Stephen Colbert needles Kamala Harris after she fails to answer simple question
'The Late Show' host Stephen Colbert asked Harris — who announced this week she would not be running for Governor of California next year — to identify who she believes is in the driver's seat for her party.
But Harris balked at the simple question and refused to name a single Democrat.
Advertisement
'There are lots of leaders,' she said.
CBS via Getty Images
Colbert, who wasn't satisfied with the answer, pressed her, asserting there's 'generally a leader' of the party and asked again if any names come to mind.
Still, Harris wouldn't budge.
Advertisement
'I think there are a lot — I'm not going to go through names because then I'm going to leave somebody out and then I'm going to hear about it,' she said.
'But let me just say this. I think it is a mistake for us who want to figure out how to get … through this and get out of it to put it on the shoulders of any one person. It's really on all our shoulders,' she added.
The soon-to-be-axed talk show host then swiftly ended the nearly half-hour interview.
Advertisement
Democrats Harris could have named include former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who were both able to muster double-digit support from Democrats and Democrat-leaning voters in an early 2028 presidential primary poll.
Other top-ranking congressional Democrats she could have named are Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) or House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).
Harris' appearance on Colbert's canceled late night talk show was her eighth on the program ahead of the release of her book, '107 Days,' which she described as a 'behind-the-scene sharing of what it means to run for president.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
11 minutes ago
- New York Post
New York state's headed deep into the red — but Albany will ‘rely' on denial
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli just sounded a blaring alarm about the state's cash shortfall — but the rest of the state's leadership wants the fiscal crisis kept quiet. They all knew trouble was coming, but the Legislature left Albany for the year having given Gov. Kathy Hochul the power to cut as needed. That keeps the cutting out of the headlines, and (lawmakers hope) hangs any blame on the gov. She's asked state agencies to find $750 million in savings in the current-year budget. But next year, the nut jumps to $3 billion. Longer-term, per DiNapoli, the picture grows even more distressing: Albany is facing its worst cash shortfall, as a share of spending, since the Great Recession — with $34.3 billion in red ink through 2029. New York's 'softening economy' and preprogrammed 'spending growth' already guarantee a growing gap, he warns, and future 'drastic reductions in federal aid' may make the shortfall even worse than the comptroller now projects. So he urges 'policymakers' to 'put the fiscal health of the State on a more sustainable, structurally balanced path.' If only. For years, Hochul & Co. have OK'd billions in future spending, with nary a care about available cash: As DiNapoli reports, state-funded disbursements through 2029 are on course to soar 13.9% over current levels, while revenue ticks up just 4.6%. Nor will it be possible to jack up taxes to plug the hole, not without fueling a mad rush by high-earners and job-creators out of state: Hochul (and Gov. Andrew Cuomo before her) already goosed taxes to the hilt, making New York's tax burden the nation's highest. That's why the gov is on record opposing tax hikes — though that hasn't always stopped her from giving way to the Legislature's demands for 'revenue enhancements.' Get opinions and commentary from our columnists Subscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter! Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters These gaps are no real surprise: Hochul, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins all knew months ago what was in store, as billions in federal pandemic-relief funds were set to run out and the Trump team made no secret of its intent to rein in aid to states. Their response: Who cares? We'll worry about it later. Bet on the denialism to keep on dominating Albany: Hochul is running for re-election next year, with strong incentive to depend on gimmickry to paper over the state's deficit until after November — and so make the longer-term problem even worse. This warning may be the loudest DiNapoli offers for the next 16 months, as his fellow Democrats push him to collude with Hochul in denying that New York is staring at its worst budget crisis in years.
