Harris says political system ‘broken’; avoided news for ‘months’ after election

Former Vice President Harris signaled Thursday that she is taking a break from political office for the time being, calling the system “broken.”

After months mostly out of the national spotlight, Harris appeared onstage with “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert in her first interview since President Trump’s inauguration to promote her forthcoming book, “107 Days,” which outlines her last-minute presidential campaign. 

While speculation has circulated widely about whether she will mount a 2028 White House bid, the former Democratic presidential nominee said Wednesday she would not run for California governor. Harris explained that decision to Colbert on Thursday evening.

“I don’t want to go back into the system. I think it’s broken,” she said. “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, also a former senator, said she had avoided the news for “months” after her presidential loss, part of a wider Democratic backslide across the electoral map.

“I’m just not into self-mutilation,” the former vice president said, adding that she watched “lots of cooking shows,” including “The Kitchen.”

“107 Days” is billed as the inside story of Harris’s truncated presidential bid. Still, she skirted questions from Colbert about how she thought about differentiating herself from former President Biden during the campaign, a theme she said she would address in the book.

“It’s an instinct of mine to be someone who does not participate in piling on, and I was not going to pile on,” the former nominee said.

When asked near the end of the interview who she thought led the Democratic Party, Harris claimed it was a mistake to “put it on the shoulders of any one person.” 

“It’s really on all of our shoulders,” she added.