Kamala Harris Concedes Race To Donald Trump, But Not The ‘Fight That Fueled’ Her Campaign

By Naomi Lim

On the worst day of her political career, Vice President Kamala Harris sought to strike a positive note as she encouraged her supporters to accept the results of Tuesday’s election and back a peaceful transfer of power to President-elect Donald Trump.

However, during her short appearance at Howard University in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Harris provided no introspection as to why she and the Democratic Party fell short on Tuesday, handing the presidency and Senate back to Trump and the Republicans.

“My heart is full today. Full of gratitude for the trust you placed in me. Full of love for my country. And full of resolve,” Harris told the crowd Wednesday after she failed to show up on Tuesday night when results did not appear to be going her way. “The outcome of this election is not what we wanted. Not what we fought for. Not what we voted for. But hear me when I say, the light of the American promise will always burn bright as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting.”

Vice President Kamala Harris delivers a concession speech for the 2024 presidential election at Howard University in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

At Howard, her alma mater and a historically black college, Harris acknowledged people were “feeling and experiencing a range of emotions right now.”

“I get it. But we must accept the results of this election,” she said. “A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results. That principle, as much as any other, distinguishes democracy from a monarchy or tyranny, and anyone who seeks the public trust must honor it.”

Last week during her closing argument address at the Ellipse, Harris described Trump as a “petty tyrant.”

A week later Harris remained defiant, contending that while she conceded the election, she would “not concede the fight that fueled this campaign.”

“The fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness, and the dignity of all people. A fight for the ideals at the heart of our nation,” she said.

Harris specifically spoke to young and first-time voters, who helped propel her campaign, particularly this summer after she dramatically promoted to the top of the ticket amid concerns about President Joe Biden‘s age, mental acuity, and own electoral prospects against Trump.

“On the campaign, I would often say, ‘When we fight, we win,’ but here’s the thing, sometimes the fight takes a while,” she said. “That doesn’t mean we won’t win. The important thing is don’t ever give up. Don’t ever give up.”

Less than a day earlier, the mood at Howard was hopeful that the country was on the precipice of history. Harris would have been the first woman president, the first president of Indian descent, and the second black president.

Attendees, many of them students who are women and were first-time voters, components of her coalition, danced in Howard’s Yard before early returns, delivered via CNN on projector screens set up around the quadrangle, started underscoring that Harris was underperforming in precincts and among demographics that would have indicated she was on a pathway to 270 Electoral College votes and the presidency.

Supporters look on as Vice President Kamala Harris delivers a concession speech for the 2024 presidential election, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The “joy” that Harris repeated had embodied her campaign was quickly replaced by foreboding as news outlets called battleground states North CarolinaGeorgia, and Pennsylvania for Trump. Trump won 292 electoral votes to Harris’s 226, 72 million people nationally casting a ballot for him over the 62 million who did the same for the vice president. In the process, Trump became the first Republican to win the popular vote since 2004. Republicans also flipped the Senate, controlling at least 52 seats, while it appears the House of Representatives will continue under GOP control.

On Wednesday, the atmosphere was more subdued as Democrats around the country come to terms with another four years of Trump. Some attendees in the smaller crowd cried as they conveyed their emotions to reporters.

High-profile attendees on Wednesday included former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who was instrumental in the pressure campaign mounted on Biden to step down, and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser. Pelosi was caught on camera by CSPAN having an animated discussion with Donna Brazile, the former chair of the Democratic National Committee, as Bowser watched on.

Harris’s address shared similarities with that of 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, the only other woman to be a major party’s standard-bearer, who herself suffered a defeat to Trump. Clinton, however, became emotional as she made remarks to the nation and supporters wearing suffragette purple. In comparison, Harris, who also wore purple, was more composed.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) arrives ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris delivering a concession speech for the 2024 presidential election, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Harris called Trump earlier Wednesday. Aides reported that Harris and Trump “discussed the importance of a peaceful transfer of power and being a president for all Americans.”

As the Trump campaign turns into a transition, Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the former president, confirmed the call.

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“President Trump acknowledged Vice President Harris on her strength, professionalism, and tenacity throughout the campaign, and both leaders agreed on the importance of unifying the country,” Cheung wrote in a statement.

Biden, who watched Harris’s address from the White House and will address the nation on Thursday, made his own call to Trump, inviting his predecessor to the executive mansion to start the transition process and encourage cooperation to bring the country together, a courtesy the former president did not extend to the incumbent in 2020 as he contested the results of that election.

Former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama released a statement shortly after Harris’s speech, in which he congratulated Trump and his running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-OH).

They acknowledged that the results were “obviously not the outcome we had hoped for, given our profound disagreements with the Republican ticket on a while host of issues.”

“But living in a democracy is about recognizing that our point of view won’t always win out, and being willing to accept the peaceful transfer of power,” the statement added.

The couple blamed the loss on the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, saying, “Those conditions have created headwinds for democratic incumbents around the world, and last night showed that America is not immune.”

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