Susan Ferrechio | May 1, 2025

(The Washington Times) — In her first major address since leaving the White House in defeat, former Vice President Kamala Harris broke her silence with a broadside against President Trump, who she accused of ruining the economy with his trade policies and bringing the nation to the brink of a constitutional crisis with his executive actions.

Ms. Harris, who has kept a low profile since losing the Nov. 5 election decisively to Mr. Trump, chose to reenter the political fray Wednesday to heap criticism on the president at his 100-day mark.

She did not address her own political future in the speech, delivered at a Democratic women’s gala in San Francisco, but gave shout-outs to Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and several other far-left Democrats who have filled the party’s messaging void in the aftermath of her November loss.

Ms. Harris dedicated most of her address to trashing Mr. Trump’s 14 weeks in office, accusing him of causing “the greatest man-made economic crisis in modern presidential history” with “reckless tariffs” that are paralyzing businesses and devastating retirement accounts.

His agenda, she said, is aimed at wiping out critical government programs and destroying public education to provide tax breaks for the wealthy.

Ms. Harris didn’t mention illegal immigration at the southern border that contributed to her defeat and that has been almost entirely eliminated under Mr. Trump.

Instead, she praised the “courage” of a judge who defied his deportation plan by thwarting Immigration Customs and Enforcement agents, as well as top universities who have defied his “unconstitutional” demand that they end diversity, equity and inclusion policies and stop antisemitic campus activities.

“Right now we are living in their vision for America, but this is not the vision Americans want,” Ms. Harris said.

She framed Mr. Trump’s actions in his first weeks in office as a threat to fundamental rights and freedoms.

“We are living in a moment when the checks and balances upon which we have historically relied have begun to crumble,” she said. “And we here know that when the checks and balances ultimately collapse, 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.”

Ms. Harris spoke at the 20th anniversary gala for Emerge, an organization that recruits and trains female Democratic candidates. Her reentry onto the public stage comes as the party grapples with a leadership vacuum and infighting over how to win back voters who abandoned them or did not show up at the polls in 2024.

The former vice president lost the popular vote to Mr. Trump by 1.5% and failed to win a single swing state after replacing President Biden on the ticket just three months before the election.

Ms. Harris is currently considering a run for California governor and may also be weighing another presidential bid.

An Inside California Politics/Emerson College poll released earlier this month showed Ms. Harris with a significant lead over a field of other gubernatorial candidates. But she only garnered 31% of the vote. Another 39% were undecided while voters were split evenly on whether Ms. Harris should run for governor at all.

Her appeal as a candidate may be limited to her home state.

Some of her former campaign aides, according to reports, have been anonymously warning there’s little desire for Ms. Harris to play a leadership role in national politics or run for president again following her November drubbing. Another report claimed the opposite — that the former vice president’s voice is desperately needed to weigh in against Mr. Trump.

There were no hints in Ms. Harris’ speech about her own future in politics.

“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,” she said.

Her critique of Mr. Trump’s administration is in stark contrast to reviews from Mr. Trump’s GOP allies, supporters and the president himself. In a speech on Tuesday, Mr. Trump called the start of his second term, “the most successful first 100 days of any administration in the history of our country.”