Harris concedes election, saying she promised Trump a peaceful transfer of power

• Kamala Harris spoke to the nation for the first time since losing the election to Donald Trump.
• The vice president pledged to continue fighting for American ideals.
• Trump secured a clear victory, winning several swing states and picking up new voters.

Vice President Kamala Harris publicly conceded the 2024 election to former President Donald Trump in a Wednesday afternoon speech at her alma mater, Howard University.

Harris walked out to her campaign theme song, "Freedom," by Beyoncé, to applause and chants of "Kamala."

"My heart is full today," she told the tearful crowd. "Full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me. Full of love for our country. And full of resolve. 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, 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 added.

Harris said she was proud of her campaign, which lasted only 107 days. She told the crowd that she had already pledged to assist Trump with the transition and ensure a peaceful transfer of power.

"In our nation, we owe loyalty not to a president or a party but to the Constitution of the United States," Harris said. "And loyalty to our conscience and to our God. My allegiance to all three is why I am here to say, while I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign."

In her speech, Harris hit on several touchstones of her campaign, including abortion protection, gun safety, democracy, and equal justice, promising to continue fighting.

"Fighting for our country is always worth it," she said.

The vice president addressed young people specifically, promising them that it would be "OK" and encouraging them to continue working.

"Sometimes the fight takes a while, but that doesn't mean we won't win," Harris said, referencing her campaign slogan.

Harris thanked her husband, Doug Emhoff, President Joe Biden, her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, her campaign staff, and poll workers.

Harris campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon sent staff members a memo ahead of the vice president's remarks on Wednesday, confirming that Harris had conceded the race to Trump and pledged to ensure a peaceful transfer of power from the Biden administration.

O'Malley Dillon praised campaign staffers and congratulated them on a "first-rate, historic Presidential campaign," according to the memo obtained by Business Insider.

"You navigated things that no one has ever had to navigate, and likely no one will ever have to again," she wrote.

Harris became the Democratic nominee in August after President Joe Biden stepped down following a disastrous debate performance. She campaigned for just over three months before voters went to the polls this week.

"You stared down unprecedented headwinds and obstacles that were largely out of our control," the memo continued. "We knew this would be a margin of error race, and it was."

Nearly every state in the country moved further right in Tuesday's election, but O'Malley Dillon said the battleground states saw the least amount of movement compared to the rest of the nation.

"It was closest in the places we competed," she wrote. "That speaks to both the work you did and the scale of the challenge we ultimately couldn't surmount."

Harris' concession comes hours after Trump cinched a spectacular victory, winning several swing states and a swath of new voters since his last campaign.

In his victory speech early Wednesday morning, Trump claimed a "mandate" for his agenda and pledged to put "divisions" in the past.

Immediately following her speech, Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, were set to host an all-staff call to detail the campaign's accomplishment and discuss the "road ahead," according to the memo.