Kamala Harris on Her Revealing New Book, Trump’s Attacks on Free Speech, and 2028

CM: It’s an evolution, not a revolution.

KH: No, I think that’s good. There’s a continuum—but progress, right? Progress anticipates that there will be change, but along the continuum. So, you know, I started as a prosecutor, and I’ve had many mentors in my life. Early in my career, one of them said to me, “Kamala, fighter pilots only take direction from other fighter pilots.”

CM: Oh, interesting. That’s good.

KH: So you coming into this role of leadership, having come up through the ranks, is more important than you may realize.

CM: That is such a great way to think about it.

KH: Because you know it, you’ve done it. And so even if you bring change—you are a new person, you’re your own person, it’s the beginning of the next era, and so people are gonna be braced for that—they know that you came up through the ranks. And so there’s a certain credibility that is earned with that background.

TA: I really look forward to you using the fighter pilots anecdote in a meeting.

KH: You didn’t just kind of helicopter in—to mix metaphors. [Laughs.]

TA: And she’s had a lot of roles, too. I mean, once upon a time you were called a social editor, which is really a time capsule.

CM: Everyone thinks I ran a social media account, which is laughable.

KH: All these things have changed meanings drastically. Do you know, when I started, women could not wear pantsuits when we were trying cases?

CM: When was that?

KH: The ’90s?

TA: What were you supposed to wear? A dress?

CM and KH: Skirt suits.

KH: Because all the suits were basically tailored for men. So—and this is maybe a California thing—but if women were gonna show flair in their femininity, they would wear what used to be called the “Di Fei tie.”

CM: Oh my God, say more.

KH: Dianne Feinstein and Margaret Thatcher would have these [scarves], and that was their expression of femininity.

TA: Did you ever try the Di Fei tie?

KH: No. [Laughs.] In fact, when I was elected DA, a friend of mine who used to work in the office called me, and he said, “How’s it going?” I said, “I think it’s going well. What are you hearing?” And he started laughing. He said, “I hear the women are wearing shorter skirts and higher heels.” Because they realized they didn’t have to worry about expressing their femininity and not be taken seriously.