Kamala Harris says system is ‘broken,’ criticizes ‘capitulation’ under Trump

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and guest Vice President Kamala Harris during Thursday’s July 31 show. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via CNN Newsource)

Former U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said she would not run for public office because the system is “broken,” as she reflected on her decision not to pursue a gubernatorial run in California and spoke about what she views as “capitulation” by those tasked with guarding democracy during Donald Trump’s second administration.

In the former 2024 presidential candidate’s first interview since losing the election, Harris spoke about her career as a public servant, noting that when she was young she thought that people who want to improve or change a system should not just do so from the outside but also change it from the inside.

“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,” Harris said in an interview with CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

“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,” Harris added.

“For now, I don’t want to go back into the system. I want to travel the country. I want to listen to people. I want to talk with people. And I don’t want it to be transactional where I’m asking for their vote.”

Harris’ comments echoed a statement earlier this week in which she said she would not run for governor in California, saying that her leadership will not be in “elected office.” She had been a heavy favorite in the field of potential candidates for the seat and told Colbert that she thought a lot about a possible run before deciding against it.

When asked if she had predicted some of the actions Trump has taken during his second presidency like cuts to Medicaid in the domestic policy bill or targeting political opponents, she responded, “what I did not predict was the capitulation.”

“Perhaps it’s naive of me, someone who has seen a lot that most people haven’t seen but 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 said.

“I think there are a lot of people who think they are riding out the storm as an excuse to be feckless,” she added.

She notably criticized U.S. Congress for not standing in the way of Trump’s efforts to shrink the Department of Education, saying they “are just sitting on their hands.”

Harris, who is set to release a book in September about her 2024 presidential campaign entitled “107 days,” also spoke about the amount of time she had to run a campaign after then-President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.

“I was so conscious and aware of the short time that we had,” she said.

Speaking about her political future, she said, “It is important I think that in this moment where people have become so deflated and despondent and afraid, afraid, that those of use who have the ability — which I do right now, not being in an office where I’m campaigning for that office — to be out there and to talk with folks and remind them of their power.”

Harris was also asked to name a leader of the Democratic Party but refused, saying there were many but that she would leave someone out.

“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.”

By Lauren Chadwick, Hanna Park, CNN