Former Vice President Kamala Harris returned to the political scene with a fiery speech on Wednesday night in which she slammed the Trump administration’s first 100 days.
Harris had a very negative, often angry-sounding message in her first speech since she left office, even saying, “we are seeing the wholesale abandonment” of American ideals in reference to President Donald Trump’s priorities.
“Now, I know tonight’s event happens to coincide with the 100 days after the inauguration, and I’ll leave to others to give a full accounting of what has happened so far,” she said. “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.”
Harris accused Trump of advancing “an agenda [of] a narrow, self-serving vision of America,” threatening to bring a “constitutional crisis” to the nation.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris returned to the political scene with a fiery speech on Wednesday night in which she slammed the Trump administration’s performance in the first 100 days, saying, “We are seeing the wholesale abandonment” of American ideals. (Leigh Vogel/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
She accused Trump of bringing “chaos” to the U.S. through his tariff policy, accusing him of being responsible for the “greatest manmade economic crisis in modern presidential history.”
But beyond this, Harris claimed that the Trump administration is advancing an intentional vision to undermine American democracy.
“Some people are describing what has been happening in recent months as absolute chaos, and of course, I understand why, and it’s certainly true of those tariffs,” she said. “But friends, please let us not be duped into thinking everything is chaos.”
She continued: “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. An agenda to slash public education, an agenda to shrink government and then to privatize its services, all while giving tax breaks to the wealthiest among us.”
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President Donald Trump delivers remarks at his Michigan rally commemorating the first 100 days of his second term. (Getty Images)
“Right now, we are living in their vision for America,” Harris went on. “It’s an agenda, a narrow, self-serving vision of America where they punish truth tellers, favor loyalists cashing in on their power, and leave everyone to fend for themselves, all while abandoning allies and retreating from the world.”
Harris further alluded to the Trump administration’s deportation of illegal alien and suspected MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia, saying, “It is not okay to detain and to disappear American citizens or anyone without due process.”
She praised the actions of congressional Democrats resisting the Trump administration, naming several lawmakers, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.; Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who she said “all in different ways, have been speaking with moral clarity about this moment.”
The former vice president said she was inspired by the Democrat’s electoral victory in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election as well as “the courage of judges to uphold the rule of law” and “universities that are defying unconstitutional demands that threaten the pursuit of truth and academic independence.”
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., participate in a stop on the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour at the Dignity Health Arena, Theater in Bakersfield, California, U.S. on April 15, 2025. (REUTERS/Aude Guerrucci)
Harris went on to say that “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.”
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Harris gave her speech at Emerge’s 20th anniversary gala in San Francisco. Emerge, a training organization that seeks to prepare Democratic women to run for office, charged $25 for viewers to gain access to the virtual livestream. Other package options included a $100 fee for young professionals and a $250 general admission ticket.
The former vice president did not address rumors that she may be considering a run for governor of California.
Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy contributed to this report.