Vice President Kamala Harris urged followers to “never give up the fight” during her 10-minute concession speech at her alma mater, Howard University in Washington D.C. on Wednesday afternoon.
At the outset, she said her heart was “full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me, full of love for our country and full of resolve” to keep fighting. She also thanked her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden, and the many workers who aided her campaign, acknowledging, “I know folks are feeling and experiencing a range of emotions right now.”
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“Trump, too, is America. Quite possibly the most America. And we must accept that.”
“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign,” she said. “The fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness and the dignity of all people, a fight for the ideals at the heart of our nation, the ideals that reflect America at our best — that is a fight I will never give up.”
“I will never give up the fight for a future where Americans can pursue their dreams, ambitions and aspirations; where the women of America have the freedom to make decisions about their own body and not have their government telling them what to do. We will never give up the fight to protect our schools and our streets from gun violence.”
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“We will never give up the fight for our democracy, for the rule of law, for equal justice and for the sacred idea that every one of us, no matter who we are or where we start out, has certain fundamental rights and freedoms that must be respected and upheld,” she continued, adding, “We will continue to wage this fight in the voting booth, in the courts and in the public square, and we will also wage it in quieter ways, in how we live our lives, by treating one another with kindness and respect, by looking in the face of a stranger and seeing a neighbor, by always using our strength to lift people up to fight for the dignity that all people deserve.”
Addressing young viewers, Harris said, “It is okay to feel sad and disappointed, but please know it’s going to be okay. On the campaign. I would often say, ‘When we fight, we win.’ But here’s the thing: Sometimes the fight takes a while. That doesn’t mean we won’t win…. The important thing is, don’t ever give up. Don’t ever give up. Don’t ever stop trying to make the world a better place. You have power. You have power. And don’t you ever listen when anyone tells you something is impossible, because it has never been done before. You have the capacity to do extraordinary good in the world.”
She then told her followers, “Do not despair. This is not a time to throw up our hands. This is a time to roll up our sleeves. 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.”
“There’s an adage, she concluded. “The adage is, ‘Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.’ I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time. But for the benefit of us all, I hope that is not the case. But … if it is, let us fill the sky with the light of a brilliant billion of stars. The light, the light of optimism, of faith, of truth and service, , and may that work guide us, even in the face of setbacks toward the extraordinary promise of the United States of America.”
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