Kamala Harris tells DNC Americans feel betrayed, calls for systemic reform, and urges Democrats to plan beyond Trump and 2026 midterms.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a pointed critique of both political parties during a speech Friday to the Democratic National Committee, warning that Americans feel abandoned by their institutions.
Addressing party members, Harris described the American dream as increasingly out of reach for millions, citing rising costs of food, housing, transportation, and energy. She directly challenged claims by President Donald Trump’s administration that an affordability crisis does not exist, calling it “a Democratic hoax” according to her critics.
“For so many, the American dream has become more of a myth than a reality,” Harris said. “Both parties have failed to hold the public’s trust. The government is viewed as fundamentally unable to meet the needs of its people. The people are not wrong to feel let down by the very institutions designed to support them.”
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While Harris criticized Trump’s leadership, calling him a “change agent with empty promises,” she emphasized that he is not the sole cause of the nation’s challenges. She described Trump and his Make America Great Again movement as “symptoms of a failed system” shaped by decades of offshoring, financial deregulation, income inequality, campaign finance loopholes, and partisan gridlock.
Harris urged Democrats to look beyond simply opposing Trump and to present a forward-looking vision for both the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election. “As we plan for what comes after this administration, we cannot afford to be nostalgic for a flawed status quo that failed so many,” she said.
She highlighted broader structural issues contributing to the erosion of the American dream, including job displacement caused by artificial intelligence, social media-driven societal division, and the concentration of wealth and power among global elites. Harris warned that merely seeking a return to pre-Trump conditions would not resolve these systemic problems.
Her remarks follow a pattern of public critique this year. Earlier, on CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Harris said American politics are “broken,” a theme she reiterated during her book tour and in her Friday address.
The speech comes amid growing public concern over economic pressures. A Politico poll in October found that 46 percent of Americans agreed with the statement that the American dream no longer exists. Harris’s message underscores the urgency, in her view, for Democrats to both confront Trump’s influence and propose structural reforms that address long-term inequality and institutional failures.
Africa Daily News, New York
