Key takeaways from Harris' 1st live interview since leaving office
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Former Vice President Kamala Harris in San Francisco, California, earlier this year. Photo: Camille Cohen/AFP via Getty Images
Former Vice President Kamala Harris said Monday night she's backing progressive Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral race during her first live interview since leaving office.
The big picture: Harris' lukewarm endorsement of Mamdani was part of a wide-ranging interview on MSNBC's "Maddow" that saw her label President Trump a "tyrant," express regret for not doing more to challenge former President Biden about running in 2024 and hail the return of Jimmy Kimmel's show.
What she's saying:
On Mamdani: "As far as I'm concerned, he's the Democratic nominee and he should be supported," Harris said.
- When MSNBC's Rachel Maddow asked Harris whether she endorsed his candidacy, Harris replied: "I support the Democrat in the race, sure. But let me just say this: He's not the only star."
- Harris went on to say that she knows he's in New York and "New Yorkers think they're the center of the world," but she pointed to fellow Democratic mayoral candidates Barbara Drummond in Mobile, Alabama, and Helena Moreno in New Orleans, whom she described as "stars."
On Trump, Harris said: "We used to compare the strength of our democracy to communist dictators. That's what we're dealing with right now in Donald Trump. And these titans of industry are not speaking up."
- She added that at some point, they should "stand up for the sake of the people who rely on all of these institutions," adding: "To have integrity and to, at some point, be the guardrails against a tyrant who is using the federal government to execute his whim and fancy because of a fragile ego."
On Biden, she expanded on a point she made in her new book, "107 Days," which blamed "recklessness" for Biden's initial 2024 presidential bid.
- "I realized that I have and had a certain responsibility that I should have followed through on. And so when I talk about the recklessness, as much as anything I am talking about myself," she said, but noted she worried that to do so "would come off as completely self-serving."
On Kimmel's show returning Tuesday after a week's suspension over his comments about Charlie Kirk's killing, Harris said: "Talk about the power being with the people and the people making that clear with their checkbooks as it relates to the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel.
- "We saw the power of the people over the last few days, and it spoke volumes, it moved a decision in the right direction."
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