Kamala Harris called President-elect Donald Trump Wednesday morning to concede the race and congratulate the Republican politician on his Election Night win.
In the conversation, the vice president emphasized the importance of a peaceful transfer of power and the need for Trump to be a president for “all Americans,” according to the AP and a campaign memo to media.
The Democratic presidential nominee’s concession came just hours after the 2024 presidential race was called in favor of Trump after the divisive GOP figure swept the southern states and broke through the so-called “blue wall” needed for Harris to claim victory.
Harris is expected to address the nation in a live concession speech from Howard University in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT.
In the campaign’s memo, chair Jen O’Malley Dillon celebrated their launch of a “first-rate, historic Presidential campaign in basically 90 days” and thanked her staff for staring “down unprecedented headwinds and obstacles that were largely out of our control. We knew this would be a margin of error race, and it was.”
While she described Harris’ loss to Trump as “unfathomably painful” and “hard,” she maintained that “the work of protecting America from the impacts of a Trump Presidency starts now.”
In another statement to media, the Trump campaign said: “President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke by phone earlier today where she congratulated him on his historic victory. President Trump acknowledged Vice President Harris on her strength, professionalism and tenacity throughout the campaign, and both leaders agreed on the importance of unifying the country.”
