In a public speech at Howard University, United States vice president Kamala Harris conceded the presidential election.
“My heart is full today, full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me, full of love in our country,” she said.
“The outcome of the election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for.
“But hear me when I say the light of America’s promise will always burn bright as long as we never give up and as long we keep fighting.”
During her speech, she thanked her family, Joe Biden, the first lady, her running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, and her campaign staff.
“I am so proud of the race and how we ran it. Over the 107 days, we have intentionally built community and coalitions, bringing people together from every walk of life and background, united by love of country with enthusiasm and joy in our fight for America’s future,” Harris said.
‘A peaceful transfer of power’
Harris said she congratulated Donald Trump earlier today and said: “We must accept the results of this election.”
“I also told him that we will help him and his team with the transition and that we will engage in a peaceful transfer of power. A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results,” she said.
“That principle, as much as any other, distinguishes democracy from monarchy and tyranny, and anyone who seeks the public trust must honour it. We owe loyalty not to a president but to the constitution of the United States.
“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fuelled this campaign. The fight, the fight for freedom, opportunity, fairness and 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.
“There’s an adage a historian once called a law of history — true of every society across the ages. The adage is, “Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.” 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.”
‘Do not despair’
“But here’s the thing — if it is America, let us fill the sky with the light of a brilliant billion of stars. The light, the light of optimism, of faith, of truth, and service,” Harris said.
“And so 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. This is a time to organise, to mobilise, and to stay engaged for the sake of freedom and justice and the future that we all know we can build together.”
Earlier on Wednesday local time, Harris called Trump to congratulate him for , one of her senior aides said, following a bitter and contentious race.
Harris discussed with Trump the importance of a peaceful transfer of power and being a president for all Americans, said the aide speaking on background.
Trump and Harris agreed on the need to unify the nation after their contentious campaign, the president-elect’s campaign said.
“President Trump acknowledged vice president Harris on her strength, professionalism, and tenacity throughout the campaign, and both leaders agreed on the importance of unifying the country,” spokesman Steven Cheung said.
Joe Biden congratulates Trump
Biden also called Trump to congratulate him on his victory on Wednesday and invited his Republican successor to hold a meeting in the “near future”, the White House said.
In his call with Trump, “President Biden expressed his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition and emphasised the importance of working to bring the country together,” a White House statement said.
Biden also spoke with Harris and “congratulated the vice president on her historic campaign,” the statement said, adding that the president on Thursday “will address the nation to discuss the election results and the transition”.
Here’s Kamala Harris’ speech in full:
My heart is full today, full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me, full of love for our country, and full of resolve. The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for. But hear me when I say, hear me when I say the light of America’s promise will always burn bright as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting.
I love you so much to my beloved Doug and our family. To President Biden and Dr Biden, thank you for your faith and support. To governor Walz and the Walz family, I know your service to our nation will continue. And to my extraordinary team, to the volunteers who gave so much of themselves, to the poll workers and the local election officials, I thank you. I thank you all.
Look, I am so proud of the race we ran. And the way we ran it. Over the 107 days of this campaign, we have been intentional about building community and building coalitions, bringing people together from every walk of life and background, united by love of country with enthusiasm and joy in our fight for America’s future. And we did it with the knowledge that we all have so much more in common than what separates us.
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. Earlier today, 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.
A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results. That principle, as much as any other, distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny. And anyone who seeks the public trust must honour 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 and loyalty to our conscience and to our God.
My allegiance to all three is why I am here to say, while I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fuelled this campaign—the fight: 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.
I will never give up the fight for a future where Americans can pursue their dreams, ambitions, and aspirations. Where the women of America have the freedom to make decisions about their own body and not have their government telling them what to do. We will never give up the fight to protect our schools and our streets from gun violence. And America, we will never give up the fight for our democracy, for the rule of law, for equal justice, and for the sacred idea that every one of us, no matter who we are or where we start out, has certain fundamental rights and freedoms that must be respected and upheld.
And we will continue to wage this fight in the voting booth, in the courts and in the public square. And we will also wage it in quieter ways: in how we live our lives by treating one another with kindness and respect, by looking in the face of a stranger and seeing a neighbour, by always using our strength to lift people up, to fight for the dignity that all people deserve.
The fight for our freedom will take hard work. But, like I always say, we like hard work. Hard work is good work. Hard work can be joyful work. And the fight for our country is always worth it. It is always worth it. To the young people who are watching, it is okay to feel sad and disappointed. But please know it’s going to be okay.
On the campaign, I would often say when we fight, we win. But here’s the thing, here’s the thing: sometimes the fight takes a while. That doesn’t mean we won’t win. That doesn’t mean we won’t win. The important thing is don’t ever give up. Don’t ever give up. Don’t ever stop trying to make the world a better place. You have power. You have power. And don’t you ever listen when anyone tells you something is impossible because it has never been done before.
You have the capacity to do extraordinary good in the world. And so 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. This is a time to organise, to mobilise, and to stay engaged for the sake of freedom and justice and the future that we all know we can build together.
Look, many of you know I started out as a prosecutor and throughout my career I saw people at some of the worst times in their lives. People who had suffered great harm and great pain and yet found within themselves the strength and the courage and the resolve to take the stand, to take a stand, to fight for justice, to fight for themselves, to fight for others. So let their courage be our inspiration. Let their determination be our charge.
And I’ll close with this. There’s an adage a historian once called a law of history, true of every society across the ages. The adage is, ‘Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars’. 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.
The light, the light of optimism, of faith, of truth and service.
And may that work guide us even in the face of setbacks toward the extraordinary promise of the United States of America. I thank you all. May God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America. I thank you all.
