Stephen A's Take: America, Kamala Harris is not done yet! Can you say California Governor?

Summary

The Stephen A. Smith Show – Episode Summary Title: Stephen A's Take: America, Kamala Harris is not done yet! Can you say California Governor? Release Date: February 16, 2025

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1. Introduction to Political Landscape [01:01 - 06:14]

The episode delves into the current political climate, focusing on Kamala Harris's potential political trajectory in California and beyond. The host, Stephen A. Smith, alongside a Political Analyst, examines recent polling data and Harris's standing within the Democratic Party.

Key Points:

• Kamala Harris's Polling Lead: A recent Emerson College poll commissioned by Nextstar Media reveals Kamala Harris leading the California gubernatorial race with 57% support among registered Democrats, far surpassing the next contender, Katie Porter, who garnered only 9% (01:01).

• Harris's Political Resume: Harris's extensive background is highlighted, including her tenure as U.S. Senator (2017-2021), California Attorney General (six years), and Vice President of the United States. Stephen emphasizes her qualifications, stating, “She’s a graduate, got a law degree... That’s a pretty impressive resume.” (03:45).

• 2024 Presidential Election Analysis: The discussion covers the recent presidential election where Donald Trump secured 49.8% of the vote compared to Harris's 48.3%. Despite the narrow margin, Trump achieved the highest cumulative popular votes in U.S. history, surpassing even Barack Obama through multiple campaigns (05:10).

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2. Critique of Democratic Strategies and Voter Sentiment [06:14 - 14:23]

Stephen A. Smith and the Political Analyst critique the Democratic Party's approach post-2024 elections, arguing that the party failed to resonate with the broader American electorate.

Key Points:

• Democratic Disconnect: Stephen asserts, “I think the Democrats are tone deaf and they're missing it. Donald Trump didn’t get 50% of the vote. He got like 49.8%...” (04:50). He contends that Democrats are not aligning their policies with what the American people truly desire, citing issues like inflation, immigration, and national security.

• Voter Priorities: Emphasis is placed on the American public’s frustration with identity politics, cancel culture, and economic concerns. Stephen remarks, “They’re sick and tired of the bullshit that we’ve been hearing. Identity politics woke culture. Cancel culture...” (08:16).

• Missed Opportunities: The analysts argue that Democrats missed critical opportunities to connect with voters by focusing on partisan issues rather than pressing national concerns. Stephen criticizes the party’s handling of events like the George Floyd protests, stating, “Did you really think that was going to curry favor? All it did was highlight how divided we had become...” (12:13).

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3. Recommendations for Kamala Harris's Political Future [14:23 - 17:16]

The conversation shifts to strategic recommendations for Kamala Harris, suggesting a focus on gubernatorial leadership in California as a stepping stone for future presidential ambitions.

Key Points:

• Run for Governor: Both Stephen and the Political Analyst advocate for Harris to pursue the California governor's seat in 2026. They believe this role would provide her with an opportunity to address state-specific challenges and rebuild her political standing. Stephen advises, “Let me say this. I would advise that because when you just lost the presidential election by more than 2 million votes, that can’t be ignored.” (05:25).

• Advantages of Governorship: Winning the governorship is portrayed as a near-certain victory given her current polling lead. Stephen emphasizes, “If Kamala Harris runs for the governor of California, she'll win. And if you know that that's as close to a surefire thing that you could get, why bypass that.” (15:52).

• Path to Presidency: Successfully governing California, one of the nation’s largest economies, could position Harris favorably for a presidential run in 2032. The analysts outline this as a strategic move to demonstrate effective leadership and policy implementation on a significant scale.

• Addressing State Challenges: The discussion highlights the numerous issues California faces, including high taxes, environmental policies, immigration, and economic stagnation. By tackling these, Harris could reshape her political image and appeal to a broader electorate. Stephen questions, “How do you explain the taxes the highest in the union? How do you explain the price of gas in California?” (14:05).

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4. Conclusion and Final Thoughts [17:16 - 18:02]

The episode wraps up with a strong endorsement for Kamala Harris to seize the gubernatorial opportunity, emphasizing its importance for her political future and the Democratic Party's prospects.

Key Points:

• Final Endorsement: Stephen concludes, “That ain't risky. The poll showed it. And Gavin Newsom can’t go.” (17:04), reinforcing the viability of Harris’s gubernatorial campaign.

• Future Outlook: The analysts express optimism that a successful tenure as governor could lead to Harris becoming a prominent candidate for the U.S. presidency, provided she leverages her experience and addresses the critical issues facing California.

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Notable Quotes with Attribution:

• Stephen A. Smith (03:45): “She’s a graduate, got a law degree. She’s a former district attorney in San Francisco... That’s a pretty impressive resume.”

