Former Vice President Kamala Harris has announced she will not run for public office, explaining that the system is “broken.” In her first interview since the 2024 presidential election, Harris appeared on CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and reflected on her decision not to pursue a gubernatorial run in California. She also spoke about what she views as a “capitulation” by those tasked with safeguarding democracy during President Donald Trump’s second administration.
Harris noted that throughout her career, she believed in the importance of working from within the system to improve it. “That has been my career and recently I made the decision that I, just for now, I don’t want to go back in the system. I think it’s broken,” she said.
On the State of American Democracy
Harris expressed her concern about the strength of democratic institutions, stating, “I always believed that, as fragile as our democracy is, our systems would be strong enough to defend our most fundamental principles, and I think right now, that they’re not as strong as they need to be.”
When asked if she had foreseen some of the actions of the Trump presidency, such as cuts to Medicaid or targeting political opponents, she replied that she had not predicted “the capitulation.” She added, “I believed that on some level, there are many, there should be many, who consider themselves to be guardians of our system and our democracy who just capitulated. And I didn’t, didn’t see that coming.” She also criticized members of Congress, saying they “are just sitting on their hands” and not standing in the way of the administration’s efforts to shrink the Department of Education.
Future Plans and Leadership
Harris, who had been a heavy favorite for the California gubernatorial race, told Colbert she gave the possibility a lot of thought before deciding against it. She plans to spend her time outside of elected office by traveling and listening to people. “I don’t want it to be transactional where I’m asking for their vote,” she said.
The former vice president is set to release a book in September about her 2024 presidential campaign, titled “107 days.” She spoke about the limited amount of time she had to run her campaign after then-President Joe Biden withdrew from the race.
When asked to name a leader of the Democratic Party, Harris declined, stating that leadership is a collective responsibility. “It is a mistake for us who want to figure out how to get out and through this and get out of it to put it on the shoulders of any one person. It’s really on all of our shoulders. It really is.”
Author’s Opinion
Kamala Harris’s decision to step away from elected office and her candid critique of the political system’s fragility are significant. By choosing to engage with the public outside of the traditional campaign trail, she is taking a calculated risk to reposition herself not as a partisan figure, but as a voice for democratic principles. This approach could resonate with a public that is increasingly distrustful of political institutions. Her commentary on “capitulation” is a direct challenge to the political establishment, and it signals a desire to influence the national conversation from a different vantage point, possibly with a long-term goal of returning to the political arena under new terms.
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