Stay in the fight, V-P Harris urges young US voters

US Vice-President Kamala Harris on Dec 17 suggested she did not intend to fade into the background after President-elect Donald Trump's November victory, and used her first major post-election speech to urge young people to "stay in the fight".

- 

LARGO, Maryland - US Vice-President Kamala Harris on Dec 17 suggested she did not intend to fade into the background after President-elect Donald Trump's November victory, and used her first major post-election speech to urge young people to "stay in the fight".

Before an audience of students, activists and recent graduates at Prince George's Community College in Maryland, Ms Harris called on the crowd to maintain their passion and resolve.

"The movements for civil rights, women's rights, workers' rights, the United States of America itself, would never have come to be if people had given up their cause after a court case, or a battle, or an election did not go their way," she said.

"We must stay in the fight," said Ms Harris, who has kept a relatively low profile in the weeks since her concession speech. "Every one of us."

It was notable that she chose an audience of young people to kick off her forward-looking message, as questions swirl over her future.

The Vice-President, who at 59 was a generation younger than President Joe Biden, 82, when she replaced him on the ticket this summer, had hoped to re-energise those younger voters during the election.

But some exit polls had shown that Mr Biden's coalition had eroded since the 2020 election, and Trump gained ground among the critical voting bloc of young people.