• Stephen A. Smith (08:16): “They’re sick and tired of the bullshit that we’ve been hearing. Identity politics woke culture. Cancel culture...”

• Stephen A. Smith (15:52): “If Kamala Harris runs for the governor of California, she'll win. And if you know that that's as close to a surefire thing that you could get, why bypass that.”

• Political Analyst (06:14): “The Democrats are tone deaf and they're missing it. Donald Trump didn’t get 50% of the vote. He got like 49.8%...”

• Political Analyst (17:04): “Kamala Harris, if you're gonna do anything, don't think about the presidency in 2028. Think about the governor's seat of California in 2026 and use that to position yourself to become the next president United States in 2032.”

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Summary:
In this episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show, the focus is on Kamala Harris's potential run for Governor of California as a strategic move for her political future and the Democratic Party's recovery from recent electoral setbacks. Stephen A. Smith and the Political Analyst discuss Harris's strong polling lead, critique the Democratic Party's failure to connect with voters on key issues, and recommend leveraging a gubernatorial victory in California as a foundation for a future presidential bid. The conversation underscores the importance of addressing state-specific challenges to rebuild trust and effectiveness within the party.

Transcript

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[Political Analyst]

We're going to get started with some politics, okay? And some political news. Some headlines emanating from the state of California. That's where former Vice president and presidential nominee Kamala Harris holds a substantial lead in the polls to succeed Governor Gavin Newsom. Now, Harris has been relatively quiet since losing the presidential race in November, and she hasn't indicated if she even wants to run for governor in her home state. However, this recent Emerson College poll commissioned by nextstar Media asked registered Democrats in California who they would theoretically support in 2026, and the overwhelming majority, at 57%, named Harris. The next closest candidate was former Representative Katie Porter at 9%. You may recall that Kamala Harris is no stranger to California politics, as she represented the state in the US Senate from 2017 to 2021, and she served as California's Attorney General for the six years prior to that. So one would stand the reason that you know what, she could end up running for governor of California. Let me say this. I would advise that. I would advise that because when you just lost the president presidential election by more than 2 million votes, that can't be ignored. It just can't be ignored. Now, this woman's resume, I don't like the way that I hear folks on the right talking about it. I mean, you won. Do you have to be sore winners? You know, they rip her at every turn, they question her intelligence. I don't appreciate that. You know, she's a graduate, got a law degree. She's a former district attorney in San Francisco, where she served for seven years. She's former state attorney general in California for six years, obviously. She was a US senator from California for four years from 2017 to 2021, as I articulated. And she's the Vice President of the United States. That's a pretty impressive resume. Okay. Did she lose to Donald Trump? Yes, she did. Do I think that the Democrats are making a mistake when they act like there's not this mandate in this Trump mandate that that's completely overblown? I think the Democrats are tone deaf and they're missing it. Donald Trump didn't get 50% of the vote. He got like 49.8% of the vote, if I remember correctly. A matter of fact, I need to look that up again because I want to make sure that my numbers are right about that. But my point to y'all is that when I'm thinking about this, that's not the argument for the Democrats to be making. People are getting tired of that. You know, you lost, period. And just for specifics, just to make sure that we have this out there, I got the stats right in front of me. Trump won 77,284,118 votes, which amounted to 49.8% of the votes cast for president. That was the second highest vote total in U.S. history, trailing only Joe Biden, who won in 2020, receiving 81,284,666 votes. As I said back then, it wasn't voted for Biden. It was voting against Trump. At that particular moment in time, there was chaos in the streets of America. People didn't like the noise, the chaos, the lack of struct and discipline and what have you. And they went in a different direction. Nevertheless, Trump won 3,059,799 more popular votes in 2024 in this latest presidential election than he had won in 2020, and 14,299,293 more than he had won in 2016. So he now, meaning Donald Trump, now holds the record for the most cumulative popular votes won by any presidential candidate in US History, even surp Barack Obama, although Trump ran three times and Obama only ran twice. So we got to take that into consideration. Kamala Harris, for her part, 74,999,166 votes, which amounted to 48.3% of the votes cast. So she lost the popular vote 49.8% to 48.3%. Okay, so she won by 1.5% of the votes. That was 6 million 285, 500 fewer popular votes than Biden won in 2020, but 774,847 more than Trump won in 2020. Remember, 156 million people voted in 2024. That's the second largest total voter turnout in U.S. history in absolute terms. It also is just the second time that more than 140 million people voted in a presidential election. So there are the facts. And having said that, getting back to Kamala Harris, let's be very, very clear. I don't think she should run for president in 2028. Let me. Let me say it like it is. The reason why is because I think the run to the gubernatorial seat, the governor's seat in California is a. Is a given. I think if Kamala Harris runs for the governor of California, she'll win. And if you know that that's as close to a surefire thing that you could get, why bypass that.

