This is an adapted excerpt from the Dec. 17 episode of “Deadline: White House.”
During Vice President Kamala Harris’ first speech since her election loss to President-elect Donald Trump, she urged the crowd of young community leaders in Maryland to“stay in the fight.”
“Many people have come up to me, telling me they feel tired, maybe even resigned, folks who said to me that they’re not sure whether they have the strength, much less the desire, to stay in the fight,” Harris said. “We must stay in the fight. Every one of us.”
Harris is urging us all to quit wallowing in our sorrow about what happened and get busy.
I’ll be honest, these last few weeks have been hard. I share the same emotions as many Americans, disappointment and sometimes anger and depression over where we find ourselves. After the election, I think everyone just kind of wanted to turn off for a while. It was all just too much.
But that’s why what Harris said during that speech is so important. She’s urging us all to quit wallowing in our sorrow about what happened and get busy. I was glad to see such a strong and capable leader out there, not wagging her finger, but coming close and saying to everyone, “Hey, come on, folks. We’ve got stuff to fight for.”
During Harris’ historically short presidential campaign, we learned how much strength she has and saw her impressive communication skills in action. I think we’re going to see more of her out there in the coming weeks and months, trying to encourage us to get over the malaise we feel after November.
There’s also been some discussion about what Harris does next. Does she run for governor of California? Does she prepare for another White House run in four years? Or does she step away from politics and take on a new challenge?
The vice president has some big decisions to make and I will not begrudge her, no matter what she decides. California would certainly benefit from having Harris as its governor. She’s fully capable of running for president again. She also has an opportunity to do other things and explore a life outside of elected office, if that’s something she wants to do. In any of those roles, Harris will be able to make a difference and make an impact.
Harris has plenty of options, and she deserves time to explore them. At the end of the day, you know who’s going to decide what she does next? She will.
Allison Detzel contributed.
