent viral video of elephants forming a circle to protect their young during an earthquake, Harris used the moment as a metaphor for what she believes Americans must do: stand together.
“In the face of crisis, the lesson is: don’t scatter. The instinct has to be to immediately find and connect with each other. The circle will be strong.”
A Political Future in Motion
Harris’s appearance comes as speculation grows about her political future.
After her 2024 loss to Trump, some of her advisers are reportedly weighing a 2026 California gubernatorial run or another shot at the presidency in 2028.
Speaking from the heart of her home state, Harris made clear she still sees herself as a leader in the Democratic Party.
“You are not alone, and we are all in this together,” she told the crowd.
“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.”
The former vice president will continue her public reemergence with a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee in New York next week.
Her team has also kept busy raising funds and engaging supporters through digital outreach.
Closing out her speech, Harris reminded the crowd: “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.”
Her remarks drew loud applause and signaled that, while she may be out of office, Harris has no intention of stepping out of the fight.
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