Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., declined to say Thursday whether she’s thinking about a presidential run and told talk show host Ellen DeGeneres that she doesn’t want to be distracted from her work as a senator.
“Here’s my answer. Right now we are in the early months of 2018, and at this very moment in time there are people across America who have priorities around their healthcare,” Harris said. “Can they get to the end of the month and pay their bills and student loans, can they afford to pay for gas or housing?”
“These DACA kids too. Guns, we’ve got to pass an assault weapons ban, we need to pass universal background checks. These are immediate needs, and these are the things I’m focused on now. I’ve seen so many people, Ellen, focused on that thing over there and tripping over this thing here. I don’t want to trip,” Harris continued.
The junior senator from California has frequently been floated as a future leader of the Democratic Party, though she has been outpolled by the likes of former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in surveys asking voters about their preferred candidate come 2020.
In the meantime, Harris said Thursday she was content being a “joyful warrior.”
“I decided at the end of last year there was so much that was creating depression, anger, anxiety. I said I’m done with that,” Harris added. “I don’t like that feeling, I don’t think any of us do. So let’s just go into 2018 and be joyful warriors.”
