Kamala Harris has told the BBC she may run for president again

Former US Vice President Kamala Harris has told the BBC she may run for the White House again.

In her first UK interview, Harris said she would “possibly” be president one day and was confident there would be a woman in the White House in the future.

Making her strongest prediction yet that she will make another run for president in 2028 after losing to Donald Trump last year, Harris defied polls that had her as the outsider to become the Democratic pick for the next election.

Speaking of Sunday with Laura KuensbergHarris also turned her fire on her former rival, calling Trump a “tyrant” and saying the warnings she made about him during the campaign proved correct.

As the Democratic Party searches for answers to Republican Donald Trump’s landslide victory a year ago, much of the blame has been directed at former President Joe Biden for not stepping down sooner.

But questions have also been raised about whether Harris could have run a better campaign and put forth a clearer message on the number one issue, the economy.

In the BBC interview, Harris entertained the prospect of another run for the White House, saying her granddaughters would “in their lifetimes for sure” see a female president.

Asked if that would be her, she said “possibly”, confirming she is considering another bid for the top job.

Harris said she hasn’t made up her mind yet, but emphasized that she still sees herself as having a future in politics.

“I’m not done,” the former vice president said. “I’ve lived my entire career as a life of service, and it’s in my bones.”

In response to odds that put her as an outsider to win a spot on the Democratic Party ticket — even behind Hollywood actor Dwayne the Rock Johnson — she said she never listened to polls.

“If I had listened to the polls, I wouldn’t be running for my first office or my second office — and I certainly wouldn’t be sitting here.”

Harris also said she believes the predictions she made about Donald Trump acting like a fascist and running an authoritarian government have come true.

“He said he was going to arm the Department of Justice — and he did just that.”

She pointed to the suspension of ABC’s late-night comic Jimmy Kimmel after he joked about the Republican response to the death of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.

His removal from the air, celebrated by Trump, came after a Trump-appointed regulator threatened Kimmel’s broadcasters.

“You see what’s happened in terms of how he’s weaponized, for example, federal agencies that go after political satirists. … His skin is so thin that he couldn’t take criticism as a joke, and he tried to shut down an entire media organization in the process.”

Harris also criticized America’s business leaders and institutions, who she says have too easily bowed to the president’s demands.

“There are many … who have capitulated from day one, who bend the knee at the feet of a tyrant, I believe for many reasons, including they want to be in power because they want to maybe get a merger approved or avoid an investigation.”

The White House was dismissive when asked to respond to Harris’ comments about the president.

“When Kamala Harris lost the election in a landslide, she should have gotten the hint — the American people don’t care about her absurd lies,” spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said.

“Or maybe she got the hint and that’s why she continues to air her grievances to foreign outlets.”

Harris just published her account of her roller-coaster campaign, 107 days, the time she was left to run for president after Biden dropped out of the race after months of speculation about his mental acuity.

In our full interview with the former vice president, which will air in the UK on Sunday at 09:00 GMT (05:00 EST), I pressed Harris several times about whether she should have urged Biden to make way for her sooner.

How much did she really know about his health? And one question that may be plaguing her is whether she would be president now, rather than Donald Trump, if Biden had stepped down earlier?

The answer is clear, unknown – the great “if” that could have changed America’s destiny.

Among self-righteous Democrats, Harris’ candidacy has often been overlooked, her weaknesses as a leader cited as reasons for her defeat, not just the nature of Biden’s last-minute decision.

When questioned about what went wrong, instead of diving into an in-depth analysis, her claim is that because she started so late, it was almost impossible to win.

But after sitting down with the Californian ex-prosecutor in the gilded setting of a luxury London hotel — instead of the increasingly gilded setting of the Oval Office as Donald Trump shines the decor — the opportunity for power is something she’s not willing to let go of.

Previous hints about her future presidential ambition have seemed subdued, non-committal – “maybe, maybe not” or “I’m not focusing on that right now”.

Her candor in our conversation was more striking. She was quick, even eager, to frame herself for a new tilt in power. But she made no concrete commitment.

This may be surprising given the utterly shattering nature of the defeat, which she described as traumatic. She and her team were devastated by the defeat, which came as a surprise to them.

“Oh my God, oh my God, what’s going to happen to our country? Harris says she repeated when the score came out.

Her attempt to explain it focused on how narrow the difference in actual votes was between her and Trump.

The popular vote was very tight indeed, with less than 2% in it. However, Harris was defeated by Trump in the all-important Electoral College, where each state has a certain number of votes that are added up.

Harris was ready to drop heavy hints about his own future. But there is less willingness on her part, or frankly other senior Democrats who are grappling with their party’s long-term dilemmas.

How does a center-left party with mainstream leaders stand up to a right-wing populist leader? Is the answer to focus on Trump? Or to make a stronger case for Main Street?

When I challenged the former vice president on why her campaign isn’t connecting better with working people, she said she needs more time to do that and pointed to a long-standing alienation from her party among that group.

She regrets not having enough time in 2024 to make her own representation on vital issues like housing or childcare.

But if she had more time next time, it is far from guaranteed that her arguments would be more persuasive or more readily accepted.

Kamala Harris still travels with the trappings of an entourage. The aides anxiously watch the clock as her every minute is planned with military precision. Non-stop travel, choreographed events in various capitals, a small number of carefully planned television interviews.

This time, Harris is on a book tour, not a presidential race. But maybe if she gets her way, it’s the start of another campaign after all.