Vice President Kamala Harris made her first public appearance Wednesday afternoon after conceding the presidential race to Donald Trump. The decisive victory for Trump marked a landslide election for Republicans on Tuesday, leaving Democrats to regroup and evaluate the party's future direction.
At her alma mater Howard University in Washington, D.C., Harris addressed the nation with a speech about the importance of maintaining resolve and purpose on the heels of a divisive election. Harris called Trump earlier Wednesday to formally concede the race, congratulate him on his victory and pledge to engage in a peaceful transition of power.
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"While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign," Harris said. "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 — the ideals that reflect America at our best. That is a fight I will never give up."
The disappointing end to Harris' presidential run came after months of heavy campaigning in battleground states where Trump solidly outperformed her and improved on his results in 2020. Democrats rallied around Harris' nomination in July after President Joe Biden's exit from the race, giving her the chance to become the first woman elected president. Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, refocused the party's platform around preserving democracy, protecting abortion rights and delivering economic relief to middle-class Americans.
"We will continue to wage this fight in the voting booth, in the courts and in the public square," Harris said. "And we will also wage it in quieter ways — in how we live our lives, by treating one another with kindness and respect."
Tuesday's election showed a broad coalition of voters chose to back Trump's "America First" agenda, rejecting the record of the Biden administration on issues including inflation and border security. Harris' critics have said she didn't do enough to distance and distinguish herself from Biden, whose approval rating dropped to just 41% ahead of the election. Trump is projected to win each of the seven key swing states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Arizona and Nevada.
In Pennsylvania, Trump's victory was aided by narrowing Democratic margins in Philadelphia, its surrounding suburbs and other urban areas that mostly vote blue. Philadelphia's Democratic chair, Bob Brady, took aim at the Harris campaign on Wednesday in remarks shared with the Inquirer. He said the Harris campaign failed to show respect for the party's leadership in Philadelphia and didn't do enough to turnout voters.
Brendan McPhillips, a senior adviser to the Harris campaign, fired back at Brady, saying the vice president's team knocked on 2 million doors ahead of the election.
"If there's any immediate takeaway from Philadelphia's turnout this cycle, it is that Chairman Brady's decades-long practice of fleecing campaigns for money to make up for his own lack of fundraising ability or leadership is a worthless endeavor that no future campaign should ever be forced to entertain again," McPhillips said.
Harris' loss on Tuesday underscored Democrats' slipping loyalty among voting blocs that they have traditionally carried. Trump cut into the Democrats' support among Latino and Black voters, funneling away votes in metropolitan areas where Democratic majorities historically have been able to offset more rural Republican footholds. Trump also performed better than Harris among independent voters.
Harris said Wednesday she was proud of the race she ran.
"We have been intentional about building community and building coalitions, bringing people together from every walk of life and background, she said. "... We did it with the knowledge that we all have so much more in common than what separates us."
By conceding to Trump, Harris did Wednesday what Trump failed to do four years ago when he lost to Biden and baselessly claimed that the election had been stolen. Trump's longstanding refusal to acknowledge Biden's victory helped precipitate the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection on the U.S. Capitol, a moment of upheaval that appeared to make his path back to the White House seem improbable.
Harris said the peaceful transition of power is a fundamental principle of American democracy.
"When we lose an election, we accept the results," she said. "That principle, as much as any other, distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny. And anyone who seeks the public trust must honor it. 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."
With Trump's victory, and Republicans flipping the Senate and possibly controlling the House, Democrats will now have to reckon with the "mandate" Trump said the nation gave his party in Tuesday's election. Democrats also will need to grapple with why their message failed to connect with large parts of the country.
"This is not a time to throw up our hands. This is a time to roll up our sleeves," Harris said. "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."