The Words of Victory and Defeat

What Trump and Harris have said so far

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Donald Trump took the stage in West Palm Beach, Florida, and declared victory. 

The Associated Press had just projected that he won Pennsylvania, making it nearly impossible for Kamala Harris to reach the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. 

Later Wednesday, Harris called him to concede the race, and Harris herself gave remarks yesterday afternoon. 

Here’s what they both have said since the race concluded. 

Trump’s Victory Speech

He started his 25 minute speech by thanking the crowd and saying that this was a “movement like nobody’s ever seen before, and, frankly, this was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time.” 

Trump said that the campaign had made history, and that they were going to “help our country heal. We have a country that needs help, and it needs help very badly. We're going to fix our borders, we're going to fix everything about our country.”

Next, he thanked the American people for voting him twice into office, and promised “every citizen, I will fight for you, for your family and your future, every single day I will be fighting for you with every breath in my body.” Trump vowed not to rest until he has delivered the “strong, safe, and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve.” He said the years to come would be the “golden age of America.” 

He touched on the two assassination attempts against him this year, saying, "Many people have told me that God spared my life for a reason. And that reason was to save our country and to restore America to greatness. And now we are going to fulfill that mission together." 

Senate majority and the popular vote

At this point in the night, Republicans had taken back control of the Senate, flipping two seats in order to regain the majority for the first time in four years. Trump moved on to talking about controlling the chamber, saying the races were won by the MAGA movement. 

He claimed Republicans would keep control of the House of Representatives (this still has not been called, it will be days or potentially even weeks before we know the final results, as of Wednesday there were about 100 races still undecided), and thanked Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, saying he was doing “a terrific job.”

Trump stated that he had won the popular vote (which is likely but not not determined yet, as there are still multiple races yet to be called at the time) and said there was a “great feeling of love” in the “very large room” they were in and that he had “unbelievable” people by his side. 

Thanking his family and JD Vance

Trump specifically called out his family, including his wife, Melania, and his children. He called his running mate to stage, saying JD Vance was a “feisty guy” who went to the “enemy camp” by appearing on multiple networks (like CNN and MSNBC) and “absolutely obliterat[ing] them.” 

Vance then said a few words, thanking Trump for choosing him as his vice presidential pick and said they’d just seen the “greatest political comeback in the history of the US.”

When Trump took the microphone back, he said Vance had “turned out to be a good choice. I took a little heat at the beginning, but I knew the brain was a good one, about as good as it gets.” He also said he and Vance would have a great four years and that they were going to “turn our country around, make it something very special.”

Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. 

Trump spent time thanking two of his major supporters: Elon Musk and RFK Jr. 

Musk threw his weight behind Trump in July, starting a super PAC specifically to support his re-election efforts. During his victory speech, he said “a star is born, Elon.”

Robert Kennedy paused his own campaign and endorsed Trump in August. Trump has since discussed having him as part of his administration. Trump thanked Kennedy, saying he’s “going to make America healthy again.” 

“And now he's a great guy and he really means it. He wants to do some things, and we're gonna let him go to it. I just said, 'But Bobby, leave the oil to me. We have more liquid gold, oil and gas. We have more liquid gold than any country in the world. More than Saudi Arabia. We have more than Russia. Bobby, stay away from the liquid gold. Other than that, go have a good time, Bobby.'”

He also briefly passed the microphone to Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White, who thanked podcasters Joe Rogan and Theo Von for their support. 

Unity 

Trump ended his early morning Wednesday speech by asking “every citizen all across our land to join me in this noble and righteous endeavor. That's what it is. It's time to put the divisions of the past four years behind us. It's time to unite, and we're gonna try. We're gonna try. We have to try. And it's gonna happen. Success will bring us together. I've seen that. I've seen that. I saw that in the first term, when we became more and more successful, people started coming together. Success is going to bring us together and we are going to start by all putting America first.”

Harris Concession Speech

When Harris called Trump to concede the race, she congratulated him on his victory and talked about the importance of a peaceful transfer of power. According to an aide, Harris urged him to be a president for all Americans. 

A few hours later, Harris spoke from her alma mater, Howard University. She kept her speech short, starting by saying the election results were not what they hoped for or fought for, but the “light of America will always burn bright, as long as we never give up, and as long as we keep fighting.”

She briefly thanked her husband, Doug, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill, and her running mate, Tim Walz. She said, “I am so proud of the race we ran, and the way we ran it. Over the 107 days of this campaign, we have been intentional about building community and building coalitions, bringing people together from every walk of life and every background.” 

A peaceful transition of power 

As vice president, Harris has a role in the transfer of power to Trump’s administration. She told the crowd, “we must accept the results of this election.” She mentioned her earlier call to Trump, saying she will engage in a peaceful transfer of power as the current vice president. 

She called this peaceful transfer a “fundamental principle of American elections” and that this “distinguishes democracy from monarchy and tyranny.”

Continue to fight

The rest of her speech focused on continuing the fight that she said started with her campaign. She said Americans “owe loyalty not to a president or a party but to the constitution of the United States.” 

And that is why, she said, though she concedes “this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign, 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 that I will never give up.”

Harris listed various issues her campaign focused on, such as gun control, reproductive rights, democracy, and the “rule of law, justice, and for the ideals at the heart of our nation.” The fight, she said, would be waged “in the voting booth, in the courts and in the public square.”

She reminded supporters that things take time, saying, “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.”

Harris said this fight can continue 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 … the fight for our freedom will take hard work. But like I always say, we like hard work. Hard work is good work, hard work can be joyful work, and the fight for our country is always worth it. It is always worth it.” 

She then spoke directly to the young people watching, saying it is okay to feel sad and disappointed, but that it was “going to be okay.” She said, “the important thing is don’t ever give up…don’t ever stop trying to make the world a better place. 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.” 

Her final message 

Harris acknowledged that her supporters are feeling low, and worried that America is “entering a dark time.” She said “for the benefit of us all, I hope that is not the case.”

She recalled an old adage that she called a “law of history,” which says “only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.”

She continued, “But here’s the thing America: If it is, let us fill the sky with the light of a brilliant, billion stars. The light … of optimism, of faith, of truth and service.”

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Whether you are thrilled by the results or concerned by another Trump presidency, the election cycle has ended, and new work has begun.