Kamala Harris has broken her silence on losing the 2024 presidential election to Donald Trump.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Vice President took the stage at Howard University, her alma mater where she had hoped to celebrate her victory on Tuesday night before the Republican candidate started to win big. In her concession speech, she expressed:
“Here me when I say the light of the American promise will always burn bright. As long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting!”
Related: The View Reacts To Donald Trump’s Presidential Win
She then thanked her family, the Bidens, the Walz family, her “extraordinary team,” the volunteers, poll workers, and local election officials, continuing:
“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 and 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.”
She acknowledged that it is a “fundamental principle” of “democracy” to “honor” the results of an election, but added:
“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 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. 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 never give up the fight to protect our schools and our streets from gun violence, and, Americans, we 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.”
She furthered:
“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 neighbor, 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!”
Encouraging everyone not to “give up,” Kamala shared:
“To the young people who are watching, it is okay to feel sad and disappointed, but please know it’s gonna be okay. On the campaign, I would often say, when we fight, we win, but 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 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.”
She concluded:
“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 of optimism, of faith, of truth and service.”
Wow. Well said!
Hopeful VP Tim Walz was also there to show his thanks to supporters, and he was teary-eyed throughout the moving speech. You can see it in full (below):
Prior to this address, Kamala and President Joe Biden both called the President-elect to congratulate him on his win. According to reports, they encouraged a peaceful transition of power and urged him to remember the importance of being a leader for everyone in the country. It’s never easy to lose a race, especially one as big as this, but at least she is handling this outcome way more maturely than Trump did when he was the loser years ago! Just saying…
Thoughts? Share them (below).
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