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On Tuesday’s episode of “The Breakfast Club,” CNN anchor Abby Phillip expressed concerns that Kamala Harris’s future presidential ambitions might be hindered by the repercussions of her revealing memoir.
As the Democratic Party searches for a new figurehead following last November’s electoral loss, speculation has grown regarding Harris’s potential candidacy. Although Harris and former President Biden have occasionally made public appearances, these have been met with varied reactions from fellow Democrats, some of whom believe their statements after the election have not been beneficial.
Harris has stirred significant discussion with her memoir, “107 Days,” which details her rapid-fire campaign journey following Biden’s departure from the presidential ticket.
Phillip commented, “There are numerous bridges that have been burned, perhaps unintentionally, and it will be challenging for her to rebuild the connections necessary for another campaign. The book comes across as if she’s finished with this chapter, so it will be intriguing to see if she decides to run again.”
She further noted, “Harris needs to find a way to genuinely connect with the public, as voters are increasingly unforgiving of politicians who fail to be transparent and engage across diverse platforms.”
Phillip recalled a recent piece about New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani about how politicians in the modern era are expected to speak well in everything from short soundbites to lengthy interviews.
“I think that she still has work to do in that respect, and maybe this book is the first kind of foray into that, because I read her last book, and the tone was completely different,” Phillip said. “This is a different kind of book, and it was an opening foray into her showing people more of herself, but she’s going to have to catch up to the speed and the kind of realness of media and politics that will be the bar in 2028.
“Like in 2028, the bar is going to be, ‘Are you a politician that can show up any and everywhere and authentically reach people?’”
“I think she is still straddling the old world and the new world, and she’s going to have to figure out which one she wants to be in,” Phillip suggested.
She went on to warn that going forward, politicians need to be willing to take risks and do unscripted interviews with people who may be hostile, knowing some can be won over and some will not go well.
“I’m just telling you, it’s that was not how they ran that last campaign,” she said.
“No, they didn’t,” host Charlamagne Tha God agreed.
“Period. It wasn’t,” Phillip said.
Representatives for Harris didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The CNN host went on to contrast her with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who she argued, demonstrated his ability to bring on conservatives to his podcast and endure criticism from his own side for doing so.
“You’ve got to prove to people that you can win the argument. And if you can’t do that, it doesn’t matter how polished you are, how experienced or knowledgeable you are. I think that’s the baseline bar that you’re going to have to cross for a lot of voters in this future media ecosystem,” she said.