Kamala Harris, former Vice President, lately seemed to find her voice since stepping out of the political spotlight, decided to lambast Trump’s tariff policies, calling them ‘reckless’, and hinting towards the peril of an impending recession. Her somewhat melodramatic description of recent events seemed to paint them as chaotic. Predictably enough, she pointed fingers at tariff policies, claiming they were inviting a recession – a prediction that she claims to have made earlier.
Harris went on a zealous rant, referring to this situation as the ‘greatest man-made economic crisis in modern presidential history’. One might think, the crisis she ominously refers to, has been somewhat overblown in her narrative. She for some reason, seemed to ‘praise’ those Americans rallying against said tariffs – tariffs she suggests will increase everyday costs and negatively impact retirement funds and small businesses.
The former Vice President’s address Wednesday saw criticism extending beyond economics. Here, the interpretation of her political rivals’ agenda as ‘a narrow, self-serving vision of America’ was quite intriguing. According to her, this vision included a biased favor for loyalists, shunning truth-seekers, and an opportunistic utilization of power leaving the common population hanging.
Harris seemed convinced, almost like a paranoid prophet, that if the American government’s checks and balances system crumbled, the country would spiral into a constitutional crisis. The crisis she mentioned will apparently impact everyone, thereby nullifying the rules that she claims protect basic rights, freedoms, and governmental involvement of the citizens.
Keeping a low profile since her departure from Washington in January, Harris decided to break this silence now. In her statements, she claimed inspiration from the said ‘courage’ she was witnessing since the beginning of Trump’s second term – particularly from those rejecting deportations without due process and the judges upholding the mantle of law.
Harris showered praise upon Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen who visited El Salvador to raise awareness on the case of an individual accidentally deported by Trump’s administration. Nonetheless, one must question the explicit bias that seems to be coloring her views and interpretations of these events.
Cory Booker, the Democrat Senator from New Jersey, was also called upon by Harris. In her address, she pointed out how Booker spent a lengthy 25 hours trying to disgrace Trump’s policies on the Senate floor. There seems to be hardly anything praiseworthy about that, rather it depicts an ineffective use of the Senate’s time.
Coming to a closing point in her speech, Harris targeted Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders. Specifically, she mentioned the large public gatherings they managed to pull in red states. However, one should scrutinize if the size of such protests really represents anything more meaningful than just crowd attraction.
Towards the end of her remarks, Harris decided to leave with a somewhat fear-inducing statement. She said, ‘Things are probably going to get worse before they get better.’ Is this an instance of fear-mongering to grab the public’s attention, or is she hinting towards a bleak reality?
However, the former Vice President seemed adamant that ‘we are ready for it’, as she made these final comments. But it begs the question, was this a call for unity, or a failed attempt at promoting her brand of divisive politics ‘hidden’ behind a mask of concern and readiness?