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Inside Politics

Kamala Harris Releasing Memoir On Her 2024 Campaign; The Age- Old Biden Question Hangs Over 2028 Field; Texas GOP Attempts To Take 5 Democratic House Seats With New Map; NYPD Gathers For Funeral Of Officer Killed In NYC Mass Shooting. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired July 31, 2025 - 12:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[12:31:15]

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR: Kamala Harris is writing her next political chapter, and it does not involve a run for California governor. Here's how she announced her new memoir called "107 Days," the length of her very short presidential run.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Just over a year ago, I launched my campaign for president of the United States, "107 Days", traveling the country, fighting for our future. The shortest presidential campaign in modern history.

With candor and reflection, I've written a behind-the-scenes account of that journey. I believe there's value in sharing what I saw, what I learned, and what I know it will take to move forward.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

RAJU: And tonight, Harris will appear on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for her first interview since her November loss to President Trump.

My panel is back. So, Eva, you wrote about the release of this book. So she talks about candor, reflection, behind-the-scenes account. How candid do we expect this to be?

EVA MCKEND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Time will tell. We know that she grappled over how to talk about President Biden in this book, and just how revealing that it was going to be. But I think my friend at The 19th, Errin Haines, put this episode really well, in that right now, the former vice president is choosing possibility over predictability. She wants to tell her own story on her own terms. And by selecting not to run for governor in California in 2026, this gives her the chance to do so.

RAJU: She's been so remarkably quiet in the aftermath of this. I mean, November was a while ago. I mean, it's not unusual for candidates to take some downtime, regroup, think about their next steps, and the like. But unlike her running mate, Tim Walz, who's been out there, she very much has not been.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: She's not been, and that's been a choice. Obviously, I think that she needed a reset. She knew that there was not a huge demand for her out there. A slight difference with Tim Walz, I mean, he's the sitting governor of Minnesota. So he is making himself more in demand as he decides if he's going to run again or not.

But this decision was certainly a very interesting one. But the people I've talked to in California are far less surprised by this than some national Democrats. I mean, she has long sort of taken her eye off of California politics. So this gives her a little bit more running room, and it gives her the possibility of choosing to run in 2028.

Had she run for governor, that effectively would have closed the door to run for president --

RAJU: Yes.

ZELENY: -- because the timing just wouldn't have worked. We don't know if she's going to run again.

RAJU: Yes.

ZELENY: Many people would be surprised if she did, because she still has not sort of shed all these questions. But I think how revealing her book is --

RAJU: Yes.

ZELENY: -- may give us a sort of an indication --

RAJU: Yes.

ZELENY: -- of like how daring she's willing to be.

RAJU: And how will she answer the Biden question? What she saw in the White House, what she said about President Biden, about his behavior, his cognitive abilities, and the like, that's something that she would face, she's probably going to face tonight. And this is how -- if she were to run in 2028, it's a question that she would undoubtedly face on the campaign trail.

This is how some potential 2028 contenders have been answering the Biden question.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are also Republicans alleging that you and others in the administration did not say all you knew about President Biden's condition, how his age has affected him over time.

PETE BUTTIGIEG, FORMER TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: That's not true, in my case, at least I told the truth, which is that he was old.

GRETCHEN WHITMER (D), GOVERNOR OF MICHIGAN: I was busy working. I was busy doing the connection and the voter registration, and so I can't speak to that directly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you didn't see any --

WHITMER: I didn't see the president frequently. And I can tell you, I can't speak to that directly.

REP. RO KHANNA (D), CALIFORNIA: Obviously, he should not have run. We should be clear to say that. Obviously, there should have been an open primary.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

[12:35:05]

RAJU: And tonight, Biden is appearing in Chicago to speak --

SEUNG MIN KIM, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right.

RAJU: -- as well. How is she going to handle this question -- Kamala Harris?

KIM: It'll be really interesting to see what direction she goes, because even throughout the whole ordeal of the former president's age and how that through -- created this turmoil in the campaign, Kamala Harris was very loyal to him, not just publicly because she was his vice president and she had that sort of PR role that she had to play, but behind the scenes. We know that she was still very unwilling to criticize him behind the scenes.

He chose her as his vice president. She had a long relationship with, you know, President Biden's son, Beau. So the level of reflection that she'll do in the interview tonight and in her memoir will be really interesting to see. She's also a very careful politician. She's not known necessarily for a lot of candor and whatnot. So --

RAJU: Yes.

KIM: -- it could be revealing, maybe not.

RAJU: She is a very, very guarded politician.

KIM: Right.

RAJU: Will that be any different now that she's not running for governor? We shall see.

