As one of the most outspoken members of the Senate, who has built a reputation for her fierce and uncompromising attitude during congressional hearings, there’s no doubt Sen. Kamala Harris doesn’t lack confidence. And she attributes much of that confidence to her mother, an immigrant from India who came to the U.S. with dreams of becoming a scientist.
When the Democratic legislator was a young girl growing up in Oakland, Calif., she and her sister often spent afternoons and weekends at her mother’s endocrinology lab.
“My mother had two goals in her life: to raise her two daughters and end breast cancer,” Harris told “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski Saturday at the Know Your Value conference in San Francisco. “That was all about a passion of knowing what can be, unburdened by what has been, and, you know, that gives confidence.”
Harris said her mother’s example and deep belief that she and her sister could be anything they wanted to be fueled her rise to become the first elected female district attorney of San Francisco and the first Indian-American senator.
Harris, whose father is Jamaican, also spoke about how she faced discrimination as a child — something that has influenced her fight against intolerance and injustice in Washington D.C.
“We’ve all faced those moments where we’re the only one like us in a room, and it may be because we’re the only one who looks like us, the only one who has had the experiences that we’ve had,” Harris said. “And I think what’s really important … is when you’re in those rooms, you’ve got to remember, we are all in that room with you, and you are not alone.”
Harris acknowledged that her reputation as being outspoken and persistent on Capitol Hill has resulted in her critics branding her as “hysterical.” But Harris told Brzezinski those reactions come from people who mistakenly believe ambitious women are flawed.
“We have to call it what it is and reject it,” Harris said. “It is an attempt to silence you.”
At several points in the conversation, Brzezinski probed Harris about one of the biggest questions around her political ambitions: Whether she will run for president in 2020.
Harris confirmed she is still considering her options, though is close to deciding whether or not she will actually throw her hat into the ring.
“It’s a very serious decision,” Harris told Brzezinski. “Over the holiday, I will make that decision with my family.”
Harris said she is keenly aware of the challenges a barrier-breaking campaign will entail.
“Let’s be honest. It’s going to be ugly,” Harris said. “When you break things, it is painful. And you get cut. And you bleed.”
“There have been a few potential Democratic candidates for president who’ve actually suggested that the Democratic Party needs a white man to run against Trump [in 2020],” said Brzezinski at the conference “Where do you even begin with that comment?”









