Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday suggested she did not intend to fade into the background after President-elect Donald J. Trump’s November victory, and used her first major post-election speech to urge young people to “stay in the fight.”
Before an audience of students, activists and recent graduates at Prince George’s Community College in Maryland, Ms. Harris called on the crowd to maintain their passion and resolve.
“The movements for civil rights, women’s rights, workers rights, the United States of America itself, would never have come to be if people had given up their cause after a court case, or a battle, or an election did not go their way,” she said.
“We must stay in the fight,” said Ms. Harris, who has kept a relatively low profile in the weeks since her concession speech. “Every one of us.”
It was notable that Ms. Harris chose an audience of young people to kick off her forward-looking message as questions swirl about her future. The vice president, who at 59 was a generation younger than President Biden when she replaced him on the ticket this summer, had hoped to re-energize those younger voters during the election.
But some exit polls have shown that Mr. Biden’s coalition eroded since the 2020 election, and Mr. Trump gained ground among the critical voting bloc of young people.
For Ms. Harris, a future in national politics may depend on how well she is able to shape perceptions about the 2024 race. Democratic strategists have praised her truncated yet relatively unblemished campaign, but said she suffered from a muddled message and a refusal to make a clear break from some of Mr. Biden’s unpopular policies and approaches.
Some Democratic leaders have floated Ms. Harris as a potential candidate for governor of California, having won two statewide races there, or for another role in the party. In recent weeks, donors and advisers have expressed a desire for her to remain a political leader. And she will be exploring her options when she leaves office and making it clear that she’s not closing any doors, according to a person familiar with her thinking, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss it. Her advisers say they are encouraged that she emerged even in defeat with higher approval ratings than when she entered the race.
President Biden, in remarks at the Democratic National Committee’s holiday reception on Sunday, indicated he was among those who would support her future endeavors. He said she “always served this country with purpose and integrity, and she always will.”
“And you’re not going anywhere, kid,” he added, “because we’re not going to let you go. You’re not going anywhere.”
On Tuesday, Ms. Harris said that in the weeks since the election, she received tens of thousands of letters, including from young people across the country expressing disappointment. She read a letter from one young leader who vowed to continue to persevere. She urged the crowd to do the same.
One of the trademarks of Ms. Harris’s tenure was serving as a bridge for the Biden administration to the younger generation. She embarked on a nationwide college tour that drew tens of thousands of students. She met with young activists in the United States and overseas, and even rushed to the side of young lawmakers under attack in their state legislature.
Ms. Harris also championed issues important to young people such as climate change, gun violence prevention and reproductive rights, and often praised their “impatience” for change.
During her speech, she encouraged them to rest over the holiday and “come back ready, ready to chart our path to the future.”
“In moments like this, the true test of our character is how resilient and persistent we are to pursue the future that we all can see,” she said. “The true test of our commitment is whether, in the face of an obstacle, do we throw up our hands, or do we roll up our sleeves?”
On Tuesday, Ms. Harris was animated, using her hands to emphasize points, and even called upon one of her somewhat inscrutable lines that launched online fandom known as the KHive.
“And I ask you to remember the context in which you exist,” she said, which caused some in the crowd to chuckle. She then paused, and while nodding and smiling, and said: “Yeah, I did that,” sending the crowd into cheers, and her into a hearty laugh.
For Destyni Brown, 19, a student at Prince George’s, Ms. Harris’s words helped her understand that she was part of the country’s “transition.”
“Hearing her say that reminded me that this context is about more than just the individual, it’s about everybody,” she said. “It just reminded me that we’re doing this for a cause greater than ourselves,” she added. “And it kind of reminded me that one loss doesn’t mean you lose forever. It’s about the fight.”
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