WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris called on her supporters to “accept the results” in her first public comments since losing the 2024 White House race to former President Trump.
But Harris stressed Wednesday afternoon: “While we will concede this election, we will not concede the fight that fueled this campaign.”
The vice president spoke at her alma mater, Howard University, where her campaign held a large election night watch party. Harris did not address the crowd Tuesday night, as initial election optimism dimmed as the clock ticked past midnight.
Trump ultimately won an overwhelming electoral and popular vote victory over Harris as Republicans retaken the Senate for the first time in four years. Meanwhile, control of the House of Representatives was still contested the day after the election.
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Vice President Kamala Harris gestures during her concession speech for the 2024 presidential election on the campus of Howard University in Washington, DC, on Wednesday. (Stephanie Scarborough/AP Photo)
“My heart is full today,” the vice president said near the beginning of her 12-minute speech, taking to the stage one last time to the tune of Beyoncé's “Freedom,” which has become Harris' unofficial national anthem.
“The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, it is not what we fought for, it is not what we voted for,” she said. “But hear me out…As long as we never give up, and as long as we keep fighting, the light of America's promise will always burn bright.”
How Trump Won: Details from FOX News Voter Analysis
The vice president also appeared to be targeting President Trump. For four years, President Trump has repeatedly tried and failed to overturn the results, blaming his 2020 White House loss to President Biden on unproven claims of “election fraud.”
“I spoke with President-elect Trump earlier today and congratulated him on his victory,” Harris said. “I also told him that I would support him and his team in the transition and ensure a peaceful transfer of power.”
She stressed that “a fundamental principle of American democracy is that even if you lose an election, you accept the outcome…Anyone who seeks public trust must respect it.”
The vice president also emphasized that “we owe our allegiance to the Constitution of the United States, not to a president or a political party.”
President-elect Trump waves to supporters at an election night victory party in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Harris is a former San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general and senator who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2020. But Biden has chosen his chief rival as his running mate, and the two have been at the helm of national politics for the past four years.
Trump's victory has been called the 'greatest political reversal'
Harris was a staunch running mate for most of the 2024 election cycle as Biden seeks a second four-year term in the White House.
But all that changed in late June due to Biden's disastrous debate performance against Trump.
Former President Trump and President Biden appeared at a debate held in Atlanta on June 27th. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
of Biden at 81 years old The birth stop and stumble raised questions about his physical and mental ability to serve another four years in the White House. This led to calls from within the Democratic Party for Biden to withdraw from the White House race.
The president finally bowed to the pressure, and on July 21, in a major announcement that would shake up the 2024 election, Biden called off the campaign and endorsed his vice president.
The Democratic Party quickly coalesced around Ms. Harris, who immediately enjoyed a spike in polls and a huge surge in fundraising.
Harris' honeymoon lasted from the Democratic National Convention in late August until September, when most commentators declared her the winner of the only presidential debate between her and Trump.
Vice President Kamala Harris greets President Biden at the end of the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
But as the calendar turned from September to October, President Trump appeared to have regained his footing, with polls showing the former president gaining momentum.
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And in the final days of the campaign, the tone and atmosphere seemed to switch again, this time with Harris closing out her White House bid on a positive note, and Trump in the final 48 hours before the campaign. did not mention the name. Until election day.
Meanwhile, Trump has taken a more negative and angry tone in the race across key battleground states.
Harris appeared to contrast with Trump in her concession speech Wednesday.
“I’m so proud of the races we ran and the way we ran them throughout this 107-day campaign,” Harris said. “We have been intentional about building community, building coalitions, and bringing people together.”
However, the former president ended up with a landslide victory as the American people returned him to the White House.
Former President Trump, his wife Melania Trump, and their son Barron arrived at an election night victory party in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Preliminary data from Fox News Voter Analysis for the 2024 election highlights Trump boosting scores with MAGA base while narrowing traditional Democratic advantages among Black, Hispanic and young voters. , pointed to political realignment.
Harris came close to becoming the first woman elected president, but she was unable to make enough gains among the ideological middle class to offset the defection of traditionally Democratic voting groups.
Fox News Voter Analysis, a survey of more than 110,000 voters across the country, highlights key trends in the 2024 campaign.
The damage was also great. Harris could not escape the huge unpopularity of the Biden/Harris administration. Almost three-quarters of voters say the country is on the wrong path, according to a poll.
The Fox News voter analysis focused on Trump's choice to appeal to outsiders over Harris' promise to “turn the page” on the Trump era in an election where voters across the country wanted change. I guessed it.
FOX News' Dana Blanton and Victoria Bharara contributed to this report.
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