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Harris Laughs Off Questions About Presidential Ambitions: 'I Don't Even Know What I'm Having for Dinner'

September 5, 2017

Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) laughed off questions Tuesday about whether she has White House ambitions, telling MSNBC she doesn't even know what she's having for dinner.

MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell noted Harris was the first Democrat to announce she would co-sponsor a "Medicare for all," single-payer health care bill proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), the left-wing lawmaker who made a surprisingly strong run for the Democratic nomination in 2016.

"Does that mean you might follow in Bernie Sanders' footsteps as a presidential candidate next time?" O'Donnell asked on "The Last Word."

"The reason that I am supporting Medicare for all is really pretty basic, which is that it's, I believe, the moral and ethical, right thing to do," Harris said, ignoring the question about running for president.

"With Medicare for all as being a goal, we will be able to ensure that Americans are having access to health care from the day they are born throughout their lives, and that's just smart for us as taxpayers," she added.

"Well,  I guess you'll just continue to think about what you might do in 2020, and we can talk about it the next time," O'Donnell said.

"Lawrence, I don't even know what I'm having for dinner," Harris said, laughing.

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D.) said last month that he believes Harris will be "knocking on doors in Iowa" soon, indicating he believes she will run for president. Harris has met with some of Hillary Clinton's top donors in the Hamptons, and one of them said to bank on her running as well.

Harris, the former Attorney General of California, was elected to her first term in office in November.