Donald Trump Wins, Harris Urges Her Supporters to Accept the Result
- (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Washinton D.C, VIVA – Kamala Harris formally conceded the election to Donald Trump on Wednesday, urging Americans devastated by the result to not despair but to stay engaged and remain vigilant in the fight to protect American democracy.
Under a dramatic yellow sky, the vice-president arrived on stage to chants of “Kamala!” from the grounds of her alma mater, Howard University, in Washington.
The speech came the afternoon after Trump surged past the 270 votes needed to win the electoral college, the realization of a stunning political comeback four years after his refusal to concede power culminated in a violent attack on the seat of American government.
Kandidat capres AS dari Partai Demokrat Kamala Harris
- AP Photo/Nell Redmond
“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign,” said Harris, as quoted from the guardian site.
“Hear me when I say: the light of America’s promise will always burn bright, as long as we never give up,"
Earlier in the day, Harris had called Trump to congratulate him on his victory and pledged that the Biden administration would “engage in a peaceful transfer of power”.
As the vice-president, she will play the ceremonial role of president of the Senate during the certification of Trump’s victory in January.
“In our nation, we owe loyalty not to a president or a party, but to the constitution of the United States,” Harris said, drawing loud applause when she committed to help Trump’s team transition to the White House.
Harris seemed to acknowledge the fear among her supporters, who agreed with her warnings that Trump posed an existential threat to the future of American democracy and the planet. But she said now was not a time to “throw up our hands”.
“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 said.
The vice-president’s public concession marked the end of a tumultuous election that lasted just more than 100 days, the shortest in modern memory after the president stepped aside and effectively anointed her his successor weeks before the party’s summer convention.
By Wednesday afternoon, Trump, the twice impeached former president who has been convicted of dozens of crimes and is accused of many more, had won at least five of the seven battleground states and was on track to claim the popular vote.
Unlike in 2016, when Trump won a shock electoral victory against Hillary Clinton but lost the popular vote, he will return to power with what he called an unprecedented and powerful mandate.
