President Trump has offered some advice to former political rival Kamala Harris if she decides to run for California governor next year.
“Let her run,” Trump, 78, told OutKick’s Clay Travis during an interview on Saturday when asked about Harris’ future. “I don’t want to be [giving] people advice politically, but one thing she’s gotta start doing is she’s gotta start giving interviews.
“[Former President Joe Biden] — during the COVID thing, he did no interviews, and he got away with it because of COVID.”
Since her defeat against Trump in November, Harris, 60, has been rumored to be considering three main options for her political future: running for California governor in 2026, vying for the presidency again in 2028, or staying on the sidelines as a Democratic powerbroker.
Incumbent California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is term-limited, leaving a significant opening for Harris.
Harris has kept a low profile since leaving the White House in January, declining to do any public interviews and making only a few appearances, such as at the 56th annual NAACP Image Awards last month.
During the 2024 election cycle, Harris maintained a guarded approach to the media. Some Democratic operatives expressed disappointment that she never appeared on podcast titan Joe Rogan’s show.
In contrast, Trump pursued a strategy of engaging with independent media, sitting down with a wide range of personalities, including Rogan, Theo Von, and Andrew Schultz.
The president has credited his teenage son Barron with helping him select the podcasts for interviews.
Vice President JD Vance also served as Trump’s attack dog with traditional media outlets during the 2024 race, a tactic Trump had also employed during his 2016 campaign.
Harris’ vice presidential pick, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), has since complained that the campaign apparatus limited his ability to conduct interviews during the race.
Walz said he offered to do significantly more public events during the race’s final stretch last year but that the campaign rejected his suggestion, according to CNN.
“There’s a danger – and I would argue I did it maybe during the campaign – of fighting the last battle instead of the next one,” Walz said, according to the outlet.
“This is a whole different opponent fighting a whole different battle. And all of our past history that tells us how we should have approached this, I don’t think holds true.”
Walz recently faced criticism from Caitlyn Jenner, who mocked him for suggesting that conservatives fear his masculinity. Jenner, who is transgender, joked that she is more masculine than Walz.
When asked during Saturday’s interview who would win a fight between Jenner and Walz, Trump replied, “Oh, Caitlyn Jenner all day long.”
During the interview with OutKick, Trump also reflected on being elected to non-consecutive terms, stating that it “showed how bad [Dems] were.
“What they were doing didn’t work,” he said.
While reflecting on the differences between his first and second administrations, Trump noted that he has garnered more allies this time around, including in the tech industry.
“If you look at the inauguration — look at the people that were there — it was a who’s who of a world that was totally against me the first time,” Trump said. “So a much different presidency. I have much more support.”
