Copyright The Philadelphia Inquirer
Former Vice President Kamala Harris joined Democratic state Sen. Vincent Hughes on the radio Sunday morning to talk about the government shutdown, what Democratic voters want, and what she’s seeing in the current political moment. The two did not address the question on many Democrats’ minds: Whether Harris would make another run for the presidency in 2028. Harris, who has been traveling the country since late September to promote her new book, said she’s heard from people unhappy about the second term of Republican President Donald Trump. “People are really on edge,” Harris said. “People are afraid. But they also want to feel a sense of empowerment.” Harris said this isn’t a time for Democratic voters to be in hiding. She applauded the historic turnout of recent “No Kings Day” rallies across the U.S., where millions of people gathered across the country on Oct. 18 to protest Republican President Donald Trump. “And the power is with the people, and we cannot let these folks defeat our spirit,” Harris said. Harris visited Philadelphia in late September to discuss her book, 107 Days, a diary-style memoir detailing her 2024 presidential run, released in late September. The book’s title refers to the amount of time Harris had to mount a presidential campaign after incumbent President Joe Biden, facing concerns about his age and mental acuity, dropped out of the race in July 2024. She told Hughes that she wrote the book to make sure her story was not lost to history. “Those 107 days are part of America’s history,” Harris said. “I’m not letting that part of American history be written without my voice being present.” Hughes did not ask Harris whether she would run for president again in 2028 — but last week, Harris told a BBC interviewer that she’s confident a woman will become president, and she may run again. “I’m not done,” Harris told the BBC. “I have lived my entire career as a life of service and it’s in my bones.” Early polls in a half-dozen states show Harris in the mix but frequently trailing a few other potential Democratic candidates, such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom, former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Harris told Hughes she’s heard from young people who are concerned about affordable housing and the cost of living, and the ways in which technology may be changing the workplace. She said she’s impressed by younger people’s willingness to openly talk about mental health and the need for more resources to address issues. “The thing that I love about our young leaders is they are really impatient,” Harris said. “They are not sitting around waiting for us to figure it out. They are ready to be active.” They know that everything happening now will affect them." The shutdown Harris praised Democrats in Congress, who have rejected Republican deals that would restart the government. Democrats have demanded that Republicans first address key health care issues such as extending Obamacare subsidies. People enrolling in healthcare plans for 2026 are seeing sharp increases in costs. An NBC News poll from late October shows 52% of voters blame Trump and congressional Republicans for the standoff; another 42% blame Democrats in Congress and 4% blame all parties. Harris said Republicans, who control the White House and both branches of Congress, are to blame for the shutdown — and for the expected cut off of Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program funding. » READ MORE: A SNAP benefits freeze could mean food insecurity doomsday for the Philadelphia region House Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday said that Democrats were “playing games” with the government shutdown, and they were misleading people about what it takes to fund SNAP. “If we had a contingency fund that we could use, that would be done,” Johnson told CNN Friday. “The White House has demonstrated over and over, the executive branch, all the cabinet secretaries are doing everything they can to mitigate and reduce the pain.” Johnson said a prior authorization of Congress would be necessary to release the SNAP funds without the budget being passed. “The Democrats have put the American people in this crisis, and they are the ones that have the power to end it,” Johnson said. Two federal judges ruled Friday that the Trump administration must continue to pay for SNAP using emergency reserve funds during the government shutdown. It remains unclear when payments will resume. For her part, Harris encouraged Pennsylvanians to vote in the municipal election Tuesday. “Where they’re trying to do illegal things out of Washington, and where there are judges who are in place understand the law and are standing up to it, it’s so important,” Harris said.
