As former Vice President Kamala Harris considers her next steps following her defeat in the 2024 Presidential Election, her future might have an HBCU twist.
The New York Times published a report titled “Sidelined and Still Processing Her Defeat, Harris Looks for a Way Back in,” where the authors delve into Harris’s actions since her humiliating election defeat in November. The article also details the options Harris is contemplating as she considers the next stages in her political career.
According to the story, the HBCU alumnus has contemplated establishing a policy institution at either Howard University or Stanford University.
“An aide has held preliminary talks with universities about establishing a policy institute, though some warned that could complicate her political aspirations,” the NYT reported, adding that the move could be a “positive opportunity” or one with “political blowback.”
“One possibility: establishing an institute for policy and ideas. Brian Nelson, an adviser to Ms. Harris since she was California’s attorney general, has broached the idea with several universities, including Howard and Stanford. But some allies have noted that raising money for such a center could, depending on the donors, create liabilities in future races,” the report stated.
A policy institute is a research organization that conducts studies on social, economic, and political issues in order to make evidence-based recommendations and facilitate informed public policy decisions.
If Harris were to establish such an institute in the future, the New York Times speculated that it would most likely focus on some of her key political concerns, such as criminal justice reform, reproductive rights, and maternal health.
However, the report described a potential political future, which might include a bid for governor of California, since Governor Gavin Newsom’s tenure expires in 2026.
If she chooses to run for governor, she would have to declare her candidacy within the next several months to be eligible for the Democratic primary.
Early polling suggests that if Harris were to jump in, she would be the clear Democratic frontrunner. A February survey by Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics/The Hill found her leading the field with support from nearly 60 percent of likely primary voters.
Harris has so far avoided directly answering whether she plans to run to succeed Governor Gavin Newsom (D), who is barred from seeking another term due to term limits.
Harris did not mention the president by name during her rare public address, but she talked about the alleged “fear” felt in “these last few months in our country.”
“There were many things that we knew would happen, many things,” Harris said in a nod to her presidential campaign.
“I’m not here to say, ‘I told you so,’” she said with a smile as the crowd cheered. “I swore I wasn’t going to say that.”
WATCH:
BREAKING: In a stunning appearance , Kamala Harris just spoke out for the first time against Donald Trump in his second term. This is amazing. pic.twitter.com/kTf1CJKdQ5
— Democratic Wins Media (@DemocraticWins) April 4, 2025
While previous reports have said that Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) played a major role in upending then-President Biden’s reelection bid, a new book reveals even more details about how far the former House Speaker went in attempting to Harris off the Democratic ticket.
Fox News host Jesse Watters, during his Tuesday show monologue, referenced the new book, “Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle For the White House,” by co-authors Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, in which the writers provided additional insight into Pelosi’s behind-the-scenes meddling.
Watters played a clip of Parnes, in which she described Pelosi’s reaction after watching Biden’s disastrous debate against then-former President Donald Trump: “She watches the debate, she’s unhappy and she thinks that she doesn’t want Democrats to rush into anything in that moment because she thinks if they rush him out then Kamala is going to be in and she does not think that Kamala Harris can win. She’s in a pickle in that moment.”
Watters then ran a clip of Allen, who said: “Her thinking was Biden had to get out and Harris was a disaster and what she was trying to do was get Biden out in time to the Democrats could choose someone other than Harris.”
“Kamala won’t be happy when she sees this, but nobody is more upset with Pelosi than Joe Biden,” Watters said. “According to the new book, ‘Fight,’ after the coup, ‘Biden was with his friends on Air Force One and started naming the people he would never forgive for their betrayal. The first name out of his mouth – Nancy Pelosi. Biden and Pelosi may never talk again.”
He then went to another clip of Parnes, who said: “There is still a lot of friction between the two. She went on air on another network and basically twisted the knife, and he and his campaign aides were in shock. She essentially had her fingerprints all over this. The campaign a new it, he knew it, and I don’t think there’s going to be any love lost.”
Watters added: “But Pelosi was right, Biden did not have what it takes and neither did Kamala. She spent three months and $2 billion crashing and burning, and the whole time, she thought she was winning.”
He then played one last clip of Parnes, who told a CNN panel this week: “We know that they were shocked, completely surprised by the events that unfolded on election night. They thought they were going to win and, you know, when they were told that they were losing in the final hours and that they had lost, there was complete silence and shock and they were dumbfounded by what was happening.”
