US-HARRIS(FES20)

Kamala Harris, the first

Indian-origin US Senator, has said she will soon decide on her

2020 presidential bid and she believes that the American

people are ready for a woman of colour to hold the highest

office in the country.

Harris, who published a new memoir this week ahead of

likely 2020 presidential run, demurred on whether she will

challenge President Donald Trump for the White House.

Harris, 54, is being seen as a potential strong

contender to get Democratic presidential nomination to

challenge Trump in the 2020 elections.

"I will make my decision soon, not at this very

moment," Harris told CNN in an interview.

The Senator from California is currently on her book

tour.

Her book 'The Truths We Hold: An American Journey'

hit the book stores on Wednesday. In her book, she says that

she thinks that the country is ready for a president who is a

woman of colour. Her other book "Superheroes Are Everywhere"

for children also hit the book stores simultaneously.

"I will say that we have to give the American people

more credit. And we have to understand that the American

public and the people of our country are smart people who will

make decisions about who will be their leader based on who

they believe is capable, who they believe has an honest desire

to lead, to represent, to see them, to be a voice for them

even if they have no power, and those are the kinds of people

who we are as a country, she said.

In an interview with ABC, Harris said she has yet to

decide if she will run in 2020, but was definitely certain on

one point that the US is absolutely ready for a woman of

colour to be president.

"I'm not saying that about myself, but I am saying

that about the capacity of the American public, Harris said.

When asked if the "likability" challenge that so many

women in leadership positions face still exists, Harris

recalled a powerful lesson her mother taught her when she was

younger.

"Despite a woman's role in the world, there are still

certain myths of what a woman can and cannot do, Harris said,

citing her mother.

"There are so many myths that we still are challenged

with," she said. "But with each woman who gains

success, I think there is a greater appreciation and

understanding of the capacity and breadth and depth of who

women are and what we can do," Harris said.

Harris is the first Indian-origin US Senator. She was

the first woman attorney general of California and first

African American to occupy that position. Former US President

Barack Obama described her as trailblazer.

She said argued that the American people deserve

better leadership than they are seeing under this President,

stating that the shutdown over the issue of the border wall

with Mexico has thrown lives into chaos.

A wall along the US-Mexico border was one of Trump's

signature campaign promises. Trump wants USD 5.7 billion to

build the wall. Democrats are refusing to allocate the money,

arguing that a wall would be costly and ineffective.

"It is a false choice to suggest that we're going to

hold 800,000 federal workers and all of the services that they

provide hostage for this president's vanity project," Harris

said.

Later Wednesday night, Harris turned up the heat on

Trump by blasting his insistence on holding out for funding

for his border wall before reopening the government --

comparing the President's behaviour to how her 11-year-old

godson might have behaved with his toy train.

"Any good parenting would tell you that you don't

listen to those kinds of tantrums, and you don't reward that

behaviour," she said.

Harris argued that Democrats should not cave to those sorts of

tactics.

"We've had enough of these powerful voices that are

trying to sow hate and division among us," Harris said.