All right, coming up, we talked to one Democratic member of Congress whose district is being targeted by Texas Republicans redistricting proposal. Congressman Lloyd Doggett joins us live. That's next.

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[12:40:50]

RAJU: Five more seats. That's what Republicans in Texas are attempting to gain as they redraw the state's maps and a rare mid-decade redistricting push being sought by President Donald Trump to help keep the GOP in control of the House in next year's midterms. Now, one of the seats being targeted by the plan, that of Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett, who has represented the Austin area for 30 years.

Congressman Doggett joins me now live. Congressman, thank you so much for joining me this afternoon. Really appreciate your time.

REP. LLOYD DOGGETT (D), TEXAS: Thank you.

RAJU: Absolutely. The Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, is down in Texas right now. You just met with him. What did he tell you about how your party will respond to this GOP effort? And will it involve redrawing the maps of California, New York and other states to benefit Democrats?

DOGGETT: Well, as big as Texas is, this really is bigger than Texas. Donald Trump loves having a compliant Congress. He has one now that allows him to do pretty much whatever he wants to. And delegates all of its power to him, offers no check and balance. And so what's at stake here in Texas is whether Trump can manipulate the next elections to overcome the sure defeat he's about to have if he has to have his members run in the existing districts.

Instead of our being down three, he wants us to be down 13, 15 seats. I do believe that our Texas state legislators are courageous in fighting the Trump map. He sends down a map and says, give me five new members.

And they seem to be as compliant as the House Republicans in Washington. And so the leader -- our leader, Hakeem Jeffries, is going on from Texas to California. This is a national issue. We appreciate the fact that Governor Newsom and the Californians are looking at responding and not letting Trump get away with this fixing of the next election.

RAJU: So Jeffries said he was --

DOGGETT: That this will play out --

RAJU: Sorry about that.

DOGGETT: -- California to -- I think it'll be California to Maryland. All over the country, we'll be looking at this because we can't let Trump fix and manipulate the next election.

RAJU: So Jeffries is talking about doing the same thing in California. He said he's traveling to California. That's obviously been out there. Maryland is another state. What other states did he talk about in that meeting?

DOGGETT: Well, he's -- I don't know what all states he's looking at, but I think those are two of them. Excuse me.

RAJU: And the way the lines are likely to be redrawn in Texas would force you into a primary, Congressman, with another sitting Democrat. That's Congressman Greg Casar, who currently represents part of Austin and San Antonio. Will you run against Congressman Casar in a primary?

DOGGETT: Well, my district is one of the few that was largely untouched. I have District 37. Two-thirds of the people I represent today will still be in the new district. Greg and I had breakfast today. We were with Jeffries today. We're working together to stop this plan.

We're united. We're not saying what if this or that, except what if Donald Trump is permitted to control the Congress by getting this Texas plan approved. So I know that everyone likes to look at horse races, but the only race that counts here is whether Donald Trump can move America from democracy to autocracy.

RAJU: But will you run for re-election in your district, even if Congressman Casar runs in the same district?

DOGGETT: Yes. I have already filed for re-election, but I think neither one of us are looking to that day. We're looking only to the day when we stop this plan. Because if Republicans can divide us in this fight, they will prevail.

RAJU: So it sounds like that has not been decided, whether or not you will run in a primary against Congressman Casar.

DOGGETT: It's not a matter of me running against him. I'm in District 37. Two-thirds of my people are there. I've filed for re-election. But we are -- we have set about a plan to work together, united, to fight this plan. And whatever happens after this, we can take a look at it then. The race involved here is critical to stop this plan and stop Donald Trump from doing the things he's done with this Congress in the next Congress.

[12:45:03]

RAJU: I wanted to ask you more broadly, Congressman, because you were the first Democratic member of Congress to call for Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race last year. At the time, you said that Biden had the opportunity to encourage a new generation of leaders. Now, you're 77, I don't need to tell you that, but Congressman Casar, he's 36. I wonder what you would say to someone who might say, well, Congressman Doggett, you should also encourage a new generation of leaders in Texas.

DOGGETT: Absolutely. And I have, excuse me, been working with leaders all over the country. But I think in this case, we don't need -- I'm sorry, I've really got some sinus problems.

RAJU: It's OK. It's OK. It's that time of year.

DOGGETT: Yes, I would say that my concern about President Biden was he wasn't up to the job. It was a question not of age, but of action. And I'm pleased to have my record evaluated. We do need young leaders, but we don't need everyone in our team to play the same position.

Winning teams take advantage of the strengths of members. Some are strong on social media. Some are strong in dealing with the details of these bills and how to fight back against the Trump administration.

