Elizabeth Warren is optimistic there will be a woman president soon: 'We persist'


It might not happen in 2020, but Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) says that one day — in the very near future, she hopes — a woman will be elected president of the United States.
Warren announced on Thursday morning that she was ending her bid to be the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee. During an interview later with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, Warren said one of the hardest parts about ending her campaign was thinking about the "pinky promises" she made to young girls on the trail. Warren would look at them and say, "My name is Elizabeth and I'm running for president, because that's what girls do." She would then lock her pinky finger with theirs and ask the girl to promise to remember this.
Maddow told Warren that many women, even those who did not support her as their candidate of choice, felt that Warren dropping out might be the "death knell" of having a woman president any time soon. "Please no," Warren said. "That can't be right." This is not the end, she declared, and "we can't lose hope because the only way we make change is we get back up tomorrow and we get back in the fight. We persist. That is how we make change, and it feels like we're never gonna make change until we make change."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
People said there would never be a Catholic president until John F. Kennedy was elected, Warren pointed out, and the same thing was said about a black president before Barack Obama. "We're going to do this, it's just going to be a little longer before we're able to have a woman in the White House," she said. "It doesn't mean it's not gonna happen. It doesn't mean it's not gonna happen soon." She knew going into the race it wasn't going to be easy, "but you get in the fight because you've just gotta keep beating at it until you finally break the thing. We'll know that we can have a woman in the White House when we finally have a woman in the White House." Catherine Garcia
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Disarming Hezbollah: Lebanon's risky mission
Talking Point Iran-backed militia has brought 'nothing but war, division and misery', but rooting them out for good is a daunting and dangerous task
-
Woof! Britain's love affair with dogs
The Explainer The UK's canine population is booming. What does that mean for man's best friend?
-
Crossword: August 31, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
RFK Jr. names new CDC head as staff revolt
Speed Read Kennedy installed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, as acting CDC director
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich thrower
Speed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodus
Speed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official says
Speed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judges
Speed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policing
Speed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Speed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportation
Speed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda