Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a fiery speech at the Asian-Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies Legislative Leadership Summit Monday, using strong language to pander to her audience. She emphasized the importance of breaking barriers even if it means getting “cut” and bleeding in the process.
“Sometimes people will open the door for you and leave it open, sometimes they won’t and then you need to kick that f—kin’ door down. Excuse my language,” Harris said to laughter and applause. Comedian Jimmy O. Yang who moderated the event joked, “We gotta make t-shirts with that saying kick the f—kin’ door down.”
Harris also advised young minorities to walk into rooms with their heads held high even when they’re the only one who looks like them. She referenced her mother’s advice, “Don’t you ever let anybody tell you who you are. You tell them who you are.”
The vice president’s remarks come days after her alma mater Howard University’s commencement was disrupted when a glass door was shattered amid unrest from guests locked out of the overcapacity event.
Some criticized Harris’ language as “classless” while others threw back phrases like “Decency is on the ballot.”
