DIOGO BERCITO
The Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, acknowledged her defeat against President-elect Donald Trump this Wednesday (6) in Washington. It was the melancholy final act of a campaign that began cheerfully and optimistically. It was also the failure, for the second time, to elect the first female president of the USA.
The Democrat called Trump during the afternoon to congratulate him on his victory. It’s something the Republican refused to do in 2020, when he lost the election to Joe Biden – Trump even signaled that he would protest this year’s results again if he didn’t win.
“Although I have conceded defeat, I will not give up the fight we waged in this campaign,” Kamala told supporters at Howard University. “The fight for freedom, for a future in which Americans can pursue their dreams and aspirations, where women can make decisions about their own bodies,” he said, referring to the right to abortion. Kamala also thanked President Joe Biden, his running mate, Tim Walz, his team and the volunteers.
The vice president entered the stage smiling and said that the election result was not what she expected, nor what she had fought for. But he asked his voters to respect the victory of his rival, Donald Trump. At this point, the audience booed – not her, but the Republican. Kamala said she admitted defeat in the election, but not in her fight for a better country.
“The fight for our freedom will be difficult. But, as I often say, we like hard work. And the fight for our country is always worth it”, said the defeated candidate. “To the young people watching: it’s okay for you to feel this way. Sometimes the fight takes time. But that doesn’t mean we won’t win. You have power.”
Kamala ended her brief speech, lasting about ten minutes, saying once again that she believed in the promise of the United States. It was a speech of encouragement for voters who were dismayed by Tuesday’s swift and definitive defeat. In the audience, people repeated her words in whispers. Some were crying. When the vice president left the stage, the war cries of Howard University sang. The soundtrack was by Beyoncé.
The stage for the speech was where Kamala studied in the 1980s, and her return to the black-majority institution, even in the context of a defeat, had its symbolism.
It is a university created to educate enslaved people in the 19th century, and the vice president spoke in front of a building that pays homage to abolitionist Frederick Douglass, one of the best-known political figures of the time.
Kamala had hoped to celebrate her Howard victory, and organized an event that began with a festive atmosphere on Tuesday. Excited, people danced and sang as if anticipating a good result – which never came. Early in the morning, the press was already projecting Trump’s victory.
The mood on Wednesday was quite different. There was less audience. They no longer celebrated. They talked among themselves, trying to understand what had happened the day before. They knew it would be a close election, they just didn’t foresee such a quick and definitive defeat.
Nursing student Tishae Thorpe, 19, was at Howard University on Tuesday night, hoping to celebrate Kamala Harris’ victory. The first few hours, he says, were “an incredible feeling”. “I feel like I lived history,” he says. Before the speech began, Thorpe said he expected the vice president to explain what happened, but also to maintain a positive attitude – and said he would vote for her again if she ran again.
With her speech, Kamala, who canceled her appearance on Tuesday night and had not spoken publicly since the start of the investigation, broke the Democratic Party’s silence. This time of hiatus is not unusual: in 2016, Hillary Clinton only conceded defeat to Trump the day after the elections.
Kamala planned, leaving Howard, to talk to her campaign team and thank them for supporting her in a chaotic race. The next few weeks are uncertain, and the Democrat still has the vice-presidential mandate to fulfill until Trump’s inauguration in January.
