The woman who could have spared us the mess the country is currently in, former Vice President Kamala Harris, gave her first significant post-election speech on Wednesday in San Francisco, and it was an I-told-you-so moment for sure.

Harris was preaching to the choir Wednesday in her speech at the Palace Hotel, at the 20th anniversary gala for Emerge America, an organization that works to recuit Democratic women for public office. And while she reportedly took some jabs at President Trump in the 15-minute speech, she also called for Democratic Party unity to weather the coming storm.

"Straight talk — things are probably going to get worse before they get better," Harris said, per Bay Area News Group. “But we are ready for it. We are not going to scatter. We are going to stand together... The one check, the one balance, the one power that must not fail is the voice of the people."

In a comment that would likely rile up Trump, she referred to him as just an empty vessel being used by the right-wing machine.

"A vessel is being used for the swift implementation of an agenda that has been decades in the making," she said. “An agenda to slash public education. An agenda to shrink government and then privatize its services. All while giving tax breaks to the wealthiest among us."

She praised fellow Democrats like Senator Cory Booker and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for taking vocal stands against the Trump regime, but she did not address the deep divisions in the Democratic Party.

"I’m not here tonight to offer all the answers," Harris said, according to the Associated Press. "But I am here to say this: You are not alone and we are all in this together."

Harris finished out her speech talking about the viral video that went around after the 5.2M earthquake in San Diego two weeks ago, showing a group of elephants at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park running to huddle around their youngest as the earthquake hit.

"That scene has been on my mind. Everyone’s asking me what I’ve been thinking about these days, so," Harris said, adding, "Think about it. What a powerful metaphor."

Harris made no big announcements about running for governor, and speculation continues that she wants to run for president again in 2028.

Longtime Democratic strategist Steven Maviglio tells Bay Area News Group that it was obvious from the speech that Harris is determined to "remain a part of the conversation, whether it’s running for president or for governor," but he was also somewhat disappointed that her remarks were not more pointed or particularly new.

"It was a blend of ‘I told you so,’ and rallying cry for action. You know, I sort of was expecting more, or something different, that was a little more unique to her," he tells the news group. "What was said by her last night could have been said by many different people."

Top image: Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images