BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — As Democrats brace for a potentially prolonged government shutdown, former Vice President Kamala Harris is rallying support during her nationwide tour promoting her presidential campaign memoir, amid ongoing speculation about another White House bid.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Friday, the Democratic 2024 nominee shared that she remains in close contact with Democrats on Capitol Hill, encouraging them to hold firm in demanding that President Donald Trump and the Republican congressional majority address impending spikes in Affordable Care Act health insurance premiums.
“The Republicans control the House. They control the Senate. They control the White House. They are in charge, and they are responsible for the shutdown,” Harris asserted.
She emphasized that Democrats “are doing the right thing by standing up for working people and not allowing the Republicans to carry a tax cut for the wealthiest people in our country on the backs of working people in America.”
### Advocating for Resistance and Engagement
Throughout her book tour, Harris has been urging Democrats to maintain a consistent and assertive opposition to Trump, while simultaneously recommitting to connecting with working- and middle-class voters who either supported Republicans or abstained from voting in last November’s election.
On Friday, Harris engaged in a range of activities in Alabama’s largest city, Birmingham. She held an hourlong discussion with five Black college students, spoke with the AP, and led two book discussions.
The Alabama Theatre downtown was packed with paying attendees when Harris shared insights about her campaign, the Democratic Party, and the state of the nation during a conversation with radio host Charlamagne tha God.
Throughout these events, Harris carried herself with the gravitas of a seasoned party leader and future presidential contender. She expressed deep concern about the country’s trajectory and voiced incredulity regarding many of Trump’s actions.
When VIP attendees expressed disappointment over her 2020 election loss during a photo line, Harris encouraged them with a forward-looking message: “We’ve got work to do. Keep fighting.”
Onstage and in conversation with the AP, she praised the Democratic Party’s “deep and wide bench” of talent and even advocated lowering the nation’s voting age to 16 to engage more young people in the electoral process.
### Harris Signals She’s Not Done
At 60, Harris stated she has not yet decided on her own political future but did not rule out a 2028 presidential run. She affirmed her ongoing role as a party leader and national voice.
“I am a leader of the party,” she told the AP. “I take seriously that responsibility and duty that I feel” as the previous nominee. This includes “traveling the country talking and mostly listening with folks” and “getting folks ready to fight in the midterms” in 2026.
Harris’s team confirmed she will assist Democratic gubernatorial candidates Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey and Abigail Spanberger in Virginia through virtual events, fundraising appeals, and robocalls. She also recently headlined a fundraiser for North Carolina Senate candidate Roy Cooper, a former governor and longtime friend.
Later this month, Harris plans to campaign for California’s “Yes on Prop 50,” a ballot measure designed to enable a Democratic-led redrawing of the state’s congressional districts to counter Republican gerrymandering seen in Texas and other GOP-controlled states.
### Authenticity as a Key to Democratic Success
Known for being unusually candid in her book *107 Days*, Harris was more measured in assessing other leading Democrats during Friday’s interview.
“We have to get away from this idea of ‘Who is the one?’ There are many ways that I think will be effective when people are authentic unto themselves,” she said when asked about fellow Californian Gov. Gavin Newsom and his recent social media mockery of Trump.
She highlighted U.S. Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) and Brittany Petterson (D-Colo.) as examples but did not elaborate.
“Every voice and every perspective” can resonate with certain voters, she noted.
### Economics Over Culture Wars
Harris rejected the notion that cultural and social issues—particularly transgender issues—were the main reasons for her loss, as some political analysts have suggested. Instead, she pointed to economic concerns, especially inflation, as the more significant factor.
“There are a fair number of people who voted for Donald Trump because they believed what he said, which is that he was going to bring down prices,” she told the AP. “Sadly, he lied to them.”
With prices still high and wealth inequality growing, Harris stressed the need for Democrats to focus on “dealing with the immediate needs of the American people.”
She praised legislative achievements under the Biden administration but argued that policies directly benefiting households—such as child tax credits, family leave, and first-time homebuyer programs—should have been prioritized over large-scale infrastructure efforts and the CHIPS semiconductor manufacturing law.
Despite refining the economic message, Harris acknowledged the structural challenges facing Democrats, including the spread of false information and what she described as conservatives’ assault on democracy.
Rejecting the label of “low-information voters,” she said the real problem is an overwhelming volume of misinformation and disinformation that creates barriers to reaching many voters.
“They deserve to be heard,” she insisted, calling for Democrats to break through these echo chambers rather than write off any constituency.
### Concern Over Civil Rights Backsliding
Onstage, Harris lamented a “reversal” of progress made during the Civil Rights Movement, expressing alarm over a pending Supreme Court decision that could gut Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Section 2 protects political district boundaries designed to ensure minority communities can elect candidates of their choice. If struck down, minority representation—especially Black representation in the South—could decline significantly across Congress, school boards, and municipal councils.
“How can we say at this moment in time that the Voting Rights Act and Section 2 has no purpose?” Harris asked.
Her remarks carried special weight given the historical significance of Alabama as a battleground of civil rights activism. The Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965 following the Selma to Montgomery marches led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
While Section 2 clarified protections after a Supreme Court case out of Mobile, Alabama, the 2013 Shelby County, Alabama, ruling weakened the law by removing the requirement for Justice Department approval of election procedures in jurisdictions with histories of discrimination.
Harris also voiced concern about Trump administration rhetoric regarding immigrants and statements from top GOP adviser Stephen Miller and other Republicans implying that the U.S. owes its identity primarily to white European settlers.
“Just looking at it in terms of their words, they’re race baiting, they’re scapegoating,” she said.
However, she refrained from labeling the administration’s actions as driven by white nationalist ideology, stating, “I can’t pretend to know what is in their head.”
### On President Biden’s Health and Outlook
Harris said she never doubted former President Joe Biden’s ability to serve, even when discussions arose about whether he would seek reelection due to concerns about his age.
“That’s different,” she explained, “than discussions about whether the 82-year-old could have served another term.”
Asked if she still communicates with Biden, who is currently undergoing prostate cancer treatment, Harris replied, “He and I have been playing phone tag actually in the last couple of days.”
She invited people to keep the president in their thoughts, saying, “I’d invite everyone to say a prayer if that’s what you do for his well-being and health right now.”
https://www.phillytrib.com/news/harris-says-democrats-are-standing-up-for-working-people-in-government-shutdown/article_be9f467a-3ba6-4089-acdc-6c2389799c75.html