“107 Days”: Kamala Harris Set to Break Her Silence in Exclusive Rachel Maddow Interview

Next week, one of the most anticipated political interviews in recent memory will take center stage in prime-time television. Former Vice President Kamala Harris is slated to sit down with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow for what is being billed as her first full-scale, longform interview since leaving public office.

The conversation, airing live and unedited on The Rachel Maddow Show on Monday, September 22 at 9 p.m. ET, marks Harris’s most direct engagement with the public since the whirlwind and controversial 2024 election cycle — and the brief presidential campaign that followed.

At the heart of the interview: Harris’s new memoir, 107 Days, a searing personal and political account of her time as the 2024 Democratic nominee for President — and the shortest general election campaign in modern U.S. history.

But it’s more than just a book tour stop. For Harris, it’s a moment of reckoning. For Maddow, it’s an opportunity to do what she does best: elevate truth, challenge power, and create space for serious, unfiltered reflection.

“I Have Roughly 400,000 Things I Want to Ask Her”

That’s how Maddow put it during her Monday night broadcast, smiling as she confirmed rumors that had been swirling among political insiders for weeks.

“We’re going to have that sit-down, one-on-one,” Maddow said at the conclusion of her show. “I’m very excited about that.”

The announcement sent shockwaves through social media and the Beltway press corps, with the phrase “Maddow x Harris” trending within minutes of airing.

The timing is significant. It comes as Harris ramps up promotion for 107 Days, which offers not only an inside look at her short-lived 2024 presidential campaign but also blistering reflections on her tenure as Vice President, her strained relationship with the Biden administration, and the direction of the Democratic Party.

The Book That Set the Stage

Though not yet released in full, 107 Days is already generating headlines.

In an excerpt published by The Atlantic last week, Harris wrote candidly about President Joe Biden’s decision to seek re-election in 2024, calling it an act of “recklessness.”

“‘It’s Joe and Jill’s decision.’ We all said that, like a mantra, as if we’d all been hypnotized,” Harris wrote. “Was it grace, or was it recklessness? In retrospect, I think it was recklessness.”

According to the excerpt, Harris believed the stakes of the 2024 election were too high for what she characterizes as a decision made on personal ambition rather than collective judgment.

The book also touches on internal divisions within the Democratic Party, Harris’s frustration with the lack of coordinated resistance to rising authoritarianism, and her deep disappointment in what she calls “feckless leadership” from some within her own party.

Previewing the Interview: What Maddow Will Ask

While the full scope of the conversation remains under wraps, Maddow previewed that the pair will dive into a wide range of topics:

Her time as Vice President, including policy disagreements and internal White House dynamics

The rapid rise and fall of her 2024 campaign, including why she believes her candidacy failed to gain support

The broader state of American democracy, especially in a post-Trump, post-Biden political landscape

Her future, both inside and outside of elected office

For Maddow, the interview is a return to form — an opportunity to balance tough questions with thoughtful listening.

For Harris, it’s a chance to reclaim the narrative after months of relative silence and intense speculation.

A Shift in Strategy: Harris Steps Back to Speak Out

Since departing public office in early 2025, Harris has maintained a strategic distance from Washington. In July, she announced she would not seek the governorship of California, ending months of rumors about a potential pivot to state politics.

“After deep reflection,” she wrote on social media, “I’ve decided that I will not run for Governor in this election. For now, my leadership – and public service – will not be in elected office.”

The message was short, but clear: Harris would be stepping away from electoral politics, at least for now. Yet just a few weeks later, she announced the release of 107 Days and launched a 15-city book tour scheduled to begin on September 24.

The pivot suggests a recalibration — not a retreat, but a reframing of her public role.

The Colbert Appearance: First Sparks of Disclosure

Before Maddow’s exclusive, Harris made a notable appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in August. Though promotional in tone, the interview included moments of rare candor.

“Perhaps it’s naive of me,” Harris told Colbert, “but I believed that there are many who consider themselves to be guardians of our democracy — who just capitulated. And I didn’t see that coming.”

Harris also took aim at her own party, criticizing what she described as a naive approach to Donald Trump’s political resurgence.

“I think there are a lot of people who think they’re riding out the storm as an excuse to be feckless,” she said, raising eyebrows across the political spectrum.

Those comments, though brief, set the stage for a more serious and consequential conversation — one that Maddow now seems poised to host.

The Stakes: Harris’s Legacy in the Balance

Kamala Harris remains a singular figure in American political history. As the first woman, the first Black American, and the first South Asian American to serve as Vice President, her tenure was groundbreaking.

But it was also complicated.

Throughout her time in the White House, Harris’s role was often the subject of debate — was she sidelined, or did she struggle to find her footing? Was she set up to fail by systemic forces, or by a lack of strategy and political cohesion?

Until now, those questions have largely been answered by others.

Next week, Harris will finally speak for herself.

What the Political World Is Watching For

Pundits, strategists, and voters alike will be watching closely — not just for bombshells, but for tone.

Is this interview the beginning of a new chapter in public service, or a final reflection from someone preparing to walk away for good?

Will Harris remain critical of the Democratic establishment, or will she attempt to reunify a fractured base?

And perhaps most pressingly: What does Kamala Harris want her legacy to be?

“This Isn’t About Headlines — It’s About History”

That’s how Maddow framed the upcoming conversation during her Monday night broadcast.

And perhaps that’s why so many eyes — and hearts — will be tuned in.

In an era of scripted talking points, viral moments, and political theater, this promises to be something different: a woman at the intersection of history, identity, and power, finally reclaiming the microphone.