Kamala Harris concedes election: The Obamas, Liz Cheney, AOC, Bernie Sanders chime in
On election night 2024, when early voting reports started coming in depicting popular votes and electoral votes for state after state going red instead of blue, a dejected Kamala Harris left her watch party at her alma mater, Howard University in Washington D.C. without making a statement of any kind. Supporters at the watch party were seen leaving the scene quietly, with many wiping away their tears.
Yesterday though, Harris, still the U.S. Vice-President for the next few months, congratulated President-Elect Donald Trump via telephone, did concede the election, and returned to Howard University at 4 p.m. to make an emotionally charged concession speech.
Highlights of her speech include the following:
Earlier today, I spoke with President-elect Trump and congratulated him on his victory. I also told him that we will help him and his team with their transition and that we will engage in a peaceful transfer of power.…
A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results. That principle, as much as any other, distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny. And anyone who seeks the public trust must honor it. 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 …
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 will never give up the fight to protect our schools and our streets from gun violence. And America we will 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.
You can see her complete concession speech below.
Because Trump orchestrated the January 6, 2021, violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol following his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 election, life-long Republican and former Congresswoman Liz Cheney led the charge against supporting Donald Trump for president, actively campaigned for Kamala Harris for President and encouraged her fellow Republicans to follow suit saying that Donald Trump was a danger to the democracy and the Constitution. Following Trump’s historic and resounding 2024 presidential win though, Cheney took to X on November 6 and urged her supporters to accept the results of the election.
“We now have a special responsibility, as citizens of the greatest nation on earth, to do everything we can to support and defend our Constitution, preserve the rule of law, and ensure that our institutions hold over these coming four years,” she posted.
Former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, although disappointed in the Trump win, also stepped forward to acknowledge the president-elect, and congratulated Trump and his running mate, according to Yahoo! News.
“This is obviously not the outcome we had hoped for, given our profound disagreements with the Republican ticket on a whole host of issues. But living in a democracy is about recognizing that our point of view won’t always win out, and being willing to accept the peaceful transfer of power,” they said.
“As I said on the campaign trail, America has been through a lot over the last few years — from a historic pandemic and price hikes resulting from the pandemic, to rapid change and the feeling a lot of folks have that, no matter how hard they work, treading water is the best they can do,” the statement said.
“Those conditions have created headwinds for democratic incumbents around the world, and last night showed that America is not immune.”
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, U.S. Democratic Congresswoman from New York since 2016 who was just re-elected to the House this week took to her Instagram account to also express her disappointment in the Harris loss. The Huffington Post quoted the popular activist as saying that the next four years under President-elect Donald Trump will be a “very, very, very difficult, challenging time,” and she urged Americans to reject sectarianism and work to build back a sense of community.
The progressive lawmaker spoke to followers on Instagram as the fallout from Republicans’ extremely strong election showing solidifies. While Ocasio-Cortez said Democrats still had a shot to wrest control of the House of Representatives from the GOP ― which would “block some of the most heinous legislative proposals” ― the nation was on the precipice of entering an era of “fascism and authoritarianism.”
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The outspoken Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the longest-serving Independent in congressional history, and never one to mince words, blames the entire Democratic party for Harris’ loss. Sanders also won re-election on Tuesday.
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President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are supposed to go on TV later this morning to formally and publicly congratulate Trump on his win and insure a peaceful transition of power.
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Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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