On Thursday night, former Vice President Kamala Harris struggled to name a leader of the Democratic Party after “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert asked who was in charge. (@AutismCapital / X screen shot)
By Samuel Short August 1, 2025 at 6:00am
Who is at the helm of the Democratic Party? Apparently, nobody according to former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Harris’ first interview since losing the November election to President Donald Trump occurred Thursday when she sat down with “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” host Stephen Colbert to discuss the status of her party and more.
Not that anyone needed reassuring that the Democrats were without real leadership going into next year’s midterms or the 2028 presidential election.
COLBERT: “Who is leading the Democratic Party?”
KAMALA: “There are a lot of leaders.”Translation: There is no clear leader. And if she is to nominate a leader by endorsing them with her opinion, she will be eaten alive by her party. She is captured.
pic.twitter.com/PgSw0hF6t2— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) August 1, 2025
“Who’s leading the Democratic Party?” Colbert asked.
Harris gave one of her typical nonsensical answers, which voters became extremely familiar with during the 2024 election cycle: “There are lots of leaders,” she said before Colbert cut her off, “A leader of the Democratic Party? Like, ‘Oh, that’s the leader of the Democratic Party.’ Who comes to mind?”
“I think there are a lot,” Harris restated. “I’m not going to go through names because then I’m going to leave somebody out, and then I’m going to hear about it.
“Let me say this, I think that it is a mistake for us who want to figure out how to get out and through this and get out of it, to put it on the shoulders of any one person.
Did the Democratic Party essentially die under the watch of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris?
“It’s really on all of our shoulders.”
Translation: Nobody is running this party, it’s a disaster.
Whoever may come to mind can quickly be ruled out. Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin is too busy quarreling with former Vice Chair David Hogg.
Former President Joe Biden is out of the question, existing as a husk of his former self from his days in the Senate.
Former President Barack Obama prefers to keep a lower profile as allegations swirl about his role in the Russian collusion hoax against Trump, and former President Bill Clinton and former first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton do not need any more media attention than they can garner through controversy alone.
Names like Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and California Govs. Josh Shapiro, Tim Walz, and Gavin Newsom each have their own hindrances that keep them from being the obvious choice.
It would be obvious if there was anyone.
Who leads the Republican party? Trump.
You don’t even need to think about it.
The clock is ticking for the Democrats to find that person. The political world is not going to hit pause for them to get their house in order.
Sam Short is an Instructor of History with Motlow State Community College in Smyrna, Tennessee. He holds a BA in History from Middle Tennessee State University and an MA in History from University College London. The views expressed in his articles are his own and do not reflect the views or opinions of Motlow State Community College.
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