Kamala Harris in Concession Speech: “I Do Not Concede the Fight That Fueled This Campaign”
On Wednesday at her alma mater, Howard University, Vice President Kamala Harris publicly conceded the 2024 presidential election to Donald Trump, calling for a peaceful transition of power but not relinquishing “the fight for freedom.”
In the audience at Howard were Nancy Pelosi and Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz, among other politicians. Harris thanked her husband, Doug Emhoff, as well as President Joe Biden and her campaign staffers, while the crowd chanted her name.
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“Now, I know folks are feeling and experiencing a range of emotions right now. I get it. But we must accept the results of this election,” said Harris, after an embattled campaign, adding that she talked to Trump earlier in the day. “I told him we will help him and his team with their transitions, and we will engage with a peaceful transfer of power.
“While I concede this election, I do 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,” Harris continued. “That is a fight I will never give up.”
She added: “Do not despair. This is not a time to throw up our hands. This is a time to roll up our sleeves. This is a time to organize, to mobilize and to stay engaged for the sake of freedom and justice and the future that we all know we can build together.”
The election was awarded to Trump on Wednesday morning after Wisconsin was called in favor of the former president and current president-elect, earning him the 270 electoral votes necessary to regain control of the White House.
It is unclear what is next for Harris, who will finish her term as vice president, a role she stepped into after serving as a U.S. senator. Before that, she served as the attorney general of California. Several news pundits called Wednesday’s speech her legacy in the making and possibly her last as a public servant.
Harris had many supporters in the entertainment industry and, on Wednesday, several took to social media to express their dismay at her loss. Filmmaker Adam McKay offered a scathing critique of the Democratic ticket, writing on social media, “Who would have guessed lying about Biden’s cognitive health for 2 yrs, refusing to do an open convention for a new nominee, never mentioning public healthcare & embracing fracking, the Cheneys & a yr long slaughter of children in Gaza wouldn’t be a winning strategy? Anyone with half a brain?”
Alternatively, Jeff Bezos offered Trump well wishes, writing, “Big congratulations to our 45th and now 47th President on an extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory.”
Toward the end of her speech, Harris addressed the country’s young people saying, “Please know it is going to be OK. Don’t ever give up. Don’t ever stop trying to make the world a better place. You have power, and don’t you ever listen that something is impossible because it has never been done before.”
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