Kamala Harris concedes to Trump but insists fight continues | News about the 2024 US election

Vice President Kamala Harris has sought to reassure her supporters that while they may not have won this year’s United States presidential election, the fight is far from over.

“The outcome of the election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for,” she said in a speech to a crowd of students and supporters at Howard University in Washington, DC. their alma mater.

“Hear me when I say that as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting, the light of America’s promise will always burn bright.”

Her address Wednesday afternoon was the first time Harris addressed her supporters since Republican nominee Donald Trump won the race.

Many waited outside the university campus in tears on Tuesday evening while the election unfolded. But an expected speech late in the evening didn’t happen: her campaign manager came and told them that Harris would wait until further results were available.

Early Wednesday, the race was called for Trump, who had surpassed the 270 Electoral College vote threshold needed to win the presidency.

Good mood

The mood Wednesday afternoon was noticeably more upbeat as Harris spoke, with loud cheers and screams from the crowd.

“I know people have a range of emotions, I understand that,” Harris said with a laugh.

“I spoke to Trump, congratulated him and told him that we would help him with the transition and work for a peaceful transfer of power.”

Harris then took a sharp swipe at Trump, who campaigned for his unwillingness to admit that he lost the 2020 presidential election to President Joe Biden.

“It is a fundamental principle of a democracy that when we lose an election we accept the result,” she said.

But Harris added that doesn’t mean she’s giving up.

“While I admit this election, I do not admit the struggle that fueled this campaign,” she said. “It’s okay for young people to be sad and disappointed. Please know that everything will be okay.”

She added: “In the election campaign we say if we fight we win, sometimes the fight takes a while… That doesn’t mean we won’t win.”

Harris ended her speech by thanking her husband, Doug Emhoff, for his support.

“I know many people feel that we are entering a dark time, but for the sake of all of us, I hope that is not the case,” she said.

Savior for the Democrats

Harris, 60, began campaigning after Biden dropped out of the race after stumbling badly in a presidential debate with Trump in June. His performance sparked concerns about his ability to remain in office until the end of his second term in 2029, when he would be 86.

Biden dropped out of the race on July 21 and endorsed his vice president. Harris quickly took over the Democratic campaign.

Many Democrats viewed her as a potential savior of their party: the first black woman and the first person of South Asian descent to reach the Oval Office. Four years ago, she overcame the same hurdles for the vice presidency by becoming Biden’s running mate.

Harris ran a vigorous campaign focused on moving away from Trump’s dire message of economic ruin and the flooding of the country by immigrants. A key element of her platform was her advocacy for women’s reproductive freedom, a rallying cry that resonated with many young voters who flocked to her rallies.

The 2024 race was the first presidential election since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down constitutional protections for abortion rights two years earlier, in June 2022. The Harris campaign had hoped for a surge in support from women.

But that wasn’t enough to overcome U.S. voters’ deep anger over high inflation, the cost of basic necessities like food and housing, and concerns about illegal immigration, according to exit polls.

Trump’s promise to return to a “Golden Age of America” ​​resulted in key battleground states moving decisively away from Democrats.

He is due to take office on January 20, 2025 and return to power as the 47th US president, four years after refusing to accept defeat by President Joe Biden.

As sitting vice president, Harris is expected to oversee Congress’ ceremonial certification of Trump’s victory. Biden has also said he will attend the inauguration, unlike Trump in 2021, who snubbed his successor.