Harris is expected to call on Trump to forfeit the 2024 presidential election

Vice President Kamala Harris called Donald Trump to congratulate him on winning the 2024 presidential race, according to a senior Harris adviser.

Jen O'Malley Dillon, who ran Harris' campaign, said in an email to campaign staff obtained by NBC News that Harris told Trump during the call that “contrary to what we are “We have seen that we would work with President Biden to ensure a peaceful transfer of power in 2020.”

“She has also made it clear that she hopes he will be a president for all Americans,” she said.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement that in her call, the president-elect “recognizes Vice President Harris for her strength, professionalism and tenacity throughout the campaign, and both leaders agree on the importance of unifying the country.”

Two other Harris aides said Harris spent the morning and afternoon working on her concession speech, which she will give this afternoon at 4 p.m. at Howard University, her alma mater.

One of those aides said Harris' team has spent very little time to date working on a concession or victory speech. Instead, the Harris team had spent most of their time crafting a speech urging people to “hang in there,” anticipating that race results were uncertain at this point in the week.

President Joe Biden spoke to Harris by phone on Wednesday and congratulated her on her election campaign, the White House said. Biden also spoke with Trump and congratulated him on his victory.

“President Biden expressed his commitment to a smooth transition and emphasized the importance of working to bring the country together,” the White House said. “He also invited President-elect Trump to meet with him at the White House. The staff will arrange a specific date in the near future.”

Biden will address the nation on Thursday to discuss the election results and the transition, the White House said.

A White House official said Biden also plans to offer to attend his inauguration, the White House official said.

NBC News called the presidential election Wednesday morning and predicted that Trump won just after 5:30 a.m. ET, receiving 276 electoral votes to Harris' 223 votes.

Trump, for his part, declared his victory in a speech to his supporters at a campaign party in Florida around 2:30 a.m. ET.

While Nevada, Michigan and Arizona were too close together on Wednesday morning, Trump had his sights set on several states where both candidates spent a lot of time: Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina and Wisconsin.

Harris, 60, launched her presidential campaign after Biden, 81, withdrew from the race on July 21 and endorsed her as the Democratic Party nominee. Biden was eliminated after his disastrous performance in a presidential debate against Trump in June, prompting key members of the party to express deep concerns about his age and his ability to win the general election and serve another four years in the White House.

While Harris had about three months to campaign, Trump launched his re-election campaign, his third for president, shortly after the 2022 midterm elections in November.

Polls had shown in recent weeks that the race was even and Harris faced a gender divide with more men, particularly white men, supporting Trump. The NBC News exit poll found that 54% of male voters voted for the former president, while 44% voted for Harris.

The vice president had repeatedly said she was the “loser” in the 2024 contest and was struggling to distance herself from Biden and his administration and present herself as a candidate for change.

Their proposal to voters included an “opportunity economy” that would benefit the middle class and tax the rich; a promise to sign a bill that would codify Roe v. Wade's abortion protections nationwide; plans to help make rent more affordable; and help families with home health care costs. Harris also attacked Trump, calling him “increasingly unstable” and “unsettled” and warning voters that the former president posed a threat to democracy, calling him a “fascist.”

The 78-year-old Trump presented himself as the candidate who could strengthen the economy and manage conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. The former president was re-elected despite being convicted of 34 felonies in a New York hush-money trial and despite attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election, leading to the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.