On political theater day, October 20, 2023, Kamala Harris will be front and center. Her next public appearance will be a keynote address at the 20th anniversary gala for Emerge America, a San Francisco-based nonprofit devoted to recruiting and training Democratic women to seek office. The event will be held at the historic Palace Hotel. We expect that Harris will use this moment to provide a powerful condemnation of former President Donald Trump and his dangerous power grabs that point to a growing authoritarianism in the United States.
In her speech, Harris will warn of a looming constitutional crisis. She will call on Americans to unite and take a stand against those who seek to strip away their rights and freedoms, the most pressing danger of which she believes is posed by Trump himself. She wants to get across that if Trump returns to power, it’s going to tear at the democratic fabric of the nation. Harris has previously voiced her concerns during a speech in Southern California, stating, “There is a sense of fear that is taking hold in our country.”
Harris’s planned speech at Emerge America stands to be ground zero for what could be a seismic political shift as Harris continues to chart her fate. At 60, she is considering her next steps. With work in her home state completed, a presidential bid in 2028 may be on her horizon. In recent weeks, she’s been sounding alarm bells about the political climate. To her, the confusion that would accompany a possible Trump comeback is intentional and fits right into the conservative policy maze called Project 2025.
Harris’s political journey has profound and personal roots in the advocacy for women leaders. The inspiration for Emerge America came from her campaign for San Francisco district attorney in 2002. As a former state attorney general and U.S. senator from California, she has established herself as a significant figure within the Democratic Party.
In her speech to come, Harris will applaud these Democratic leaders who have built public support. Senators Cory Booker and Chris Van Hollen would be two of many she will praise for their opposition. To start, she’ll remind everyone that grassroots activism is pretty important. Beyond that, she’ll advocate for Americans to prioritize their health while remaining engaged in the fight against what her office has dubbed “obviously unconstitutional attacks.”
Plus, Harris will be looking back at what’s happened lately that has raised the stakes even farther between the Trump administration and today’s Democratic leadership. Notably, she will address the controversial dismissal of her husband, Doug Emhoff, and other senior Biden officials from the board overseeing the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum during Trump’s presidency.
“We are seeing those that are capitulating to clearly unconstitutional threats.” – Kamala Harris
While addressing these issues, Harris is positioning herself for future national ambitions against a backdrop of California’s still-changing political environment. Governor Gavin Newsom, though, is term-limited. A triumphant campaign to run the state would provide her an impressive soapbox from which to directly take on Trump and push back against his criticisms of blue states.