Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris of California continued to tease her potential 2020 US presidential run during an appearance on CBS' "The Late Show" Thursday night, smiling and telling host Stephen Colbert two words: "I might." Harris' response drew raucous cheers and applause from the audience. The former California attorney general, who has been promoting her book, has made waves lately, amid speculation she may seek the White House. She is one of several prominent Democrats in a growing field of potential candidates vying to challenge President Donald Trump in the next election. Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris of California continued to tease her potential 2020 US presidential run during an appearance on CBS' "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" Thursday night, smiling and telling Colbert two words: "I might." Colbert pointed to the striking clues about her potential presidential bid, namely her media blitz and book tour after the publication of her memoir: "The Truths We Hold: An American Journey." "Many people who put out books two years before a presidential election do so to introduce themselves in a broad way to the American people," Colbert said. "Um, are you going to run for president?" The audience cheered and applauded loudly as Harris pondered her answer. Watch the moment here » —The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) January 11, 2019 Harris is one of several prominent Democrats in a growing field of potential candidates vying to challenge President Donald Trump in the next election. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts announced her candidacy earlier in January, and former Housing and Urban Development secretary Julián Castro has formed a presidential exploratory committee. Other potential candidates include Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas. Harris is currently serving her first term in the Senate, similar to former President Barack Obama, who, as a first-term senator, was initially criticized for his inexperience after he announced his 2008 presidential campaign. Prior to her role in the Senate, Harris was California's attorney general and served as the district attorney of San Francisco. Harris, an Indian American, rose to prominence within the Democratic Party after becoming an outspoken critic of Trump's immigration policies and political nominees, namely Justice Brett Kavanaugh. "When we talk about the immigration debate, there are powerful forces — including this president — that are attempting to vilify immigrants because they were born in another country," she said during a CNN interview on Wednesday. "This should offend all of us."<doc-sep>California Sen. Kamala Harris added fuel to the speculation over whether she will run for president in 2020 in an appearance on The Late Show. Colbert directly asked Harris, who appeared on his show Thursday, if she had plans to run for president. “I might,” Harris said, smiling and nodding, before breaking out into laughter. “All right, there you go,” Colbert said. “There’s your headline right there.” Colbert addressed reports that Harris plans to announce a presidential run on Martin Luther King Jr. Day – Jan. 21. “Should I keep my schedule open that day?” he asked. “Well, we should always honor the great Martin Luther King,” Harris responded. While Harris has not confirmed plans to run, she is widely considered to be a potential 2020 candidate, along with Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren became the first major Democratic candidate for 2020 when she announced her run in December. Get our Politics Newsletter. The headlines out of Washington never seem to slow. Subscribe to The D.C. Brief to make sense of what matters most. Please enter a valid email address. * The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. Please attempt to sign up again. Sign Up Now An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. Please try again later. Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME. You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thank you! For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder. Write to Mahita Gajanan at mahita.gajanan@time.com.<doc-sep>We're still nearly two years out from the 2020 elections, but this is precisely the time that Democratic challengers are beginning their campaigns for president. Sen. Elizabeth Warren was the first to announce her exploratory committee on New Year's Eve, and it looks like we might have another one coming down the pipe. On Thursday's Late Show, Stephen Colbert asked Kamala Harris about her 2020 aspirations, and you might just take her brief answer as a hint. "Let’s talk about the highest office in the entire land," Colbert began, displaying a copy of Harris' brand new memoir, The Truths We Hold, on his Late Show desk. "Many people who put out books two years before a presidential election do so to introduce themselves in a broad way to the American people." Then he cut right to the chase. "Are you gonna run for president?" he asked. Holding back laughter and sheepishly nodding, Harris replied, "I might." As one would expect, Colbert's surprised audience broke out in cheers. For months, she's been speculated to be planning a run for president in 2020, along with other Democratic senators like Warren, Cory Booker, and Kirsten Gillibrand (though Warren is the only one who has announced so far). The New York Times reported in December that Harris' team has been scoping out possible campaign headquarters in Baltimore and Atlanta. Then on Wednesday, KCBS radio in San Francisco reported anonymous sources said Harris plans to announce her presidential bid on or near Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 21, 2019. Harris has been making the rounds on talk shows like Colbert's to promote her memoir, along with a new children's book entitled "Superheroes are Everywhere." At each appearance, she's danced