Former Vice President Kamala Harris stopped by “The Late Show” on Thursday night and surprised Stephen Colbert with an unusually candid take on why she has no interest in jumping back into public office right now.
Harris, who just announced she won’t be running for California governor, looked back on her decades in politics and didn’t sugarcoat it. “I just, for now, I don’t want to go back in the system. I think it’s broken,” she said, speaking with the kind of bluntness you don’t always hear from someone with her résumé.
She made sure to point out that there are “many good people” still working in public service. And she stressed that she’s always believed that “as fragile as our democracy is, our systems would be strong enough to defend our most fundamental principles.” But that optimism has taken a hit.
With President Donald Trump now in his second term, Harris admitted, “I think right now that they’re not as strong as they need to be, and I just don’t want to, for now, I don’t want to go back in 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.”
Colbert didn’t hold back on his reaction. “To hear you say that it’s broken, to hear you say that our systems aren’t strong enough, is harrowing,” he told her. Harris shot back, “But it’s also evident, isn’t it?”
Still, she was quick to add that stepping away doesn’t mean giving up. “Oh, absolutely not. I am always going to be part of the fight. That is not going to change,” she said firmly.
Harris was there to promote her new book, 107 Days, which she called a “behind-the-scenes” look at her whirlwind 2024 presidential campaign—the shortest in history—after former President Joe Biden dropped out of his reelection bid. The book promises to pull back the curtain on what it’s like to run for the highest office in the land under extraordinary circumstances.
At one point, Colbert brought up the warnings Harris had given about what Trump would do if he returned to the White House. “I know you’re not here to say, ‘I told you so,’ but would you like to?” he asked with a grin. Harris admitted she’d been right on some things, but she didn’t expect “the capitulation” to Trump that she’s seeing now. “I was naive,” she confessed.
The conversation took a lighter turn when Harris revealed she avoided watching the news for months after leaving office. “I’m just not into self-mutilation,” she joked. She also teased her husband, former second gentleman Doug Emhoff, for “dropping the ball” on her 60th birthday celebration last October—just weeks before the election—making for one of the night’s more relatable moments.
Harris may be stepping back from the political grind, but judging by her energy on Colbert’s couch, she’s not fading from public life anytime soon. And whether you agree with her or not, she’s clearly ready to keep speaking her mind.