Kamala Harris addresses the nation after her presidential loss with a unifying speech and a call to action

Vice President Kamala Harris formally conceded the 2024 election on Wednesday, urging her supporters to not despair about her loss to President-elect Donald Trump and to “by no means quit the battle for our democracy.”

Right here’s a full transcript of Kamala Harris’ speech:

Good afternoon. Good afternoon everybody, good afternoon. Thanks all. Thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks. So let me say, and I really like you again, and I really like you again. So let me say my coronary heart is full at present. My coronary heart is full at present, stuffed with gratitude for the belief you’ve gotten positioned in me, full of affection for our nation and stuffed with resolve. The result of this election will not be what we wished, not what we fought for, not what we voted for, however hear me once I say the sunshine of America’s promise will all the time burn brilliant, so long as we by no means quit and so long as we hold combating.

To my beloved Doug and our household, I really like you so very a lot. To President Biden and Dr. Biden, thanks in your religion and assist. To Governor Walz and the Walz household, I do know your service to our nation will proceed. And to my extraordinary staff, to the volunteers who gave a lot of themselves, to the ballot staff and the native election officers, I thanks. I thanks all.

Look, I’m so happy with the race we ran and the best way we ran it — and the best way we ran it. Over the 107 days of this marketing campaign, we now have been intentional about constructing group and constructing coalitions, bringing folks collectively from each stroll of life and background, united by love of nation, with enthusiasm and pleasure in our battle for America’s future.

And we did it with the data that all of us have a lot extra in widespread than what separates us now. I do know of us are feeling and experiencing a variety of feelings proper now. I get it, however we should settle for the outcomes of this election. Earlier at present, I spoke with President-elect Trump and congratulated him on his victory. I additionally advised him that we are going to assist him and his staff with their transition and that we are going to have interaction in a peaceable switch of energy.

A elementary precept of American democracy is that after we lose an election, we settle for the outcomes. That precept as a lot as another distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny, and anybody who seeks the general public belief should honor it. On the similar time in our nation, we owe loyalty to not a president or a celebration, however to the Structure of america, and loyalty to our conscience and to our God. My allegiance to all three is why I’m right here to say, whereas I concede this election, I don’t concede the battle that fuels this marketing campaign, the battle for freedom, for alternative, for equity and the dignity of all folks, a battle for the beliefs on the coronary heart of our nation, the beliefs that mirror America at our greatest. That may be a battle I’ll by no means quit.

I’ll by no means quit the battle for a future the place People can pursue their goals, ambitions and aspirations, the place the ladies of America have the liberty to make selections about their very own physique and never have their authorities telling them what to do. We are going to by no means quit the battle to guard our faculties and our streets from gun violence and America, we’ll by no means quit the battle for our democracy, for the rule of legislation, for equal justice, and for the sacred thought that each one of us, irrespective of who we’re or the place we begin out, has sure elementary rights and freedoms that have to be revered and upheld.

And we’ll proceed to wage this battle within the voting sales space, within the courts and within the public sq., and we may also wage it in quieter methods, in how we dwell our lives, by treating each other with kindness and respect, by wanting within the face of a stranger and seeing a neighbor, by all the time utilizing our energy to elevate folks as much as battle for the dignity that each one folks deserve. The battle for our freedom will take exhausting work. However like I all the time say, we like exhausting work, exhausting work is sweet work. Exhausting work will be joyful work. And the battle for our nation is all the time price it. It’s all the time price it.

To the younger people who find themselves watching, it’s okay to really feel unhappy and disenchanted, however please comprehend it’s going to be okay. On the marketing campaign, I might typically say, after we battle, we win. However right here’s the factor, right here’s the factor, generally the battle takes some time. That doesn’t imply we received’t win. That doesn’t imply we received’t win. The essential factor is, don’t ever quit. Don’t ever quit. Don’t ever cease making an attempt to make the world a greater place. You may have energy. You may have energy, and don’t you ever hear when anybody tells you one thing is unattainable as a result of it has by no means been completed earlier than.

You may have the capability to do extraordinary good on the planet. And so to everybody who’s watching, don’t despair. This isn’t a time to throw up our fingers. It is a time to roll up our sleeves.

It is a time to arrange, to mobilize and to remain engaged for the sake of freedom and justice and the long run that everyone knows we are able to construct collectively. Look, a lot of you understand, I began out as a prosecutor, and all through my profession, I noticed folks at a number of the worst occasions of their lives, individuals who had suffered nice hurt and nice ache and but discovered inside themselves, the energy and the braveness and the resolve to take the stand, to take a stand, to battle for justice, to battle for themselves, to battle for others. So let their braveness be our inspiration. Let their dedication be our cost.

And I’ll shut with this, there’s an adage and historian as soon as known as a legislation of historical past, true of each society throughout the ages, the adage is, solely when it’s darkish sufficient are you able to see the celebrities. I do know many individuals really feel like we’re coming into a darkish time, however for the good thing about us all,I hope that isn’t the case. However right here’s the factor, America, whether it is, allow us to fill the sky with the sunshine of a billion sensible stars, the sunshine of optimism, of religion, of reality and repair. H-U [from Howard University’s motto Veritas et Utilitas, which translates to “Truth and Service,” and to which the crowd responded: “You know,” the school’s call and response).

And may that work guide us, even in the face of setbacks toward the extraordinary promise of the United States of America, I thank you all. May God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America. I thank you all.

(Skip to the 24.40-minute mark to watch the speech.)

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TWITTER QUICKIE

Thanks, Kamala.

TWITTER QUICKIE

Children say goodbye to your enamel!