Harris is the ‘coalition builder this country needs,’ Sen. Padilla says

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA):

Thanks for having me. Good evening. So

Amna Nawaz So, it seems as if the party has now essentially lined up behind Vice President Harris. There's some folks we have heard who are still sort of talking about a mini primary or open convention of some kind, but are there any murmurs you're hearing about anyone who might step in to challenge her at this point?

Sen. Alex Padilla:

No, not at this point. And even though there was some chatter about the possibility yesterday in the wake of President Biden's announcement, I didn't really see that happening.

You have seen the number, the outpouring of endorsers and supporters from coast to coast and everywhere in between. I think it's both a reflection of the strength of Kamala Harris, now our soon-to-be-official Democratic nominee for president of the United States.

But, as a Californian, it doesn't come by any surprise. I have known her, I have worked with her for a couple of decades now. If there's one thing about Kamala Harris, that she is truly a coalition-builder. It's what you need to be successful in California. It's what the party and the country needs at this moment.

So I'm thrilled to be on board and happy to do whatever I can for the next 106 days to make sure that we win in November.

Amna Nawaz Well, as President Biden endorsed her to take his place at the top of the ticket, she issued a statement, and she said something that stuck out. She said she intends to earn and win the nomination.

What does that earn mean to you? What does she need to do?

Sen. Alex Padilla:

Yes, well, I think there's two parts, first to earn this opportunity because of her decades of public service, her tremendous track record, the values that she brings to the table.

And then, near term, yes, this is nothing to be taken for granted. There is respect for delegates and Democrats beyond that. So, we're not talking about this being January before the primary season. We have gone through the primary season, more than 14 million voters voting for the Biden/Harris ticket.

And so while appreciative of President Biden's service, not just the last two-and-a-half years, but throughout his career, he has chosen to step aside, and he has thrown his weight behind Vice President Harris. The rules of the party are such that it will be formalized at the convention.

And so Vice President Harris, I think, is being respectful in that, as the reporting has covered. She's working the phones. She's reaching out not just to members of Congress on the Hill, but elected leaders, community leaders throughout the country, asking for people's support. People are enthusiastically offering their support.

It'll be formalized at the convention, and we have a lot of work to do to reach out to voters, make sure we organize, mobilize, and get out the vote, because the stakes of this November's election remains perilously high. The threat of Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans is worse by the day.

Amna Nawaz Senator, we have already seen the Trump/Vance campaign targeting her in some political ads, going out with the messaging to further tie her to the Biden campaign and seeing that policies that they see of his as a failure she was also tied to.

Could a challenger of some point, at some point right now, actually inoculate her from those kinds of attacks to say that she did go through a process, there wasn't an anointing of any kind here?

Sen. Alex Padilla:

Yes, no, look, what I would say is, again, she's being respectful to the process outlined by the Democratic National Committee, being respectful of delegates and other important voices within the Democratic Party infrastructure.

But let's also be real. Let's not let Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans try to change the focus here. They're going to try to attack her because they're misogynistic, they are racist and worse. They're trying to attack her because they want to pivot away from their agenda.

We just came off of the Republican National Convention, a week long of Project 2025 talking points with speaker after extremist speaker spewing lies, spewing falsehoods, spewing a radical agenda.

When I talk about the stakes being huge this November, that's what's at stake. We know what we will get with the Republicans and Donald Trump, and nobody wants to go back to the disaster of his administration. Let's continue their progress and the leadership of the last two-and-a-half years under the Biden/Harris administration.

But, for the next four years, it'll be a President Harris and a vice president to be determined administration.

Amna Nawaz So tell me more about that to be determined. I mean, if beating Donald Trump is the number one goal for Democrats right now, which potential running mate gives a potential President Harris the best chance to beat that ticket? Who should it be?

Sen. Alex Padilla:

That is a great question, and a great question for soon-to-be-Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.

So I would not dare to suggest who it ought to be. The great news is that the Democratic Party, the Democratic family has a lot of tremendous talent to offer. And I'm sure Vice President Harris will pick somebody who is a great governing partner, somebody who will be prepared to take over on day one if need be, and somebody who will be out there campaigning hard, earning the vote of the American public, so that we indeed are successful in November.

Amna Nawaz If she is the nominee, should voters look at this as a continuation of a Biden/Harris administration, or does she need to strike a different direction?

Sen. Alex Padilla:

The — I think it'll be building on the success of the Biden/Harris administration.

I mean, my God, we have seen a successful President Biden's three-and-a-half years, better than any president in recent history, from the Inflation Reduction Act, reducing costs for working families, bipartisan infrastructure package that is not only modernizing infrastructure across the country, but creating thousands, millions of good-paying jobs.

We have seen — we came out of a pandemic. We're tackling climate change. The CHIPS and Science ACT really put the United States back in a leadership position globally when it comes to chips and semiconductors. And there's more to build on.

What I'm eager to hear is the voice of Vice President Harris, a prosecutor, let's not forget, up against the voice of Donald Trump, a convicted felon. Let's take them to task when it comes to reproductive rights. Let's take them to task when it comes to voting rights and so much more.

It's going to be an exciting campaign, and I'm looking forward to four more full years when President Harris is in the White House.

Amna Nawaz That is California Senator Alex Padilla joining us tonight.

Senator, thank you for your time. Good to speak with you.

Sen. Alex Padilla:

Thank you.