U.S. Elections 2024 results: ‘We concede the election but not the fight,’ says Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris acknowledged her loss to Donald Trump in a speech at Howard University, her alma mater

Kamala Harris said Wednesday (November 6, 2024) that “we must accept the results of this election” as she encouraged supporters to continue fighting for their vision of the country after her loss to Donald Trump.

Addressing the public for the first time, hours after she lost the Presidential election to her Republican opponent Donald Trump, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris conceded the election but urged her supporters to continue the “fight” and stay organised and engaged

U.S. Elections 2024 results LIVE

“My heart is full today....full of love for our country and full of resolve,” said Ms. Harris, in a sometimes emotional 11 minute speech, her voice shaking at times. Her delivery appeared to be markedly different from most of her campaign speeches.

“I spoke with President-Elect Trump and congratulated him on his victory. I also told him that we will help him and his team with their transition and that we will engage in a peaceful transfer of power,” she said, speaking at her alma mater, Howard University, just after 4 pm in Washington DC.

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“A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results,” Ms. Harris said , presumably making a veiled reference to Mr. Trump who did not concede the 2020 election which he lost, instead mounting multiple legal challenges and delivering an incendiary speech which motivated his supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. ( Although the 2016 Democratic candidate Hilary Clinton’s supporters protested following her loss in the elections against Mr Trump, Ms Clinton conceded the election on November 9 - hours after that year’s Election Day, November 8).

Ms. Harris also made references to personal loyalty - something Mr Trump appeared to demand from bureacrats and army officers and his political appointees during his first term.

“At the same time, in our nation, we owe loyalty not to a President or a party but to the Constitution of the United States. And loyalty to our conscience and to our God,” Ms. Harris said.

“My allegiance to all three is why I am here to say: While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign,” she said.

Ms. Harris consoled young people, some of whom were crying. “You have power,” she said.

“This is not a time to throw up our hands. This is a time to roll up our sleeves,” she added, urging people to stay orgnised and engaged.

During her campaign, she spoke of wanting to unite people, drawing a contrast with Mr Trump, who had made references to using the U.S. Military against “the enemy within”. The Vice President made references to building bridges with strangers on Tuesday evening

Ms. Harris suggested that the “fight” would continue in the court room, in the public square, but also “in quieter ways” by “lifting people up” and by “looking in the face of a stranger and seeing a neighbour”.

Published - November 07, 2024 04:37 am IST