Kamala Harris Talks with Stephen Colbert

In her appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, one segment did not air.

During that conversation, Colbert asked former Vice President Kamala Harris to reflect on the contrast between the joy and enthusiasm people felt during her campaign and the current moment. Her response was powerful.

VP Kamala Harris’s “107 Days,” a peek behind the scenes of the 2024 election.

Harris explained why she opted not to run for governor of California and argues that anyone capitulating to President Trump is “completely naive” about the consequences.

“What l look back at is how people realize the commonality and collective strength and collective love of our country. We love our country. And the thing about that experience is exactly what propels me to think about this moment and the future and not look back too much. Those same people—they are still here. They still know joy in their hearts. They still know how to have a sense of optimism and faith in the future, and to believe and to fight for that. And that hasn’t gone away.

“I just think it’s really important that we never let a circumstance, situation, or person defeat our spirit. You can’t let that happen. You can’t give up your belief in what can be and what can be better. In spite of that—you know I talked about it the day after the election and again I talk about it in the book. That was a rough bleeping day for me, and it was important to me in that speech I gave the next day after the election to remind people to not give up.

“I am so aware of the joy that was there and the hope and the enthusiasm and I just think we have to remember that it was not just a candidate that gave that. It came from the people who naturally have that and this election cannot take that away but let’s be clear eyed about it.

“Let’s be clear eyed about what is going on. That is why people are taking to the streets, people are organizing, and people are talking to each other and talking about the issues and they are articulating what we know is wrong and what it should be. So let’s just not be defeated, right? Let’s just not be defeated.”

107 Days

Written with candor, a unique perspective, and the pace of a page-turning novel, 107 Days takes you inside the race for the presidency as no one has ever done before.

“Just over a year ago, I launched my campaign for President of the United States,” Harris says in a video on social media announcing the book.

For the first time, and with surprising and revealing insights, Kamala Harris tells the story of one of the wildest and most consequential presidential campaigns in American history.

Your Secret Service code name is Pioneer. You are the first woman in history to be elected vice president of the United States.

On July 21, 2024, your running mate, Joe Biden, announces that he will not be seeking reelection. The presidential election will occur on November 5, 2024.

You have 107 days.

Looking back at that period of time, Harris says, “107 days, traveling the country, fighting for our future—the shortest presidential campaign in modern history. It was intense, high stakes, and deeply personal for me and for so many of you.”

Harris’s new book, 107 Days, will be available starting September 23, 2025.