CNN anchor says Harris could struggle in 2028 run — warns of burned bridges with Dem allies

CNN host Abby Phillip warned on Tuesday’s “The Breakfast Club” that if former Vice President Kamala Harris runs for president again, her campaign will be haunted by the bridges she burned with her tell-all book.

As the Democratic Party still seeks a new leader to rally around since its defeat last November, many have speculated that Harris plans to run again. Harris and former President Biden’s occasional public appearances have received mixed reception from their Democratic allies, who often argue their post-election comments are not helpful.

Harris has caused a particularly salient stir with her tell-all book “107 Days,” sharing her whirlwind experience of campaigning after Biden stepped down from the ticket.

“I think that there are a lot of bridges that are burned here whether she wanted to or not. And I think it will be very difficult for her to mend those fences that she’ll need in order to run if she does decide to run again. I think this book read kind of like somebody who was kind of done with it. So I will be interested to see if she decides to do it,” Phillip said.

“I think that she still has to figure out how to tap into authenticity in how she presents herself to the public because this world is not getting more kind to politicians who cannot level with voters and cannot show up any and everywhere,” she added.

Phillip recalled a recent piece about New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani about how politicians in the modern era are expected to speak well in everything from short soundbites to lengthy interviews.

“I think that she still has work to do in that respect, and maybe this book is the first kind of foray into that, because I read her last book, and the tone was completely different,” Phillip said. “This is a different kind of book, and it was an opening foray into her showing people more of herself, but she’s going to have to catch up to the speed and the kind of realness of media and politics that will be the bar in 2028.

“Like in 2028, the bar is going to be, ‘Are you a politician that can show up any and everywhere and authentically reach people?’”

“I think she is still straddling the old world and the new world, and she’s going to have to figure out which one she wants to be in,” Phillip suggested.

She went on to warn that going forward, politicians need to be willing to take risks and do unscripted interviews with people who may be hostile, knowing some can be won over and some will not go well. 

“I’m just telling you, it’s that was not how they ran that last campaign,” she said.

“No, they didn’t,” host Charlamagne Tha God agreed.

“Period. It wasn’t,” Phillip said. 

Representatives for Harris didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 

The CNN host went on to contrast her with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who she argued, demonstrated his ability to bring on conservatives to his podcast and endure criticism from his own side for doing so.

“You’ve got to prove to people that you can win the argument. And if you can’t do that, it doesn’t matter how polished you are, how experienced or knowledgeable you are. I think that’s the baseline bar that you’re going to have to cross for a lot of voters in this future media ecosystem,” she said.