Kamala Harris Takes On Trump and Musk at NAACP Awards: ‘Shadows Gathering’
February 23, 2025
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Kamala Harris appeared to take aim at President Donald Trump’s administration in a speech about the importance of resilience, as she received an award at a National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) ceremony on Saturday night.
Newsweek has contacted the White House via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Saturday night marked Kamala Harris’ first speech since leaving office last month, after she lost the 2024 presidential election to Trump, and her speech seemed to be a call to action for her supporters to keep fighting and remain politically engaged.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the 56th NAACP Image Awards on Saturday, February 22, 2025, in Pasadena, California. Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the 56th NAACP Image Awards on Saturday, February 22, 2025, in Pasadena, California. Richard Shotwell/Invision via AP
What To Know
At the 56th NAACP Image Awards, held in the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in California, Harris, who made history as the first woman and first person of color to serve as vice president, accepted this year’s Chairman’s Award and came onstage to a standing ovation, news website deadline.com reported.
Upon receiving her award, she gave a speech where she called the civil rights organization a pillar of the Black community and urged the American people to stay resilient during Trump’s tenure.
Per the deadline.com report, while Harris did not mention her defeat in last year’s presidential election or Trump’s policies since his return to office, she appeared to refer to Trump and top adviser Elon Musk as she said: “This chapter will be written, not simply by whoever occupies the Oval Office, nor by the wealthiest among us.”
Harris reportedly added: “The American story will be written by you, written by us, by We the People.”
This evening, I was honored to accept the NAACP’s Chairman’s Award.
I grew up inspired by the work of the NAACP — by all those who took up the fight for justice, equality, and opportunity. Their example is part of the reason I chose a life of public service.
At this moment,… pic.twitter.com/lmRFCLUQTq
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) February 23, 2025
According to The Associated Press, she also said: “Some see the flames on our horizons, the rising waters in our cities, the shadows gathering over our democracy and ask, ‘What do we do now?'”
The former vice president added: “But we know exactly what to do, because we have done it before. And we will do it again. We use our power. We organize, mobilize. We educate. We advocate. Our power has never come from having an easy path.”
Earlier on Saturday, Trump had mocked Harris and former President Joe Biden at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the AP reported.
After mispronouncing Harris’ first name, Trump added, “I haven’t said that name in a while.”
What People Are Saying
Doug Emhoff, Harris’ husband, shared a post on X, formerly Twitter, which included a selfie of himself and his wife at the event and the comment: “Right before @KamalaHarris AMAZING speech at The NAACP Image Awards.”
Harryjsisson, a 22-year-old Democrat with more than 287,000 followers on the social media platform, wrote in a post on X: “Kamala Harris offered a much-needed reminder at the NAACP Image Awards tonight. ‘This chapter will be written, not simply by whoever occupies the Oval Office, nor by the wealthiest among us. The American story will be written by you.’ Amazing.”
What’s Next
Harris has now joined other winners of the NAACP prize including former President Barack Obama, the late Representative John Lewis and the late actor Ruby Dee.
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