Vice President Kamala Harris finally conceded defeat Wednesday before a crowd of distraught supporters at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Many of those supporters had gathered there the previous night in anticipation of Harris's triumphant victory, only to be sent home when Donald Trump's lead grew too large to overcome.
"Good afternoon, good afternoon, good," Harris said to open her speech, delivered many hours after networks called the race for Trump, who won the Electoral College by a significant margin and was projected to win the popular vote as well. "Good afternoon, everyone. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Thank you all. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."
Harris vowed to "keep fighting" even though the outcome of the election "was not what we wanted, not what we fought for, [and] not what we voted for," urging her sobbing supporters to snap out of their mental breakdowns. "Now I know folks are feeling and experiencing a range of emotions right now, I get it, but we must accept the results of the election," Harris said. The crowd booed when she mentioned her phone call with Trump earlier today, during which she congratulated him on his victory, but cheered when she promised to facilitate the "peaceful transfer" of power—an implicit dig at Trump's actions following the 2020 election.
"While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign," Harris said. "It is OK to feel sad and disappointed, but please know it's going to be OK." The fight for democracy would continue, she said, in "the voting booth, in the courts, and in the public square," but also in "quieter ways." Harris urged her supporters to treat their fellow Americans "with kindness and respect, by looking in the face of a stranger and seeing a neighbor." Even if "the fight takes a while," she said, "that doesn't mean we won't win" eventually.
"To everyone who is watching, do not despair, this is not a time to throw up our hands, this is a time to roll up our sleeves," Harris concluded. "I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time. But for the benefit of us all, I hope that is not the case. But here's the thing, America. If it is, let us fill the sky with the light of a brilliant, brilliant, billion of stars." Like most of the things she said during her brief and ultimately unsuccessful presidential campaign, it wasn't entirely clear what she meant.
Harris's embattled husband, Doug Emhoff, and controversial stepdaughter, the alternative fashion model Ella Emhoff, cheered and cried along with the crowd. Her running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, scowled in anguish. By contrast, Harris's brother-in-law, former Taliban lawyer and Uber executive Tony West, was all smiles, presumably thinking about all the money he and other members of Harris's family will soon be raking in while serving on various corporate boards.
Hours before Harris took the stage on Wednesday, members of her staff were already blaming others—mostly President Joe Biden—for her stunning loss. "We ran the best campaign we could, considering Joe Biden was president," an anonymous Harris aide told Politico. "Joe Biden is the singular reason Kamala Harris and Democrats lost tonight." David Plouffe, a senior adviser to the Harris campaign, praised the candidate for having "dug out of a deep hole" for which Biden was implicitly to blame.
Another Harris aide told Politico that Biden was at fault for not exiting the race much sooner, even though Harris had repeatedly insisted that he was fit to serve another four years. This would have allowed Democrats to hold a contested primary, which the aide believed that Harris would have won. (Fact check: She would not have won.)
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