Kamala Harris’ retreat into relative obscurity ended Wednesday when she strode onstage at a glitzy hotel in downtown San Francisco for her first major speech since she left office.
At the event, a gala dinner for a women-focused political organization with which she shares close ties, the former Vice President and Oakland native was met with such furious applause that she had to ask her private audience of hundreds to sit down.
Speaking with the aid of a teleprompter to the crowd of Democratic women politicos, among them, the newly-elected Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and current Lieutenant Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, Harris slammed what she called the Trump administration’s “wholesale abandonment” of American values and the steep tariffs that she had opposed in her breakneck, three-month bid for president last year that cost $1.5 billion.
“Straight talk — things are probably going to get worse before they get better,” she said, to groans in the audience. “But we are ready for it. We are not going to scatter. We are going to stand together.”
But Trump’s critics are many in deep-blue California, which is so far suing the federal government at nearly twice the clip of the Republican’s first term. More than the substance of her speech, Harris’ high-profile appearance landed her back in the spotlight and continued to speculation about her political future.
Early polling has suggested that Harris would lead the crowded field to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2027. That field includes Kounalakis, who leads the pack in fundraising so far with $4.7 million cash on hand. Other prominent Democrats who have officially announced their bid include former U.S. Health Secretary and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, former state Sen. Toni Atkins, former state controller Betty Yee and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Some political analysts, including Sonoma State University political science professor David McCuan, think that Harris will run for president again in 2028. That’s another contest likely to see a slew of Democratic candidates — including Newsom himself, a longtime ally of Harris who has for years telegraphed his aspirations for the Oval Office.
In an interview, McCuan said the timing was right for Harris’ reemergence, as Republicans in Congress drill down to pass their legislative agenda and Democrats strategize how to claw back to power in the years ahead.
“She now reemerges at this time to be aggressive, to be strong, to push the envelope, and get back on the screen of American politics, while Donald Trump is directing the chaos and uncertainty,” McCuan said.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 30: Former U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris delivers a keynote address during the Emerge 20th Anniversary Gala at the Palace Hotel on April 30, 2025 in San Francisco, California. Kamala Harris delivered her first public speech since leaving office in January. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Harris didn’t hint at her political future in her remarks. However, she has continued to raise funds at a breakneck pace and holds $4.5 million in a joint committee that could be used for the national party or a future campaign of her own.
Onstage, Harris focused mostly on the first 100 days of Trump’s second term, which the administration marked by placing placards on the White House lawn that show who they said are newly-deported, violent criminals.
“An agenda to slash public education. An agenda to shrink government. And then privatize its services. All while giving tax breaks to the wealthiest among us,” Harris said of Trump’s mission. “By the way, an agenda that is not lowering costs. Not making life more affordable. And not what they promised.”
She went on to slam Trump’s tariffs, “that, as I predicted, are clearly inviting a recession,” Harris said.
Harris’ attacks on the Republican administration mirror a shift in focus to pocketbook issues among California Democrats that have mainly been the domain of the political right in recent years, such as cutting the cost of staples like electricity, groceries and gasoline. Nationally, anxiety about inflation helped fuel Trump’s victory in November, but many economists expect his tariffs to accelerate inflation again, presenting a possible liability with voters for Republicans.
The former Vice President picked the anniversary gala of a closely-associated political organization in San Francisco for her return to the spotlight. The organization, Emerge America, sprouted in part from her first successful campaign in 2002 for San Francisco district attorney. The group has helped elect thousands of alums to office nationally. In the Bay Area, they include U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon of Oakland and State Sen. Aisha Wahab.
Prior to Wednesday, Harris has rarely made splashy appearances in public since vacating the White House in January. Aside from a few outings to show support for her adopted home of Los Angeles after the deadly firestorm that month, she made her first significant comments at a Southern California conference for Black women in April.
In that surprise appearance, she harangued Trump for fighting against progress in his first and second terms but didn’t call the President out by name, the Los Angeles Times reported. She also vowed to stay active in politics.
Harris left her audience with a call to action in San Francisco on Wednesday night. For inspiration, Harris said she’d been pondering a viral video of elephants hunkering together during an earthquake in San Diego earlier this month. The elephants, Harris said, immediately circled around their young to protect them. She drew a comparison to American people and institutions trying to weather this political moment.
“That scene has been on my mind. Everyone’s asking me what I’ve been thinking about these days, so,” Harris said, to laughter.
Conservatives quickly ridiculed Harris online for the comparison.
“Oh dear. It’s even worse than we feared,” Steve Hilton, a Fox News contributor and Republican candidate for governor, posted on X.
But in the ballroom of dyed-in-the-wool Democrats, Harris departed the stage to another barrage of applause.
“Think about it,” she said, before she turned to leave. “What a powerful metaphor.”