{"id":12083,"date":"2026-04-20T03:49:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T03:49:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/04\/20\/kamala-harris-says-in-chicago-that-trump-has-made-america-weaker-wbez-chicago\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T03:49:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T03:49:38","slug":"kamala-harris-says-in-chicago-that-trump-has-made-america-weaker-wbez-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/04\/20\/kamala-harris-says-in-chicago-that-trump-has-made-america-weaker-wbez-chicago\/","title":{"rendered":"Kamala Harris says in Chicago that Trump \u2018has made America weaker\u2019 – WBEZ Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

During an appearance Sunday in Chicago, former Vice President Kamala Harris said President Trump\u2019s war on Iran \u201chas made America weaker.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is the first president, Republican or Democrat since World War II, to not concern himself [with] the importance of America\u2019s alliances, our friendships and America\u2019s responsibility to uphold standards such as sovereignty and territorial integrity,\u201d Harris told a crowd at the Power Rising Summit, a convening of Black women harnessing their collective wisdom to create an actionable agenda.<\/p>\n

The conversation happened at the Soul Sunday Brunch on the final day of the three-day event at the downtown Hilton Chicago. She was interviewed by summit founder Leah Daughtry, CEO of the 2008 Democratic National Convention Committee.<\/p>\n

Harris said the country\u2019s involvement in the war in Iran<\/u><\/a>, a \u201cwar the American people don\u2019t want,\u201d is a result of Trump \u201cjust getting persuaded by\u201d Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu.<\/p>\n

She said Trump\u2019s actions have \u201ccaused us to become more unreliable and to lose our influence to then be able \u2014 imperfect, though, we certainly are flawed \u2014 to talk about matters of human rights around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Biden-Harris administration was not free of criticism regarding human rights. In March, Axios<\/u><\/a> reported that a hidden DNC report found that the Biden administration\u2019s position on the war in Gaza cost Harris the 2024 election.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/a> \"Former <\/picture>\n
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Former Vice President Kamala Harris gets emotional while speaking about her 2024 campaign with summit founder Bishop Leah Daughtry.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption>

Candace Dane Chambers\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

Within Trump\u2019s first three months in office, his administration purged<\/u><\/a> the U.S. Agency for International Development, cutting 83% of its programs, including water purification programs in war-torn Sudan.<\/p>\n

Harris said \u201cthere\u2019s going to be a whole lot of debris\u201d in this administration\u2019s wake. But she cautioned the public \u201cagainst talking about rebuilding with any sense of nostalgia about how things were, because even before, they weren\u2019t working so well for a lot of folks.\u201d To that end, she urged the room full of Black women to harness the power of their vote to demand change ahead of the upcoming elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s OK for us to be a bit transactional, too, and to say I\u2019m gonna get mine also,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd so don\u2019t count on me to be a voter and be the backbone of the Democratic Party.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/a> \"Attendees <\/picture>\n
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Attendees cheer for former Vice President Kamala Harris during \u201cPower Rising,\u201d a summit for Black women empowerment.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption>

Candace Dane Chambers\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

Around 90% of Black women voters supported Harris\u2019 candidacy in the 2024 presidential election after a similar percentage supported former President Joe Biden and Harris as vice president in 2020, according to the Pew Research Center.<\/p>\n

Harris said political strategists \u201ccount on\u201d Black women\u2019s motivations to vote, which are rooted in the fact that \u201cthey will always remember the blood that was shed on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. \u2026 \u2018I will vote because it is my duty for all that paved the path for me to be here.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Harris said she\u2019s taken a listening tour across North and South Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi in recent months. She met a Black single mother in Jackson, Miss., and went grocery shopping with her. Stretching her $150 budget to feed her three children and herself, the mother asked Harris whether lawmakers \u201csaw\u201d when they made decisions that would impact her and her family.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is America,\u201d Harris said. \u201cThe work of the leaders here is always going to be about keeping it real, speaking truth, and then lifting up these stories to persuade and to fight for and demand that we do better.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/a> \"U.S. <\/picture>\n
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U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez listens to Harris speak during the \u201cPower Rising\u201d summit.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption>

Candace Dane Chambers\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

Looking ahead to this November\u2019s midterm elections, Harris said \u201cit\u2019s gonna be so difficult\u201d for the Democrats to win, but that the path includes \u201ca vision for affordable child care, affordable health care, affordable housing and \u2026 a vision that is about actually getting this stuff done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harris criticized leaders, including Democrats, who are in office and \u201cpreserving their title at the expense of actually getting anything done.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then when you try to look at what they\u2019ve actually done to move the needle, you\u2019re left wanting,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd so part of the work has to be accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2028 and beyond, Harris said she believes that \u201cAmerica is, can be and will be ready for a woman to be president of the United States.\u201d Harris said earlier this month<\/u><\/a> that she\u2019s \u201cthinking about\u201d another run. If elected, she would become the first woman to hold the office, adding to a list of firsts<\/u><\/a> throughout her career: The first Black person and first woman to be elected as California\u2019s Attorney General, and the first woman and first Black person to be Vice President of the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are still certain myths about what a woman can and cannot do in spite of what she actually does,\u201d Harris said. \u201cMy mother sat me down to say that, for me to get ready for what it would mean to run, and she followed that up by saying it\u2019s a myth.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During an appearance Sunday in Chicago, former Vice President Kamala Harris said President Trump\u2019s war on Iran \u201chas made America weaker.\u201d \u201cHe is the first president, Republican or Democrat since World War II, to not concern himself [with] the importance of America\u2019s alliances, our friendships and America\u2019s responsibility to uphold standards such as sovereignty and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12084,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12083\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}