Harris tells supporters to safeguard their power

In her first message after her concession speech, a subdued and sad-sounding US Vice President Kamala Harris has told her supporters to safeguard their power.

As the nation awaits her next act, she said in a video message, “I just have to remind you, don’t you ever let anybody take your power from you.”

“You have the same power that you did before November 5, and you have the same purpose that you did, and you have the same ability to engage and inspire,” said Harris, adding, “So don’t ever let anybody or any circumstance take your power from you.”

Harris went on vacation to Hawaii after her defeat, avoided public appearances after the November 6 speech, accepted her defeat, and returned to her home base, San Francisco, on Monday.

The Democratic Party, which released the 29-second video message on Tuesday on X and TikTok, did not say when or where it was recorded.

The video lacked a professional touch and showed her wearing a brown jacket, seated with a partial view of the US flag in the background.

She appeared tired and, at times, on the verge of tears as she spoke, making hand gestures for emphasis.

Harris will not be in want after leaving office.

Although the Vice President does not get a pension for the position, her role as President of the Senate during the vice presidency and her prior service on the Senate entitles her to a pension.

She will also be getting pensions from jobs she had held in California.

She can, however, expect to make more money from speaking fees – that can run to tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands per engagement – and royalties for books.

Former Vice President Mike Pence received an advance of $1.4 million for his memoir, and during 16 months from January 2022 alone he made $3.4 million in fees for 31 speeches, according to his filing when he was contemplating a run for President that was obtained by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Before becoming the Vice President, Harris had earned $450,000 in royalties for her memoir, “The Truths We Hold.”

Forbes estimated the net worth of her and her husband, Doug Emhoff, at $8 million.

A big question mark hangs over her future when she leaves office on January 21.

In her speech on November 6, conceding defeat, she said, “I will never give up the fight for a future where Americans can pursue their dreams, ambitions, and aspirations.”

Her professional bio is made up entirely of government jobs, starting as a deputy district attorney – or prosecutor – in a California county and rising in the ranks to become the state’s elected attorney general.

She was next elected to the Senate before President Joe Biden picked her to be the Vice President and then passed on the baton for her unsuccessful run for President.

Politico reported that her family and some senior aides accompanied her on the Hawaiian vacation, during which she mulled her next steps.

It said that she spent a lot of time speaking by phone with her supporters, and her message was, “I am staying in the fight.”

There are two obvious options for her if she wants to stay in politics.

She could run for California governor in the 2026 election to succeed Gavin Newsom, whose second term ends in 2027, and he cannot run for a third term under state law.

Although she has held a higher position, the governor of the most populous and richest state wields far more powers in real terms compared to a Vice President.

Newsom himself could run for President in 2028.

The other possibility would be for Harris to make another run for President, but she has two strikes against her: She dropped out of the party primaries for nomination even before the race started in 2020, and this year, she got the nomination without a contest only to lose to Donald Trump.

Her performance and her strategies are under scrutiny by her party members.