'I concede the election but not the fight': Harris urges supporters to not to despair despite defeat to Trump
6 November 2024, 22:17 | Updated: 7 November 2024, 00:18
Kamala Harris has publicly addressed her supporters to concede the US presidential election to Donald Trump, but struck a defiant tone as she vowed not to "give up".
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Ms Harris urged her supporters not to despair during the address on Wednesday afternoon eastern time (9pm UK time) from Howard University in Washington DC.
The vice-president told her supporters to accept Mr Trump's victory and said that the peaceful transition of power was an important part of democracy.
Victory for Mr Trump was assured earlier on Wednesday after he won a series of swing states including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin and Michigan.
In line with tradition, before her speech Ms Harris rang her opponent to emphasise the importance of a peaceful transfer of power and serving the interests of all Americans.
Current president Joe Biden also called Mr Trump on Wednesday evening.
Ms Harris told her supporters that despite her defeat now is not the time to "throw up our hands".
"This is a time to roll up our sleeves," she added. She urged her supporters "to organise, to mobilise, and to stay engaged for the sake of freedom and justice, and the future that we all know that we can build together".
Ms Harris also vowed to fight for women's freedoms, after an election in which abortion had been a key issue for some voters.
She said that "the light of America's promise will always burn bright, as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting."
She closed her address with an uplifting note, telling supporters that although people feel like we are entering a dark time... only when it is dark enough can you see the stars".
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Mr Trump will return to the White House after four years away. After losing the 2020 election he refused to concede, and his supporters stormed the Capitol building in a violent insurrection.
Ms Harris' campaign said earlier that she would speak outside Howard University in Washington DC at around 9pm GMT (4pm local time) on Wednesday, after supporters gathered outside her alma mater overnight in the hope of seeing the Democrat surge to victory.
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Ms Harris and her running mate Tim Walz are still yet to make any public statement, despite it becoming clear by early Wednesday morning that Trump had won the vote.
The Republican swept to victory in early declarations from key battleground states - taking the electoral college votes from Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Wisconsin - claiming 294 electoral votes to Ms Harris' 223 as of Wednesday evening. Several states are still yet to be announced.
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A sombre mood spread throughout the Howard University campus late on election day as hopes that Ms Harris could become the first president to graduate from the historically Black college were slowly quashed.
Cedric Richmond, co-chair of the Harris campaign, appeared on the stage to announce that the vice president would not be addressing supporters that night.
"Thank you for being here," the former congressman told the Howard University crowd. "Thank you for believing in the promise of America."
As it became clear she would not win, he insisted: "We still have votes to count, we still have states that have not been called yet.
"We will continue overnight to fight to make sure that every vote is counted, that every voice has spoken, so you won't hear from the vice president tonight.
"But you will hear from her tomorrow, she will be back here tomorrow to address the HBCU (Historically black colleges and universities) family her supporters and the nation."
Hillary Clinton also waited until the following day to formally concede when she lost to Trump in 2016, while Trump refused to concede to Joe Biden when he lost in 2020.
It came after Trump became only the second person in history to win a non-consecutive second term, after Grover Cleveland in 1884.
Trump defeated Harris and at the age of 78 will become the oldest president ever inaugurated.
He won after seizing victory in the swing states of North Carolina, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.
Mr Trump declared he had won a "magnificent victory for the American people" once it was clear he was on track to return to the White House as 47th president of the United States.
His victory was confirmed as a win in Wisconsin tipped him over the 270 electoral votes needed to defeat Kamala Harris.
The Republican told his supporters that "America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate".
He said that he would not let his backers down and that it is "time to put the divisions of the past four years behind us", as he looks likely to win the presidency for the second time.
Addressing a campaign party in Florida in the early hours of Wednesday, Mr Trump pledged to "fight" for "every citizen" and promised the "golden age of America".
He said: "Every single day I will be fighting for you with every breath in my body.
"I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve."
He added: "This is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to make America great again."
Trump's power at the start of his second presidency could be untrammelled, with the Republicans also appearing on course to win a Senate majority and retaining control in the House of Representatives.
