Vice President Kamala Harris has sought to reassure her supporters that, while they did not win the United States presidential election this year, the fight is far from over.
“The outcome of the election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for,” she said in a concession speech to a crowd of students and supporters at Howard University in Washington, DC, her alma mater.
“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.”
Her address on Wednesday afternoon was the first time Harris had spoken to her supporters since Republican candidate Donald Trump won the race.
Many had waited outside in tears on the university grounds on Tuesday night as the election unfolded. But an expected late-night speech never materialised: Her campaign director emerged to tell them that Harris was going to wait until more results came in.
By early Wednesday, the race had been called for Trump, who passed the threshold of 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency.
The mood on Wednesday afternoon was decidedly more upbeat when Harris spoke, with huge cheers and screams emanating from the crowd.
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“I know folks have a range of emotions, I get it,” Harris said with a laugh.
“I spoke with Trump and congratulated him and told him we will help him with the transition and engage with a peaceful transfer of power.”
Harris then made a pointed dig at Trump who campaigned on his refusal to concede that he lost the 2020 presidential election to President Joe Biden.
“It’s a fundamental principle of a democracy that when we lose an election, we accept the result,” she said.
But Harris added that did not mean she was giving up.
“While I concede this election I don’t not concede the fight that fuelled this campaign,” she said. “To the young people, it is OK to feel sad and disappointed. Please know it will be OK.”
She added: “On the campaign, we say when we fight we win, sometimes the fight takes a while … It doesn’t mean we won’t win.”
Harris ended her speech by thanking her husband Doug Emhoff for his support.
Aljazeera.com
