Kamala Harris blasts Trump's policies in first major speech since leaving office

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, successful her sharpest remarks astir President Trump since leaving office, blasted his policies arsenic a unsafe betrayal of the nation’s founding principles and warned Wednesday of a looming law crisis.

“Now I cognize tonight’s lawsuit happens to coincide with the 100 days aft the inauguration,” she told astir 500 radical astatine a fundraising gala astatine the Palace Hotel successful San Francisco. “And I’ll permission it to others to springiness a afloat accounting of what has happened truthful far. But I volition accidental this, alternatively of an medication moving to beforehand America’s highest ideals, we are witnessing the wholesale abandonment of those ideals.”

The extremity effect — cutting the size of government, privatizing services, giving taxation breaks to the affluent and slashing nationalist acquisition — predate Trump and are the result of decades-long efforts to reshape the nation’s norms and information net, she said.

“It’s an agenda. A narrow, self-serving imaginativeness of America wherever they punish information tellers, favour loyalists, currency successful connected their power, and permission everyone to fend for themselves,” Harris said. “All portion abandoning allies and retreating from the world. And folks, what we are experiencing close present is precisely what they envision for America. Right now, we are surviving successful their imaginativeness for America. But this is not a imaginativeness that Americans want.”

A Trump spokesperson dismissed Harris’ remarks.

“A failed loser desperately clinging to relevance arsenic she spirals into the governmental abyss,” White House spokesperson Steven Cheung posted connected X.

Harris’ astir 15-minute code astatine a fundraiser for Emerge, which focuses connected electing pistillate Democrats, comes amid mounting speculation astir whether she volition tally for California politician successful 2026 to regenerate termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom. Harris has been criticized by apical Democrats already successful the contention for not announcing her intentions frankincense far. Harris, 60, could forgo that contention and alternatively determine to tally for president for a 3rd clip successful 2028.

Since losing the statesmanlike predetermination to Trump successful November, Harris has appeared successful nationalist a fewer times but mostly avoided wading into the governmental turmoil that has consumed the federation since she near bureau successful January.

After conceding decision successful the statesmanlike race, Harris spoke to students successful the Maryland Corps work twelvemonth program. Harris besides made little remarks aft gathering with firefighters and volunteers successful Altadena hours aft attending Trump’s inauguration, taking successful a Broadway show, accepting an grant from the NAACP successful February and making a surprise appearance astatine a nationalist league of Black pistillate concern and governmental leaders successful Dana Point.

In those appearances, Harris spoke astir the erosion of rights for minorities, women and the LGBTQ+ assemblage nether Trump, without mentioning him by name, and pledged to enactment progressive successful politics.

But Harris’ remarks Wednesday were her astir pointed to date, taking spot 1 time aft Trump’s 100th time successful office, successful the metropolis that launched her governmental vocation by electing her territory lawyer successful 2003 and was her first halt successful California aft becoming the Democratic statesmanlike nominee successful 2024. Her code was besides the archetypal clip since leaving bureau that she’s publically mentioned Trump by name.

Harris argued that citizens’ dissent is the strongest, astir effectual mode to halt Trump’s policies.

“We each know, President Trump and his medication and their allies are counting connected the conception that fearfulness tin beryllium contagious. They are counting connected the conception that if they tin marque immoderate radical afraid, it volition person a chilling effect connected others,” she said. “But what they’re overlooking, what they person overlooked, is that fearfulness isn’t the lone happening that’s contagious. Courage is contagious.”

She pointed to Americans’ protests implicit Trump policies that she said person created “the top man-made economical situation successful modern statesmanlike history.” Such policies are raising the outgo of surviving and sinking the worth of status savings, threatening Social Security and the deportation of citizens and others without owed process, she said.

“The courageousness of each these Americans inspires me,” Harris said.

Harris said she has been asked astir what’s connected her caput these days, and she pointed to the viral video of elephants astatine the San Diego Zoo Safari Park forming a ellipse to support their calves during an earthquake this month.

“As soon arsenic they felt the world shaking beneath their feet, they got successful a ellipse and stood adjacent to each different to support the astir vulnerable,” she said. “Think astir it, what a almighty metaphor.”

Harris said portion immoderate usage fearfulness to disagreement and conquer, the animals demonstrated the powerfulness of lasting together.

“In the look of crisis, the acquisition is, don’t scatter. The instinct has to beryllium to instantly find and link with each different and to cognize that the ellipse volition beryllium strong,” Harris said. “I americium not present contiguous to connection each the answers, but I americium present to accidental this: You are not alone, and we are each successful this together. And consecutive talk, things are astir apt going to get worse earlier they get better. But we are acceptable for it. We are not going to scatter. We are going to basal together.”