[Stephen A. Smith]

In hopes.

[Political Analyst]

That two years later you're going to run for the presidency again and win?

[Stephen A. Smith]

I don't think that is going to happen.

[Political Analyst]

I think that's a very risky proposition. I think the fact that Trump won the popular vote and won the Electoral College vote sends a clear message against policies that the Democratic Party was spewing. And I think this argument that a bevy of Democrats are making that there was no mandate, he didn't even get 50% of the vote. So there's not this strong mandate that the country wants to move in a different direction, blah, blah, blah.

[Stephen A. Smith]

There's a strong enough mandate that the American people didn't like what the hell they were hearing from the Democrat from the Democratic Party. See, this is why Stephen A. Smith, your friendly neighborhood sports analyst, is on the damn polls as a presidential candidate. That's why. You really, really think that? I think for one second that I'm qualified to be the President of the United States. Once upon a time, I would have never thought that. But then I was reminded, what does it take to be the President of the United States of America? Oh, oh, you got to be 35 years of age. Oh, oh, you got to live in the United States for the last 14 years. Oh, oh, you gotta be a born citizen of the United States of America. You gotta be born here. Born here 35 years of age and living in a country for the last 14 years. That's it. Do y'all know that some would argue you might need tougher qualifications to get.

[Political Analyst]

A job at Walmart or Target.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I mean, I'm being facetious, but you get my point. That's utterly ridiculous. You would think that the standards need to be harder, but they're not.

[Political Analyst]

So in that regard, maybe I'm qualified.

[Stephen A. Smith]

But ladies and gentlemen, my life is good. Last time I checked, they don't pay.

[Political Analyst]

The president how much I'm gonna get paid or how much I'm getting paid.

[Stephen A. Smith]

They get all into your personal business. Ain't nobody think about my personal business. Not that I have anything to hire, but anybody think about my personal business. I don't have to sit up there and have my whole life put on.

[Political Analyst]

Front street because I'm asking to legislate.

[Stephen A. Smith]

And govern and oversee the lives of more than 358 million American citizens. Hell, no. Am I interested? No.

[Political Analyst]

But if the American people.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Reached out.

[Political Analyst]

To me and said, we need you, brother. We need you, I'm not lying when I say I'd consider it. I just consider that close to an impossibility.

[Stephen A. Smith]

And it does make me scratch my head like I got damn dandruff in my hair. It does make me scratch my head profusely when I imagine, what the hell are y'all thinking? And then I came to this conclusion. You know what they thinking? They sick and tired of the bullshit that we've been hearing. Identity politics woke culture. Cancel culture. Not prioritizing quality of life nearly as much as we should. Inflation, immigration, crime in the streets of America, national security, global affairs. We weren't hearing what we want to hear. And the Democrats don't have a voice. Now, a couple of politicians that I've spoken to have said the right message to me.

[Political Analyst]

You know what?

[Stephen A. Smith]

It ain't about the midterms. It's about what you do before the midterms so you can win the midterms, so you can regain some prowess so the Trump administration can't just do whatever it is that they want to do. You know why I haven't raised holy hell about Doge, the Department of Government Efficiency? You know, I haven't raised holy hell about some of the things that Trump has done. Dei and all of this other stuff. Do you know why I haven't raised, like, completely going nuclear about it?

[Political Analyst]

Because the Democrats messed up by putting them in that position.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You want to bring up 34 felony.

[Political Analyst]

Counts, you want to bring up two impeachments.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You want to hear people calling him a felon?

[Political Analyst]

Well, then why did you lose to him?

[Stephen A. Smith]

Because you Were busy talking about that.

[Political Analyst]

Instead of what really, really concerns the American people.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Let me break something down to y'all.

[Political Analyst]

Very, very simple.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Griffin Galen, and you got. I want you to listen to this. It's very important. It's very important. Because the American people don't know. Apparently, the Democratic Party doesn't recognize that the American people, people like Griff, like Galen, like Sherry, like Rashawn, like Jennifer, like ISO, like Fudge, and a bunch of names that y'all don't know, but these are people that I know very well. People don't realize from the Democratic Party. They don't realize that y'all don't give a about the kind of stuff that they were talking about. Y'all don't care that Trump got convicted of 34 felony counts. You know why? Because he convinced half the American people it was politicized. You don't care that he was impeached twice. Because it was completely pushed forward by the Democrats. It completely rejected by the Republicans because they were making the case that it was being politicized. They cared about the price of eggs. They cared about the fact that we went to the supermarket and you could only get a carton of eggs.

