‘The system is broken’: Kamala Harris explains why she is staying out of electoral politics, for now

“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,” the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee told Stephen Colbert.

After Kamala Harris announced she wouldn’t be running for governor of California, many naturally believed her decision signaled her intention to run for president again in 2028.

However, during a sit-down interview on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Harris revealed she’s purposely staying out of electoral politics–at least for now. More glaringly, the former vice president said she believes the system is “broken.”

Harris explained that her entire professional career has been as a public servant; she served as a local prosecutor who was later elected district attorney of San Francisco, attorney general of California, U.S. senator, and, most recently, vice president of the United States. But after spending decades working “inside the system,” Harris said she’d rather do the work of public service from outside it.

“Recently, I made the decision that…for now, I don’t want to go back in the system. I think it’s broken,” Harris told Colbert.

Apparently referring to how the federal government, namely the U.S. Congress and the court system, has seemingly bent to the will of President Donald Trump, Harris said, “I always believed that, as fragile as our democracy is, our systems would be strong enough to defend our most fundamental principles.”

The 2024 Democratic presidential nominee continued, “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.”

Harris said that she will instead travel the country and talk to Americans. She asserted, “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 also clarified that while she believes the system is broken, it doesn’t mean she believes Americans should “give up,” adding, “I’m always going to be part of the fight.”

She explained, “I believe, right now, that it is important to do what I can do from the positions that I have held and what I have seen about the world and our country, to get out there and remind everyone who needs reminding right now of their power. It is our government. It is our country.”

Harris is currently promoting her upcoming memoir “107 Days,” a behind-the-scenes reflection on her historic campaign for president. After former President Joe Biden infamously dropped out of the 2024 election and endorsed Harris as his successor, Harris embarked on the shortest presidential campaign in history to become the first Black and South Asian woman to clinch a presidential nomination.

She ultimately lost the election to Trump. However, Harris earned 75 million votes, the third most in U.S. presidential election history following Biden and Trump.

Despite her devastating loss, Harris urged the public to “not be defeated,” reminding her supporters “it was not just a candidate” that gave them the “hope” and “enthusiasm” they felt during the 2024 election cycle. She explained, “It came from the people who naturally have that…and this election cannot take that away.”

During her nearly 30-minute interview with Colbert, Harris admitted that there were things she would’ve done differently during her short-lived presidential campaign. However, she left the audience on a cliffhanger.

“Read the book,” she said.