The former vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris, emerged into the spotlight for a public speech at a gala event that was also entitled “Emerge.” And guess what? She’s still the same old Kamala.

This speech was being billed as Kamala’s return to “deliver a high-profile speech” in order to take some swipes at President Trump, and raise speculation on whether or not she would be running for governor of California in 2026. Some anonymous former adviser claimed that there was a “clamoring” for Kamala Harris. What, exactly, was this person smoking?

There is not. There has, in fact, never, ever been less of a clamoring for anything that is on offer. In the history of clamoring, no people has ever clamored less than the American people are clamoring for Kamala Harris’s voice. She is clamorless. She is a hollow clamoree. pic.twitter.com/dStanHYBm8

— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) April 30, 2025

Well, there have been no changes to what we saw just a few months ago. If you thought Kamala Harris had spent some time improving her speech giving or her rhetorical game – NOPE. When she walked out, I could have sworn that Kamala helped herself to some “liquid courage” backstage first. Her manic waving and laughing and calling “Hiiiiiii” and then announcing “and Dougie’s here too!”

If you have seen one Kamala Harris stump speech, you have seen them all. There is nothing new under the sun. No one missed this at all – not her tone, not her vapid giggling, not her strident lecturing, and not the word salad. But here we are, and Democrats are trying to convince themselves that she’s still a contender. Even now, after 100 days of Donald Trump and a difficult economy, Trump still has the upper hand in the polls. Anyone who says that the people are “clamoring” for Kamala Harris is simply wishcasting.

So did Kamala actually say anything of substance during her speech? In short, no. I watched the whole thing so you don’t have to, and it was essentially a stump speech against Donald Trump’s first 100 days as president. First of all, who is writing this drivel for her? If she is still using speechwriters, she should fire them and find ones that don’t make her sound like a predictive text AI robot. If she’s writing her own speech, then she needs help. Then again, she HAD help when she was vice president and STILL spewed crap like this. And the Democrats wonder how she lost the election? Imagine that Kamala and Tim “I could code talk to white guys” Walz had actually WON. We would have had four YEARS of this.
https://twitter.com/Bubblebathgirl/status/1917783198559260959
The problem with this speech is that Kamala Harris could not pick a tone and stick with it. She came out gleeful and giddy as if she had just pounded back a Red Bull, and then attempted to get very serious and angry about what Donald Trump has been doing. But she had praise for Democrats who have been performatively standing up to the Trump administration.

During her keynote address at the Emerge gala, Harris commended her fellow Democrats who have stepped up.

“I have been inspired by the movements, like the one in Wisconsin that put Susan Crawford on the Supreme Court,” she said.

“And by leaders across the spectrum, including congressional leaders like Cory Booker, Chris Van Hollen, Chris Murphy, Jasmine Crockett, Maxwell Frost, AOC and Bernie Sanders,” she added, a few of whom flew to visit Garcia in El Salvador. “All who in different ways have been speaking with moral clarity.”

Let’s see… Cory Booker put on a useless filibuster show and sat on the Capitol steps. Chris Van Hollen went to El Salvador for a photo-op with an accused domestic abuser, human trafficker, and MS-13 member. Chris Murphy was busy grandstanding and getting press coverage as some kind of “resistance” figurehead, until it came out that he was recently separated from his wife and now seeing a Democrat operative and activist. Jasmine Crockett is busy trying to fit her high heels in her mouth. Maxwell Frost was part of the performative stunt trip of four Representatives to El Salvador. AOC and Bernie have been flying first class around the country to rail against the “oligarchy” because it seems to be the one big word that AOC knows, and Bernie just likes complaining (he’s been doing it for years). THESE are Kamala’s inspiration?

And then Kamala gave us the gift of a new word salad.

What? https://t.co/KKJ2EvzFaM

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) May 1, 2025

But then the tone changed again! Now we shifted away from angry Kamala to cutesy “OMG did you see the elephant video” Kamala.

Man, this is hard to watch.

Is this how Kamala Harris wants to make her debut back into the public spotlight? pic.twitter.com/i9Ii9IwQG7

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 1, 2025

For context, the story that Harris was talking about can be seen here… but it’s kind of hilarious that she’s touting a video about elephants – and the elephant is the symbol of the Republican party.

At the end of the speech, Kamala wrapped it up in very much the same way she did most of her stump speeches – in platitudes.

“I am not here tonight to offer all the answers, but I am here to say this: things are probably going to get worse before they get better,” she proclaimed. “But we are ready for it. We are not going to scatter.”

“Let’s lock it in,” she added. “This country is ours. It doesn’t belong to whoever is in the White House. It belongs to you. It belongs to us.”

I am sure that Kamala and Doug and anyone who is still on her staff is going to be taking the temperature of the response to this speech. The speech was a total rerun of all the things she’s done before, and is a ringing reminder of why she’s not missed on the public stage at all. But if Democrats go nuts for it, that will be the green flag that Team Kamala needs to attempt another run at public office. The question then becomes, will she go for governor of California or stage another presidential run? Her ego has no limitations, as we have learned – she seriously asked on Election Night if her campaign should ask for recounts because she was so stunned that she had lost – but will she be satisfied with a gubernatorial run over another presidential attempt? Honestly, given the current state of the Democratic party nationally, it would be a smarter play for Kamala Harris to consider California. Either primary is certain to be a bruising one, but she would stand a better chance in California. But, again – never put a limit on Kamala’s overestimation of her own political appeal.

Featured image: original Victory Girls art by Darleen Click