Former Vice President Kamala Harris sharpened her criticism of the Trump White House on Monday, describing it as the "most callous and corrupt and incompetent" presidential administration in American history. She made the remarks while campaigning for Democrats ahead of the midterm elections.
Speaking at an event for David Crowley, the Democratic nominee for governor in Wisconsin, Harris twice accused the administration of pursuing an agenda of "brutality" against Americans. Despite the pointed language aimed at President Donald Trump's character and leadership style, she did not mention him by name.
Harris framed leadership as a question of who gets lifted up rather than who gets pushed down. "We in this room, I know, understand that the measure of the strength of the leader is based on who you lift up, not who you beat down," she said. "Unlike some other people who are constantly looking in the mirror, David is looking at the people. That's the kind of leader we want."
Her more policy-focused attacks were directed at Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., who is Crowley's opponent in the governor's race. Harris noted that Tiffany backed Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, which were based on unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud. She then presented the coming election as a test of long-standing democratic norms.
"Let's talk about the fact that David's opponent denied the election of 2020. By the way, we won. Yes, you can call me former madam Vice President. We won that election," Harris said. She added that the country is at a moment in its democracy, "while we can still hold on to it," when the will of the people should prevail through organizing.
At an earlier event Monday, Crowley described Harris as a "huge mentor" and said his wife loves her. Tiffany seized on the connection in a social media post. He accused Crowley of sharing Harris' support for higher taxes, "taxpayer benefits for illegals" and "Green New Deal policies" that Tiffany argued would raise energy costs.
Over the past several weeks, Harris has traveled through several key presidential battleground states to campaign with Democratic candidates. They include Aaron Ford, running for governor in Nevada, and Senate candidates Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan and Chris Pappas in New Hampshire.
Her growing role on the trail has fueled speculation that she is laying the groundwork for another run for the White House in 2028. At a September event with NAACP leaders in Detroit, Harris said she has not yet decided whether to run again. "I do sincerely believe '28 won't matter if we don't get through '26," she said.
