In her first tv interview about her new marketing campaign memoir, Kamala Harris was pressed on what she meant when she wrote that it was reckless to let former President Joe Biden search reelection.
“I realized that I have – and had – a certain responsibility that I should have followed through on,” Harris informed MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. “And so when I talk about the recklessness, as much as anything, I’m talking about myself.”
Passages from her book, “107 Days,” have already drawn widespread attention for her recounting of her first calls after Biden dropped out and her vice-presidential search course of. She laughed off one remark about California Gov. Gavin Newsom – that he informed her he was mountain climbing when she referred to as to ask for his endorsement, solely to by no means name again – and mirrored on her feedback about not selecting former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as her working mate.
She additionally gave cautious backing to Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor who many high occasion officers have declined to endorse.
Harris was pressed on the parts of her book she dedicated to questioning former Biden’s preliminary insistence on going by means of with a reelection marketing campaign regardless of considerations about his age. She downplayed the concept that she would increase inquiries to Biden about his alternative.
“There was so much, as we know, at stake. And as I write, you know, the – where my head was at, at the time, is that it would be completely – it would come off as being completely self-serving,” Harris continued, downplaying the concept that she would increase questions about Biden’s reelection resolution.
Another notable second within the interview got here when Harris was requested about the portion of her book wherein she defined her reservations about deciding on Buttigieg as her working mate.
Harris wrote that Buttigieg was her first alternative, however that as a result of he’s homosexual, she thought it was “too big of a risk” to select him whereas already asking voters to simply accept a Black lady as president.
Maddow, who’s homosexual, pressed Harris on that passage, commenting that “to say that he couldn’t be on the ticket effectively because he was gay, it’s hard to hear.”
“No, no, no, that’s not what I said,” Harris responded. “With the stakes being so high, it made me very sad, but I also realized it would be a real risk.”
She went on, “It wasn’t about any prejudice on my part, but that we had such a short period of time. And the stakes were so high. I think Pete is a phenomenal, phenomenal public servant. And I think America is and would be ready for that. But when I had to make that decision with two weeks to go – you know, and maybe I was being too cautious.”
Buttigieg has stated he was “surprised” by Harris’ feedback in her book, telling Politico, “My experience in politics has been that the way that you earn trust with voters is based mostly on what they think you’re going to do for their lives, not on categories.”
Mamdani’s upset victory on this summer time’s New York City main has left lingering divisions inside his occasion. The 33-year-old state assemblyman and democratic socialist has impressed youthful voters but additionally rankled high Democrats together with his criticism of Israel, his proposals to freeze hire on city-stabilized residences and make public buses free, and his allies’ discuss of working main challengers towards Democratic incumbents.
Asked particularly if she would endorse Mamdani, Harris responded, “I support the Democrat in the race.”
She additionally added, “Let me just say this, he’s not the only star – I know that you know, he’s in New York. And I know New Yorkers think they’re the center of the world.”
“There are people like Barbara Drummond in Mobile, Alabama, Helena Moreno in New Orleans. They’re all running for mayor, too, and they are stars. So I hope that we don’t so over-index on New York City that we lose sight of the stars throughout our country,” Harris commented.
On Trump and Kimmel
Harris additionally devoted a good portion of the interview to excoriating President Donald Trump’s administration, repeatedly calling him a “tyrant” and urging “titans of industry” to face as much as what she stated have been anti-democratic actions.
“Right now we are dealing with, as I called him at my speech on the Ellipse, a tyrant,” Harris stated. “We used to compare the strength of our democracy to communist dictators. That’s what we’re dealing with right now, Donald Trump, and these titans of industry are not speaking up.”
Harris additionally pointed to the suspension of ABC host Jimmy Kimmel amid controversy over his feedback about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, praising pushback towards Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr for implying that his company would take motion towards the community if it didn’t handle Kimmel.
She echoed the warnings of former President Barack Obama, who has urged comparable resistance from establishments going through crackdowns from the Trump administration, particularly regulation companies and universities.
“Talk about the power being with the people and the people making that clear with their checkbooks as it relates to the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel,” Harris stated. “We saw the power of the people over the last few days, and it spoke volumes, and it moved a decision in the right direction.”
Harris earlier handed on a bid to run for California governor subsequent 12 months. Asked about a 3rd run for the presidency in 2028, Harris stated, “That’s not my focus right now. It’s not my focus at all. I know – it really isn’t.”
She praised Newsom’s effort to launch a statewide referendum that may redraw California’s US House maps in response to Texas’ mid-decade redistricting that might give Republicans as many as 5 new seats.
“Part of what we’ve got to, I think, challenge ourselves to accept is that we tend to play by the rules. But I think this is a moment where you got to fight fire with fire,” Harris stated.