Former Vice President Kamala Harris has made combating misinformation a focal point of her relaunched Headquarters ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, a race she and other Democrats are high on for, among other reasons, bringing checks and balances back to Washington, D.C.
Harris spoke with Knowa de Baraso, the 14-year-old who went viral during the 2024 Democratic National Convention for his “Now You Know” podcast and during their candid conversation, Harris opened up about Nicki Minaj leaning into misinformation, why she chose not to run for Governor of California to succeed Gavin Newsom, and her thoughts on President Trump and his views on Black History Month.
When it came to the question of whether she would run again for President, or seek high office in her home state, Harris eased back on the idea of running for the top office in California.
“It’s not my calling,” she said. “But it is a great state, and there’s a lot at stake. California has 40 million people, and when I was U.S. Senator representing California, I was representing 1 in 8 Americans.”
The 49th Vice President spent much of 2025 traveling across the country in promotion of her book, “107 Days.” Along those journeys, she says she spoke to young voters who wanted to take part in the political process and figure out what their best course of action was, given the current state of the government.
“A lot of people, as I’ve been traveling this last year, have been asking what can they do,” Harris said. “One of the things people can do and lets organize around these elections. Part of the pain the country is experiencing is because we have a President and his administration who are subverting the rule of law, who are engaged in frankly, the most callous kind of approach to humanity, and there are no checks and balances.”
She added, “Why are the 2026 elections important? If we take back Congress, the House of Representatives, the Senate, then there will be checks and balances on the President’s power, which right now there are none, and we’re seeing a complete abuse of power.”
Later in her conversation with De Baraso, Harris didn’t hold back her views on Trump, weeks after a post on his Truth Social account depicted former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as apes, linking his actions and subsequent inaction regarding Black History Month to his character.
“Real talk? When we just saw most recently the President use his social media to disparage and demean in such a disgusting, vile way the former President of the United States and First Lady of the United States, we know that we have a President who does not understand the importance of Black history, or celebrating Black history, or teaching Black history,” Harris told De Baraso.
She added, “He has a history of being hostile to these issues and is quite unapologetic in his approach and attitude, even in his use of language and words. And it’s a shame. We can’t actually ask the children to take their cues around how one should think and talk about their fellow human based on how the President of the United States acts because that would be a very bad example. We have to look to each other and on the subject Black history, we have to look to each other to those that will teach and remind us of America’s history through Black history.””
As far as 2028 is concerned? Harris says she’s focused on 2026.
“We have to focus on what’s in front of us,” she told the young interviewer. “Hopefully, in 2026, we’ll be able to right the ship.
