Kamala Harris ‘thinking about’ running for president again in 2028 | Kamala Harris
Kamala Harris said she’s “thinking” about running for president in 2028.
“I could, I could. I’m thinking about it,” the former vice president and 2024 candidate told the crowd at a rally of the National Action Network (NAN), a civil rights organization founded by Al Sharpton, on Friday in New York.
Expanding on her response to Sharpton’s question about possibly running for president, she added: “I served for four years one heartbeat away from the presidency of the United States…I know what the job is and I know what it requires.” »
She said: “I’ve been traveling around the country in the last year, spending a lot of time in the South and many other places, and the one thing I’m very clear on is that…the status quo doesn’t work and hasn’t worked for a lot of people for a long time.
Speaking about the presidency, Harris added: “It has to be about the American people and that’s how I look at it. I think about it in the context of…who, where and how can we do the best work for the American people. I’ll keep you posted.”
Harris, who lost to Donald Trump, also criticized the president and the increasing erosion of the United States’ global alliances, saying he was the “first president of the United States since World War II who does not believe in the alliances we have with friendly nations…and the importance those relationships have on our standing in the world.”
Addressing the U.S.-led war against Iran, Harris called it a “war of choice,” adding: “While he brags about how he’s going to wipe out an entire people, what he’s actually doing…makes us weaker, unreliable and less influential.” »
Harris also warned of the erosion of voting rights across the United States, saying, “They’ve worked for years to build a Supreme Court that’s set up the way we have it now, and they’re about to make a decision on Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.” » She was referring to the clause requiring lawmakers to take race into account when necessary to ensure fair representation of racial minorities.
“I’m sad to say, I think they’re going to kill it, and that will mean that the legal tool we have to be able to challenge in court laws that are clearly racially influenced to prevent some people from voting – we’re going to lose the tool we had before,” she warned.
Harris then urged voters to “make sure they check their voter status now,” adding, “Don’t wait until Election Day to see if, for example, your name has been removed from the rolls.” »
She continued: “Ask people today to check their voting location, because part of this sleight of hand they’ve been playing includes closing down the place where your mother and grandmother always voted, so that on election day she goes to the local elementary school to find out it’s no longer a polling place – so let’s do some of the work now.”
In interviews since leaving office, Harris has not ruled out another presidential bid. Sharpton recently told Politico that Harris is “an absolutely powerful force in the black community” and that he feels “she’s been ignored, and we’re going to talk about that at our convention.”
Harris is also expected to attend a fundraiser for the South Carolina Democratic Party next week.
Harris’ appearance comes as several of the Democratic Party’s most prominent figures — and potential 2028 presidential candidates — also took the stage alongside Sharpton at NAN’s multi-day annual convention this week, where they participated in discussions on the upcoming midterm elections, the issue of affordability, the war in Iran and the future of the Democratic Party.
Among the elected officials who have spoken so far this week are Maryland Governor Wes Moore; Illinois Governor JB Pritzker; Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro; California Rep. Ro Khanna; Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries; Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley; and others.
Following Harris on Friday morning, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg suggested he would also run in the 2028 election.
During their conversation, Sharpton asked Buttigieg, “When you were running for president, you met with me and we went up…to lunch at Sylvia’s restaurant in Harlem. Just so my timeline is clear, should I reserve a table at Sylvia’s?”
In response, Buttigieg said: “Keep your seat. I’ll be there.”
Like Harris, Buttigieg also blasted the Trump administration and warned of the threat to voting rights across the country, saying, “This administration has taken a search-and-destroy approach to anything that appears to have anything to do with helping disadvantaged communities.” »
He also called for stronger leadership within the Democratic Party, saying, “Nothing stops us except ourselves in our leadership. That’s why we need better leadership. Of course, other people are bad, but that’s not all.”
Maryland Rep. Glenn Ivey, South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn and New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg are expected to speak. On Saturday, attendees are expected to hear from Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. (It was reported that California Governor Gavin Newsom and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were unable to attend.)