RAJU: Mr. Doggett, thank you so much for joining me this afternoon from Austin, Texas. We'll see you back here in Washington after the congressional recess. Appreciate your time.

DOGGETT: Great. Thank you.

RAJU: Absolutely.

All right, smart reporters are back around the table with us. What's your reaction? I mean, one of the big things that often happens when they redraw maps is the party in power tries to put the opposition party in a primary, so they fight against each other, and that costs them a seat, which is what the Republicans are aiming to do with Congressman Doggett's district and putting him against a progressive member, Greg Casar.

KIM: Right, right. And the fact that he kept trying to deflect to other -- the broader effort that Democrats are trying to do, perhaps in other states around the country, we were just talking about it during the break, that this is all kind of generating a race to the bottom. So you do it here. We're going to do it in states that are favorable to us.

But what it does, I think this would be a byproduct. This is a byproduct of many factors, but I think redistricting and getting more polarized districts is one of them, is that you just get a more polarized Congress, because members are representing purely Republicans or purely Democrats, and that creates a very different Capitol Hill for policymaking. Obviously, we talk a lot about the death of the moderates in both caucuses, and this could really certainly contribute to that.

RAJU: There's no question about that. And he also mentioned that Hakeem Jeffries is going to California. He also mentioned Maryland. It could be another thing that we're -- state where Democrats try to add seats by redrawing the maps, which typically is done, again, at the beginning of a decade because of the census, but now mid-decade in order to respond to what Republicans are doing in Texas.

ZELENY: Look, there's not a clamor out in these states for new districts. The clamor is coming from the White House and from Washington, and it could often be reversed the other way. Democrats obviously don't want to lie down, you know, and not to defend this, but it is a race to the bottom, as Dick Gephardt --

RAJU: Yes.

ZELENY: -- the former Missouri Democratic longtime member of Congress, would often say it's a race to the bottom. That's what this sounds like, but at the same time, you don't want to unilaterally disarm.

RAJU: Yes.

ZELENY: So we'll see if it happens in every state, but it's complicated. RAJU: And it's also -- it's complicated. It's easier said than done for Democrats because you run into things like the independent commission law that's in California. You can't just do away with that, or maybe Democrats say maybe you can.

MCKEND: It would be intellectually inconsistent because this is something that Democrats have historically pushed back against, but the demand coming from Democratic voters is for Democrats in power to put up a fight. So they have no choice but to retaliate and, you know, match fire with fire.

RAJU: Yes, no question about it. We'll see ultimately what happens. Hugely significant, of course, because this -- there are so few battleground districts in the House, and this could determine potentially the next House majority.

All right, returning now to a much different story, a very sad story, live pictures as New York police officers line the streets in the Bronx, where the officer who was killed at Monday's mass shooting will soon be laid to rest. We'll go there live next.

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[12:53:27]

RAJU: Right now in the Bronx, police officers, family, friends, and the community are gathering to pay their respects to New York Police Officer Didarul Islam. Officer Islam was off duty but working an extra shift as a security officer when he was tragically shot and killed Monday in the mass shooting that unfolded in a Park Avenue office building.

CNN's Omar Jimenez is there. So Omar, what do we expect from the next few hours there as the service is approaching?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so the service just got underway not too long ago. Outside of it, you can actually see the sea of police officers that are here. One, of course, to secure the area, but also to support one of their own that was killed here. Even leading up to the beginning of the service, there was a line that stretched blocks that included, yes, some police officers, but also just members from this community.

Didarul Islam was on the police force for over three years prior to this, an immigrant from Bangladesh, a heavy Bangladesh community in this particular neighborhood. And a lot of them have come out to support on that front. This, of course, was a police officer, father of two with a mother, now widow, expecting a third.

We've been monitoring, which has been going for a bit. Right now, we're hearing from the union president, from the police commissioner. We've heard from New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who actually visited with the family before today.

Here's a little bit of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS, NEW YORK CITY: Because as the mayor, I am responsible for the safety of New Yorkers. That is my obligation. And that is my most basic function. And for someone to drive across our country, carrying an automatic weapon and taking the lives of innocent people, you ask yourself over and over again, what more could we have done?

And I just want to say sorry to this family. I want to say sorry as one parent to another parent.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

[12:55:36]

JIMENEZ: And that's the reality right now. Yes, there's an investigation playing out. But for these families, they're trying to figure out ways to move forward, not just those of Didarul Islam, but also those of Wesley LePatner and Julia Hyman and Aland Etienne as well, Manu.

RAJU: So, so tragic.

All right, Omar Jimenez live for us from the Bronx. Thank you for that report.

And thank you for joining Inside Politics. CNN News Central starts after a very quick break.