[Political Analyst]

You can't even get two.

[Stephen A. Smith]

They're limiting it. Cared about the price of gas. That's what they cared about. Why am I bringing this all, all of this up? Because Kamala Harris, for the last 107 days before the election, was the face of the Democr. And I just read to you the numbers. I think the woman's smart. I think the woman has accomplished a great deal in her life. I don't think she's going away, but.

[Political Analyst]

I think she'll have no choice but to. If she passes on a gubernatorial race in California in 2026 to run for the presidency in 2028, the Democratic Party.

[Stephen A. Smith]

As we know it is done. It's done. Remember when the riots were going on.

[Political Analyst]

In the aftermath of George Floyd's passing?

[Stephen A. Smith]

Y'all remember that? Remember how the Democratic congressional figures in.

[Political Analyst]

The House put on the African scarves and they all took a knee? Did you really think that the American people thought that was sincere and genuine? Did you really think that was going to curry favor? All it did was highlight how divided we had come and that Donald Trump needed to go. And the Republicans bloviating about some red wave that was coming in 2022 that didn't happen.

[Stephen A. Smith]

But the point of all of it.

[Political Analyst]

Is that the Democrats had opportunities. And once again, they didn't listen to the American people. I've said this on many occasions when it comes to the Republicans. The Republican voter out there said, we don't give a damn what y'all say. We want Donald Trump. We want him. We don't want Nikki Healy, we don't want Desantis, we don't want Ramaswamy, we don't want Christie. We don't want anybody.

[Stephen A. Smith]

We want him.

[Political Analyst]

But the Democrats will tell you, it's Hillary's turn is Joe Biden's turn. We gonna push Biden out, it's Kamala Harris's turn, and we gonna force feed our base to embrace and accept who we choose as opposed to listening to what the American people choose.

[Stephen A. Smith]

The last time one could legitimately argue that the Democratic nominee for the presidency.

[Political Analyst]

Of the United States of America has.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Been legitimately handpicked by the American people was Barack Obama in two. That's it. Ain't happened since.

[Political Analyst]

People tired of it. I'm bringing all of that up because I want to say to Kamala Harris, run for the governor's seat of California. It's a mess in the state. Yes, Gavin Newsom is saying, yo, you know, there's a lot of misinformation out there. People are not getting it. And yes, he might have taken unnecessary hits and unfair hits for the wildfires that took place because there's little to nothing that you could have done about a natural disaster of that magnitude with that wind coming at 90 miles an hour. I get that part. How do you explain being at the mercy of environmentalists in the state of California? How do you explain the taxes the highest in the union? How do you explain the price of gas in California? How do you explain the open borders and the immigration crisis out there? How do you explain all of these things? How do you explain businesses flocking out of the state? There's a lot of problems. And I'm making the argument that Kamala Harris, seen by the right as a die hard leftist, if somehow, some way, you get the governor's seat of California and you fix things in such a way, moving the left away from the far side to a more centralized position and you get a state like California back in the right direction, could you imagine what that would do for Kamala Harris?

[Stephen A. Smith]

How would the presidency in 2028, you could be the governor of California and run in 2032, one of the top, largest economies in the country. You turn California around.

[Political Analyst]

You can run for the presidency in 2032. Kamala Harris, 2028. Nah, because of all the things on her resume that one would deem relatively impeccable. Let's keep in mind, vice president is the number two slot. A US Senator is a US Senator. That's one of a hundred. Yeah.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Attorney general. That's law and order.

[Political Analyst]

I got that part.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You did that for six years.

[Political Analyst]

State of California, district attorney in San Francisco.

[Stephen A. Smith]

But let me tell you something.

[Political Analyst]

You haven't run a state. So if you haven't run a state, even though Donald Trump didn't run a state either, one would question whether or not you're going to run a country, especially since you just lost the election. Go for the governor's seat. That would be my recommendation to Kamala Harris. Go for the governor's seat. Win that. That's a sure fire thing.

[Stephen A. Smith]

That ain't risky. The poll showed it.

[Political Analyst]

Right now, 57% would vote for her. She's got like, she's got a huge lead over everybody else.

[Stephen A. Smith]

And Gavin Newsom can't go.

[Political Analyst]

There's term, term limits.

[Stephen A. Smith]

He's up.

[Political Analyst]

He's got a different problem. We'll talk about him at a later date. But Kamala Harris, if you're gonna do anything, don't think about the presidency in 2028. Think about the governor's seat of California in 2026 and use that to position yourself to become the next president United States in 2032. That would be my suggestion. Bottom line is this, California is the way to go. Kamala Harris. It's the way to go Foreign.

[Greg Rosenthal]

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