In her first major speech since leaving office, former Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage at the Emerge 20th Anniversary Gala in San Francisco to deliver a passionate warning about the state of American democracy. Harris condemned what she described as a “man-made economic crisis” fueled by President Donald Trump’s tariffs and disregard for legal boundaries. She urged Americans to resist fear and stand up for democratic values, stating,

“Courage is contagious.”MHarris argued that the nation isn’t descending into chaos, but rather undergoing a fast-moving, deliberate shift that threatens its foundational checks and balances. “We are living in a moment when the checks and balances… have begun to buckle,” she said, calling on everyday citizens to take responsibility for preserving democracy,