Harris leans on 'children of the community' phrase in New York book tour address about raising a son under Trump

NEW YORK — Former Vice President Kamala Harris used a moment with a nine-month-pregnant mother to revisit a familiar campaign phrase as she launched a New York book tour for 107 Days. Wednesday evening at The Town Hall theater in Midtown Manhattan, Harris addressed concerns about raising a son in a Trump administration and offered a framework on strength and character.

Part of how I was raised to think about things was that the children of the community are our children of the community. And we all have some, I think, responsibility — you can call it a moral responsibility, you can think of it in different ways — but to be invested in their well-being and success, Harris said. She told the audience she would teach the expectant mother’s son to be strong and to grow into a role model who understands the interdependence of people and the importance of lifting others up.

Harris argued that President Donald Trump has a "perverse notion" that strength is measured by "who you beat down," a view she rejected. Instead, she said, the true measure of strength lies in lifting others up. "To teach that our own children, that that is the way that we expect that they will live, which is to see the connection between themselves and others, to see the interdependence between themselves and others, and to have a sense of understanding that it's a sign of strength to lift other people up," she added.

She also looked to the unborn child as a focal point of her message, telling the mother that she was excited about the future of the baby under the mother’s leadership. "You're going to teach him to be strong in every way that is important, and he will be a role model," Harris said. "And we are very, very excited for the future of that child."

Harris has repeatedly invoked the phrase "the children of the community are the children of the community" at public events, including during the 2024 campaign and as vice president. Conservative critics and other opponents mocked the line as word salad during the election cycle, particularly when she tied inflation to her broader call to invest in families and to curb corporate gouging.

Kicking off her book tour in New York City, Harris pressed a message against the Trump administration while also signaling a broader focus beyond abortion debates, noting that Hillary Clinton served as a mentor and ally during the 2024 campaign. The book, 107 Days, offers a detailed and personal retelling of her days on the campaign trail after then-President Biden dropped out amid concerns over his mental acuity. The roughly hourlong conversation on Wednesday also included pointed critiques of Trump and reflections on Clinton’s support.

The tour is slated to span cities along both coasts, as Harris uses the memoir to frame a broader political conversation about the future of the Democratic Party and the path forward after a difficult primary season. The event underscores her effort to shape the political narrative around character, responsibility, and communal responsibility as 2026 looms on the horizon.