Kamala Harris told MSNBC host Mika Brzezinksi's on Monday she 'eats "no" for breakfast' and gave advice to women who have been told they are 'too young' or it's 'not their turn'.
'I eat 'no' for breakfast,' the vice president said when asked about ever thinking she would achieve such success in her lifetime in a clip of her interview that aired Tuesday on Morning Joe', which Brzezinksi co-hosts with her husband Joe Scarborough.
'So have I been told many times during my career things from 'oh, you're too young, it's not your turn, they're not ready for you, no one like you has done it before.' I've heard all of those things many times over the course of my career, but I didn't listen,' she continued in a pre-recorded sit-down interview.
Brzezinksi, 54, partnered with Forbes to create the first-ever '50 Over 50' list, which highlights 50 women who accomplished success later in life – including 56-year-old Harris.
In a Forbes essay about her economic vision dubbed 'Kamalanomics' she called for more investment in 'care infrastructure' to help women entrepreneurs and said the pandemic had exposed 'flaws and fissures in the economy'.
I would encourage anyone who's been told that [you're too young], whatever their gender, to not listen, because again, don't be encumbered by the inability of others to see the potential of who you are,' Harris said in the MSNBC interview.
Brzesinski responded with: 'We get set back by "no's", I think.'
'You get a "no" and I think some women – a lot of them – take it really personally,' she added. 'And I love that you eat them for breakfast. I'm going to take that with me.'
Harris responded, and was met with an awkward chuckle from Brzezinksi: 'Here's the piece that's at it's core: Who has the authority to tell you who you are? No, you don't let people tell you who you are. You tell them who you are.'
Vice President Kamala Harris said in a clip that aired Tuesday morning that she 'eats 'no' for breakfast'
Harris, 56, is part of the first-ever '50 Over 50' Forbes list for women who gained success later in life. The list was created in partnership with MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski, 54
'I think it's really important to recognize the limitations that other people have based on their expectations and not to impose that on oneself,' the vice president said during the interview.
Harris was wildly unpopular when it came to the 2020 Democratic primary campaign, earning very little in the polls.
She dropped out of the race on December 3, 2019 – two months before the first-in-the-nation primary contest kicked off with the caucuses in Iowa in February 2020.
Harris was later selected, however, to run on eventual nominee Joe Biden's ticket and on January 20, 2021 was sworn in as the first female and minority vice president.
The daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica, Harris became district attorney of San Francisco in 2004, putting her on track for a long political career in the Golden State. In 2011, she became attorney general of California.
'So have I been told many times during my career things from 'oh, you're too young, it's not your turn, they're not ready for you, no one like you has done it before.' I've heard all of those things many times over the course of my career, but I didn't listen,' Harris told MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski
From 2017 to 2021, Harris served as the junior senator from California before taking office as Biden's No. 2.
As part of her selection as a '50 Over 50' honoree, Harris created a post with Forbes on Tuesday titled 'Kamalanomics,' where she detailed her vision for more inclusive economic prosperity.
'The pandemic has exposed the flaws and the fissures in our economy,' Harris wrote in the essay for Forbes. 'One in three small businesses have closed. Nearly two million women have been forced out of the workforce. And millions of families have struggled to buy groceries and cover rent.'
'In this moment, more than repair, we must reimagine. And after providing $60 billion in relief to small businesses, we must work to broaden access to capital and remove other barriers to success for entrepreneurs across the country.'
In her capacity as vice president, Harris has traveled the country over the last few months promoting Biden's $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which included more funding to help small businesses.
She has also worked to help garner support for the president's upcoming nearly $4 trillion in infrastructure and welfare proposals.
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