around the idea of running for president — though nothing as definitive as her hint on The Late Show on Thursday — while still making the case for why 2020 could be her moment. At an appearance on ABC's The View earlier this week, Harris teased, "I’m please to announce on The View," she paused, "that I’m not ready to make my announcement yet." She continued more seriously, pushing back on the challenges of running as a female presidential candidate. "The attributes of a leader are not particular to gender," she said. "They are about qualifications, they are about one’s desire to lead. It is about one’s ability to actual be relevant to the people they represent." Representation is a topic Harris has addressed pretty frequently over the last week. "Is this country, after what Trump has unleashed and what we have seen, ready for the first woman of color president?" The View co-host Garcelle Beauvais, asked Harris. "Absolutely," Harris replied, before modifying her response a bit. "Listen — I’m not saying that about myself, but I am saying that about the capacity of the American public." Harris echoed her response in a conversation with George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America on Tuesday, explaining that in such a dynamic world, many populations feel unrepresented and pushed to the edges. "What we need in this country is leadership that has a vision of the future in which everyone can see themselves."<doc-sep>Despite the word “might” in her response to Late Show host Stephen Colbert on Thursday, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA_ made it more than clear that she does indeed intend to run for President in 2020. In the shared ‘wink-wink’ moment, Colbert asked his guest after the break about why she would write a book before a big election, and could it hint at anything. “Senator, let me ask you this — many people who put out books two years before a presidential election do so to introduce themselves in a broad way to the American people,” he said. “Um — are you going to run for president?” It was the context of the reply that made the sale. Laughing with a sort of ‘you know the answer’ face, Harris nodded several times and finally replied, “I might!” “You might,” said Colbert as Harris’ continued to laugh. “Alright, there you go, there’s your headline right there,” he said, laughing with her. Colbert made a point of looking intently at his notes as if reading, and said “there’s been some reporting that you will announce this on MLK Day, January 21st. Should I keep my schedule open that day, or should I drink a lot of cough syrup on the 20th and wake up on the 22nd?” “We should always honor the great Dr. Martin Luther King January 15th and on MLK weekend, so…” said Harris as they continued tossing around the unannounced announcement. The audience applauded to signal their own support. The two continued the discussion by talking about her book and her vision for the future. She spoke about the “noble ideals” that the country was founded on, calling back to the first half of the interview before the break when she said she hoped to bring back the idea of the “nobility of public service.” “I remain optimistic that this is worth fighting for, our country is worth fighting for, and these ideals are worth fighting for,” she campaigned, “And if something is worth fighting for, then it’s a fight worth having.” They also talked about her children’s book. As Colbert closed the interview, he said “please join us again when you may run for president. I look forward to maybe hearing about it.” You don’t have to take affirmative nodding’s word for it, though. The next guest, actor Bradley Whitford, really hung the flag on it. “She’s running,” he said. He made the pretense of joking, but… come on. Watch the clip above, courtesy of CBS. [Featured image via screengrab] — Follow Caleb Howe (@CalebHowe) on Twitter Have a tip we should know? [email protected]<doc-sep>
Sen. Kamala Harris Kamala HarrisBiden, Bass press for police reform after meeting Floyd family Biden, Harris condemn surge in antisemitic incidents Mexican president: FAA safety downgrade meant to benefit US carriers MORE D(-Calif.) on Thursday night teased a possible presidential run during an appearance on late-night host Stephen Colbert's "The Late Show." "Let’s talk about the highest office in the entire land," Colbert said to Harris in a clip posted to the "Late Show" Twitter account earlier on Thursday evening. ADVERTISEMENT "Many people who put out books two years before a presidential election do so to introduce themselves in a broad way to the American people," Colbert said, setting Harris's new memoir "The Truths We Hold" on the desk in front of him. "Are you gonna run for president?" he asked the grinning senator. The crowd cheered as she paused. "I might," she replied with laughter. "Alright, there you go," Colbert said. "There’s your headline right there." Harris launched a book tour and media blitz this week as speculation mounts over a possible 2020 White House campaign. She has said that she is "not prepared" to make any announcement yet. Sources told KCBS Radio, a station in her home state of California, that Harris will formally announce her bid for the White House on or around Martin Luther King Jr. Day. A spokesperson for Harris told The Hill, however, that no announcement is imminent. In an interview with NPR broadcast Tuesday, she said she is considering a "collection of factors" related to a possible presidential campaign. The multi-state swing for her book tour is providing Harris with an opportunity to test out potential campaign messages. The tour came just after Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) became the first major Democratic name to jump into the 2020 presidential race, announcing that she is forming an exploratory committee to run for the White House. Several possible Democratic candidates are expected to announce their bids within the next few weeks or months.