‘I love that about you’: Kamala Harris urges ‘impatient’ young leaders to ‘stay in the fight’

Vice President Kamala Harris is continuing to make her rounds following her devastating loss to President-elect Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. On Tuesday, Harris delivered remarks before young AmeriCorps leaders at Prince George’s Community College in Lagos, Maryland, urging them to “stay in the fight” despite being disappointed by the election’s outcome.

In her 16-minute remarks to high school and college students, recent graduates, and apprentices, the vice president urged the room of young leaders to remain committed to civic engagement. Although the “Freedom” movement they enthusiastically joined to elect her as America’s first woman president was unsuccessful, Harris maintained that their work to preserve fundamental freedoms was more important now than ever.

Harris emphasized America’s 248-year history of leaders and activists who “stayed true to their ideals, even in the face of difficulty.” The vice president said it was, “the story of Americans who, yes, faced disappointment but did not grow weary.” She added that though they “faced setbacks” in their political and social fights for civil rights, women’s rights, and workers’ rights, they “did not give up” and “refused to let the light of America’s promise dim or burn out in moments of challenge.”

Harris continued, “The United States of America itself would never have come to be if people had given up their cause after a court case, a battle, or an election did not go their way.”

Though Harris briefly stepped away from the spotlight in the days after the election, she has emerged in a series of public events for what could be described as an inspirational tour. Earlier this month, the vice president surprised Black state legislators for the National Black Caucus of State Legislators’ 48th Annual Legislative Conference, held in Washington, D.C. Harris delivered a similar message to the elected officials, encouraging them to “reinvigorate ourselves.”

While speaking to young leaders on Tuesday, Vice President Harris acknowledged young Americans are “rightly impatient for change” and “will not let anyone or any circumstance defeat your spirit or your sense of purpose.” She declared, “I love that about you.”

The vice president also elicited a few laughs as she intentionally evoked part of her viral “coconut tree” remarks that became a sensation with young people on social media platforms like TikTok. 

“I ask you to remember the context in which you exist,” said Harris, before adding amidst the giggles, “Yeah, I did that.”

While many young activists remain unresolved about the future of gun violence, climate change, reproductive rights, and other issues of concern, Harris urged the room of young leaders to “remember that this struggle is not new.”

Harris, who is mulling over whether to run for California governor in 2026 or again seek the presidency in 2028, avowed that the fight to “keep the light of America’s promise and to ensure it burns bright” continues with them. “You are its heirs. We are its heirs,” she said. 

“Get some rest over the holidays,” Harris declared. “After you have had some rest… I challenge you to come back ready… to chart our path to the future; chin up, shoulders back, forever, impatient for change.”

She continued, “Ready to summon your drive, your energy, your passion, to help our fellow Americans and be ready to get back to work, fighting for opportunity and freedom, fighting for fairness and dignity, and fighting for this country we love and the future we share.”