US Vice President and defeated Democratic candidate Kamala Harris promised a peaceful transfer of power to Donald Trump on Wednesday in a defiant concession speech, urging supporters to “keep fighting” for their ideals.
“We must accept the results of this election. Earlier today, I spoke with President-elect Trump and congratulated him on his victory,” Harris said in a speech at her alma mater, Howard University, in Washington, DC.
“I also told him that we will assist him and his team with the transition, and that we will ensure a peaceful transfer of power.”
Without mentioning Trump’s refusal to accept his defeat to President Joe Biden in 2020, Harris remarked that respecting election results is what “distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny. Anyone who seeks the public’s trust must honour 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, to our conscience, and to God,” she added.
In front of a cheering crowd, Harris began by urging her supporters to keep fighting for their ideals despite their deep disappointment a day after Trump secured his decisive victory.
“The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for, but hear me when I say 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 said.
After a campaign in which she repeatedly warned that Trump posed a danger to American democracy, she concluded by speaking to the foreboding felt by many of her supporters.
“I know many people feel as though we are entering a dark time. But for the benefit of us all, I hope that is not the case,” she said.
“But here’s the thing: America, if it is, let us fill the sky with the light of a brilliant, brilliant billion stars, the light—the light of optimism, of faith, of truth, and of service,” she added.