Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz sat in stunned silence when asked about the current state of the Democratic Party following November’s blowout loss in the election.
During an interview on CNN’s “The Arena,” Walz remained silent for a few seconds when anchor Kasie Hunt asked, “Who is the leader of the Democratic Party?”
The segment began when Hunt asked about President Donald Trump’s speech on Tuesday night to a joint session of Congress. Walz was short on answers when Hunt mentioned Republicans controlling the White House and both chambers of Congress.
“Who do you think the leader of the Democratic Party is right now?” asked Hunt.
“I think the voting public, right now, is what I would say,” Walz said after the aforementioned short pause. He added that he was telling Democrats “we’re not going to have a charismatic leader right in here and save us from this,” and instead they needed to be “out there standing alongside” the people.
Hunt remarked that his view might apply to congressional leaders but Trump had emerged “to dominate our politics for ten years.”
“Do you see anyone who could be a national Democratic figure?” she asked.
Walz replied that he saw “a whole lot of them,” including “young members of Congress stepping up” and state legislators, union members, and other “folks that are out there.”
The key, said Walz, was that Democrats “can’t cede the space” and must “stand up” and offer a response to Republicans, going out and meeting with voters.
“Is Kamala Harris a future leader for the Democratic Party?” Hunt asked.
“Well, I certainly think she could be,” replied Walz. “There’ll be decisions to be, like I say, all of us are –”
“Do you think she should run for president?” Hunt interjected.
“I think she had a positive message,” said Walz. “I think I own this with her. Were we able to deliver that? Obviously not. Not as effectively as we should have, but I think the ideas that she was bringing up about an economy that works for everyone, expanding the idea of health care and affordability, making sure that Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security were protected — she shares the values of the bulk of the American public. In 100 days, I think she was articulating that.”
“Are you going to run for president?” Hunt asked.
Walz answered, “I don’t need to be on the ticket, but I do need to be there, I believe, because what I saw in the country and what we’re able to do.”
He added that he wanted to “be a part of making sure that we win,” and would be “out there” offering “whatever they need from me, I’ll go, wherever they are” to meet the public and “take the fight to every corner of the country.”
WATCH:
CNN: “Who do you think the leader of the Democrat party is right now?”
TIM WALZ: “I think the voting public…We’re not gonna have a charismatic leader ride in here and save us from this…” pic.twitter.com/ls2hsq8eIg
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 5, 2025
Harris is not planning to “go quietly into the night” after she was thumped in the 2024 presidential election.
During a segment on CNN, reporter Isaac Dovere revealed that Harris privately tells backers she is considering running for governor of California in 2026 or president in 2028. Harris also reportedly does not want her “final act” to be certifying Donald Trump’s election victory over her.
“We haven’t seen or heard much from Vice President Kamala Harris since she lost the election last month,” CNN’s Manu Raju told CNN’s viewers. “But the Democratic Party still reeling from Trump’s victory.”
Dovere said that Harris is mulling two options.
“What she’s been saying to people over the last couple of weeks, donors, other supporters that she’s been talking with, As you haven’t seen the last of me, I’m not going quietly into the night. Advisers, people close to her are debating about what that means. They do not want her final official act ever to be essentially certifying Donald Trump’s win over her, especially four years after January 6th. And so they look at this governor’s race in California in 2026, and it seems to them like a layup essentially, that she would probably clear the field or mostly clear the field and she would get to be governor of California,” Dovere said.
“But if she does that, that means that she couldn’t turn around and run for president again in 2028. She’d need to essentially declare right away. And that is what it really comes down to because there are people close to her who say she didn’t get a fair shot this year,” Dovere added.
Dovere continued, “It wasn’t it wasn’t up to what she could have done. And look how well she performed anyway. She should get to go again in 2020. And then there are ones who say, look, with where things are with the Democratic Party at it, she would not have a clear field or a cleared field, rather, in the Democratic primary and could lose the nomination. And to come off of 2024 into that would be really terrible.”
Harris allegedly told associates she was “staying in the fight” and considering a 2028 presidential campaign or a California gubernatorial run in 2026, prompting Democratic strategist Theryn Bond to urge Harris not to run for president again.