Harris Turned to Hillary Clinton for Guidance After Election Defeat: Report
Months after her loss to now-President Donald Trump, former Vice President Kamala Harris faces an uncertain political path.
As she considers her future, Harris has reportedly sought the advice of trusted family members and longtime allies—including Hillary Clinton, the only other Democratic woman to confront a comparable post-election reality. New York Magazine reports the two have had multiple conversations since Harris’s defeat.
There’s growing speculation about what Harris might do next. Some insiders believe she’s eyeing a run for governor in California, where Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom is nearing the end of his term due to term limits. Others suggest Harris is still setting her sights on the White House. Not long after the election, she allegedly encouraged her team to keep the door open for a “potential 2028 presidential bid,” according to the magazine.
While Harris hasn’t formally announced her next move, she has dropped hints that her political journey is not finished. In one of her final acts as vice president under Joe Biden, she participated in the customary tradition of signing the inside of her desk drawer—an event where she made brief but telling comments.
She told staff that she would not “go quietly into the night,” reinforcing the idea that she still has political ambitions.
This message echoed her concession speech, in which she declared: “While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign.”
After ending her own presidential campaign in 2020, Harris joined Biden as his running mate—a choice that initially seemed to set her on a clear trajectory. Biden had hinted he might serve only a single term, but surprised many when he launched a re-election bid in April 2023.
However, following a highly criticized debate performance and mounting concerns, Biden made a historic decision to exit the race in July 2024. His announcement came just days after an attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally shocked the nation.
Biden promptly endorsed Harris as his successor, effectively making her the Democratic nominee. While some viewed this as a natural evolution, others criticized the move as lacking a competitive process—seemingly at odds with the party’s “save democracy” narrative.
Harris and Clinton share more than just electoral defeat. Both were backed by a lineup of prominent Hollywood figures, but even high-profile endorsements—including from Taylor Swift—couldn’t propel the “Harris Era” into reality.
“The outcome of this election is not what we hoped, not what we fought for, not what we voted for,” Harris stated in her speech. “But hear when I say … the light of America’s promise will always burn bright as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting.”
Meanwhile, Trump is aggressively dismantling the “climate” agenda pushed by Biden and Harris. He has rolled out a wave of executive orders aimed at boosting domestic fossil fuel production.
Among them is a formal declaration of an “energy emergency,” designed to shield his administration from legal challenges targeting new drilling and energy projects.
As Just the News reported, the scope of these measures could represent “the most dramatic shift in U.S. energy policy” since the 1973 oil embargo by Arab OPEC nations.
Trump’s plan prioritizes critical mineral mining for national defense, fast-tracked approvals for public land energy projects, and streamlined energy infrastructure development.
Another order outlines plans specific to Alaska’s energy resources, although experts anticipate fierce resistance—including lawsuits—from Democratic governors and environmental groups.