Kamala Harris stated on Wednesday that the election results must be accepted, as she urged her supporters to keep fighting for their vision of the country following her loss to Donald Trump.
The Democratic vice president emphasized that the battle will continue “in the voting booth, in the courts, and in the public square.”
“Sometimes the fight takes a while,” she remarked. “That doesn’t mean we won’t win.”
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Harris made her remarks at Howard University, her alma mater and one of the nation’s most prominent historically Black schools, at the same location where she had hoped to deliver a victory speech.
“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign,” Harris declared.
Her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, was present in the audience, along with Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Lee, both from Harris’ home state of California.
Prior to her speech, Harris reached out to Trump to concede the election and congratulate him on his win. She affirmed, “We will engage in a peaceful transfer of power.”
Harris, once seen as a potential savior for the Democratic Party after Joe Biden’s reelection campaign faltered, is now coming to terms with a significant rejection by American voters in the current presidential election.
She trailed behind Trump in every battleground state, a man she described as a threat to the country’s fundamental institutions. Furthermore, Trump seemed poised to win the popular vote for the first time in his three White House campaigns, despite facing impeachments, felony convictions, and attempting to overturn his previous election loss.
Biden is scheduled to address the election results on Thursday. The White House confirmed that he had conversations with both Harris and Trump on Wednesday, and he extended an invitation to the president-elect for a meeting in the near future.
David Plouffe, a senior adviser to Harris, commended the campaign staff for their dedication, stating that they had “left it all on the field for their country.”
“We dug out of a deep hole but not enough,” he acknowledged. “A devastating loss.”
In an ironic turn of events for Harris, as the incumbent vice president, she is expected to oversee the ceremonial certification of the election by Congress.
This role mirrors that of Mike Pence four years ago, when Trump directed his supporters to march on the U.S. Capitol. Despite criticisms of the violent insurrection as a threat to American democracy, it did not deter voters from reelecting him.
Harris became the Democratic nominee after Biden’s withdrawal from the race on July 21, endorsing her as his successor. She swiftly unified the party around her candidacy, marking a remarkable turn of events for Harris, whose own presidential bid had faltered four years earlier.
Despite facing initial doubts about her political future after Biden, Harris found renewed purpose as a leading advocate for abortion rights following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022.
She also made efforts to network with local leaders and influencers, establishing connections that could benefit her in the future. Harris was thrust into the presidential race with minimal time to differentiate herself from Trump, inheriting Biden’s campaign operation just 107 days before the election.
Although she presented a vision for change, Harris struggled to distinguish herself from the unpopular incumbent president and connect with voters who had not previously supported her in a presidential primary.
The Democratic Party now faces the challenge of regrouping during a second Trump presidency, with uncertainties surrounding Harris’ role in the party’s future.
“The work of protecting America from the impacts of a Trump Presidency starts now,” wrote Jen O’Malley Dillon, Harris’ campaign chair, in a letter to staff. “I know the Vice President isn’t finished in this fight, and I know the very people on this email are also going to be leaders in this collective mission.”
Published – November 07, 2024 04:37 am IST
