Harris Says She Concedes the Election, but Not Her Fight
Her commitment to a peaceful transfer of power was more than President-elect Trump ever offered to President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris after they defeated him in 2020.
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Harris Delivers Concession Speech at Howard University
Vice President Kamala Harris publicly conceded defeat to President-elect Donald J. Trump on Wednesday.
While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign. [applause] The fight, the fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness and the dignity of all people. The light of America’s promise will always burn bright — [applause] as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting. There’s an adage an 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.
Nicholas Nehamas and Erica L. Green
Reporting from Howard University
Vice President Kamala Harris formally acknowledged her loss to President-elect Donald J. Trump on Wednesday in a defiant and emotional speech, defending her campaign as a fight for democracy that she would continue, even if not from the Oval Office.
“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign,” Ms. Harris said.
“Hear me when I say, the light of America’s promise will always burn bright,” she added. “As long as we never give up. And as long as we keep fighting.”
Ms. Harris, her voice cracking with emotion at times, made the final speech of her presidential campaign at Howard University, her alma mater, in Washington. The results, still trickling in as Ms. Harris spoke, showed her on track to lose both the national popular vote and the top seven battleground states.
Ms. Harris ran a 107-day campaign under extraordinarily rare circumstances after President Biden dropped out of the race and she ricocheted to the top of the Democratic ticket. But burdened by the legacy of her incumbency, the history of a nation that was reluctant to elect a woman of color, and her unwillingness to articulate a meaningful separation from the unpopular Biden administration, Ms. Harris lost ground among most major groups of voters.
Her 12-minute concession was more than Mr. Trump ever offered to President Biden and Ms. Harris after they defeated him in 2020. To this day, Mr. Trump has not conceded that race, in public or private. Now, he returns to the White House after a resounding win, still technically facing federal charges over his attempts to overturn the election four years ago.
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