New York Post
11 minutes ago
- New York Post
White House scrapped Biden ship tour after learning ‘how many steps were involved,' emails show
The White House opted against having former President Joe Biden board a vessel during a July 2023 visit to a Philadelphia shipyard after learning 'lots of steps' were required to get on board, newly released emails show. The records, obtained by watchdog group Protect the Public's Trust via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and first reported by Fox News, show Department of Transportation staffers attempting to gather information about Biden's July 20, 2023, trip to the Philly Shipyard and what the president would be doing during his visit. The DOT's Maritime Administration (MARAD) had awarded the Philly Shipyard a contract to build a massive National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) years earlier – but the agency learned days before Biden's trip that the White House would not allow the then-80-year-old president to inspect the boat. Advertisement 3 White House officials would not allow Biden, who was 80-years-old at the time, to board a vessel at a Philadelphia shipyard in 2023. AFP via Getty Images 'No visit to the NSMV vessel is planned after the WH realized how many steps were involved to get on the ship,' a MARAD official notified members of Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST), quoting a contact the agency had at that shipyard. 'True – lots of steps on grating,' the message continued in a parenthetical note. Advertisement Biden's visit to the Philly Shipyard (PSI), where he met with apprentices and attended a steel-cutting ceremony for an offshore wind farm construction vessel, came just weeks after he took a hard fall at an Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in Colorado. Since the fall, the president had been observed boarding Air Force One using the aircraft's shorter set of stairs. Seven days before the Philadelphia shipyard visit, Biden stumbled on Air Force One's short staircase as prepared to depart Helsinki-Vantaan International Airport in Finland. 3 Biden took a hard fall less than two months before the Philly trip. AP Advertisement 3 The National Security Multi-Mission Vessel being built at the shipyard had too many steps for Biden, according to an email sent to DOT staffers from a MARAD official. Bloomberg via Getty Images The White House's refusal to let Biden board the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel in Philadelphia may not have been the only time the president wasn't allowed to get on a boat over concerns about the number of steps involved. Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed in his autobiography, 'Unleashed,' that the White House would not allow Biden to board the British Navy's flagship aircraft carrier – the HMS Prince of Wales – ahead of the 2021 G7 summit in Cornwall. Advertisement The decision left Johnson questioning Biden's 'physical fitness.' 'His staff told us that he would not in fact be boarding our vast aircraft carrier — which we had proudly stationed in the bay — because it had so many steps; and we wondered what that meant about his physical fitness,' Johnson said, according to an excerpt from the former prime minister's book obtained by The Telegraph.
USA Today
11 minutes ago
- USA Today
Texas AG asks judge to arrest Beto O'Rourke for redistricting battle fundraising
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking a judge to jail Beto O'Rourke, claiming the former Democratic congressman violated a court order by fundraising to support the dozens of state Democratic lawmakers who have fled the state amid its redistricting battle. The attorney general's request builds on a previous order, granted by a Texas county judge earlier this month, barring O'Rourke and his nonprofit, Powered by People, from raising money to help fund the Democratic lawmakers' exodus from the state more than a week ago. Paxton claimed in his filing to the Tarrant County court on Aug. 12 that O'Rourke violated the fundraising block by soliciting donations through the Democrats' ActBlue platform. "He's about to find out that running your mouth and ignoring the rule of law has consequences in Texas," Paxton said in a statement released alongside the filing. "It's time to lock him up." Paxton's move is the latest in growing escalations between Democrats and Republicans in the Lone Star state, as the standoff over GOP attempts to redraw congressional boundaries in Texas. The redistricting attempt could add another five Republican seats to Congress ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, and is seen as blatant gerrymandering efforts by Democrats. In response, Democrats decamped the state en masse, many taking refuge in blue-led states like Illinois and New York, to prevent the vote from taking place in Austin, Texas, where the Republicans' firm majority would all but guarantee the revised maps pass. Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the arrest of the dozens of Democratic lawmakers who have fled while Paxton asked the state Supreme Court to oust them from office over their absence, arguing they abandoned their seats. Texas redistricting: Which states have threatened to redraw their own maps in response to Texas GOP plans? In the first sentence of the court filing, Paxton quoted the former congressman at an Aug. 9 Fort Worth event saying: "There are no refs in this game, f--- the rules," claiming O'Rourke was "disparaging' the previous court order. In response, O'Rourke posted the full clip of his speech at the event to X, saying that Paxton took his words out of context in the filing. In the full recorded video of the speech, O'Rourke is speaking about the Democrats' attempts to put forward their own revised maps in states like California, New Jersey, Maryland, and Illinois, telling the crowd that blue states should redistrict now and "not wait for Texas to move first." "You may say to yourself, 'Well, those aren't the rules,'" O'Rourke says immediately after speaking about the Democrats' redistricting efforts. "There are no refs in this game, f--- the rules, we are going to win. Whatever it takes, we are going to take this to them in every way that we can." O'Rourke said in his post on X on Aug. 12 that the attorney general's office lied in its filing. "We're seeking maximum sanctions in response to his abuse of office," he said. "Taking the fight directly to this corrupt, lying thug." Along with jail time, the attorney general is also requesting O'Rourke be held in contempt and fined $500. Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@ and on X @KathrynPlmr.
