- In her first major speech since leaving office, former Vice President Kamala Harris spoke about the "ideals of our nation."
- She criticized President Donald Trump's tariffs and spoke about the country's checks and balances.
- Harris also encouraged those in the audience to stick together and to have courage.
In her first major speech since leaving office in January, former Vice President Kamala Harris criticized President Donald Trump, spoke about the need for checks and balances, and brought up a viral video involving elephants.
Wednesday’s speech, which was seen as Harris’ return to the political arena, was given at the 20th anniversary gala for Emerge America, “an organization that recruits and trains Democratic women to run for office,” according to The Associated Press. The speech was delivered in the ballroom of the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.
Harris spoke about the first 100 days of Trump’s second term, the recent tariffs and encouraged Americans to stick together.
Here is a look at some of the key points and most memorable quotes from Harris‘ address on Wednesday.
The core American ideals
The former vice president began her speech by highlighting “the ideals of our nation,” that she said she has believed in throughout her life and career.
“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,” Harris said.
Harris acknowledged that it has been 100 days since Trump’s inauguration, saying, “I’ll leave to others to give a full accounting of what has happened so far.”
“But I will say this. Instead of the administration working to advance America’s highest ideals, we are witnessing the wholesale abandonment of those ideals,” she added.
‘The greatest man-made economic crisis in modern presidential history’
Harris said Trump had initiated “the greatest man-made economic crisis in modern presidential history.”
She acknowledged the many Americans “across the political spectrum” who are speaking up against Trump’s “reckless tariffs.”
She said she believes tariffs hurt workers and families, raise the cost of everyday essentials, harm people’s retirement accounts and paralyze American business, causing companies both big and small to lay off workers and stop hiring.
‘Courage is contagious’
“What we are also seeing in these 14 weeks is Americans using their voice and showing their courage,” Harris said.
She said that the president and those working with him are operating on fear.
“Fear is not the only thing that‘s contagious, courage is contagious,” Harris said.
Harris calls for ‘checks and balances’
Harris criticized Trump’s attempts to shrink the size of the federal government and extend his 2017-era tax cuts.
The former vice president went on to speak about the checks and balances that the country has always relied on.
“If Congress fails to do its part, or if the courts fail to do their part, or if both do their part but the president defies them anyway, well, friends that is called a constitutional crisis and that is a crisis that will eventually impact everyone.”
The elephants at the San Diego Zoo
Harris referenced a viral video she saw of a group of elephants at the San Diego Zoo who formed an “alert circle” during a recent earthquake in southern California.
“As soon as they felt the earth shaking beneath their feet, they got into a circle and stood next to each other to protect the most vulnerable. Think about it, what a powerful metaphor,” Harris said.
The former vice president went on to say “we know that 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, 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 to know that the circle will be strong.”
White House response to Kamala Harris’ speech
On Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to questions about Harris’ speech by saying, “I think I speak for everyone at the White House: We encourage Kamala Harris to continue going out and do speaking engagements.”