“Sometimes the fight takes a while”: Kamala Harris concession speech – full | US elections 2024

Kamala Harris gave her concession speech to a crowd of supporters in Washington DC. Earlier in the day, she conceded to Donald Trump in a phone call.

Here is Harris' speech in full:

Good day. Good day. Good afternoon everyone, good afternoon. Good day. Good day.

Thank you all. Thank you thank you. Thank you thank you. So let me say it: I love you back, and I love you back. So let me say, my heart is full today. Today my heart is full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me, full of love for our country and full of determination.

The result of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for, but hear me when I say, 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.

To my beloved Doug and our family, I love you so much. Thank you to President Biden and Dr. Biden for your trust and support. To Governor Walz and the Walz family: I know your service to our nation will continue.

And to my extraordinary team, to the volunteers who gave so much of themselves, to the poll workers and local poll workers. Thank you. Thank you all.

I am so proud of the race we ran and the way we ran it. During the 107 days of this campaign, we have focused on building community and building coalitions, bringing together people from all walks of life and backgrounds, united by love of country, with enthusiasm and joy in our fight for America's future, and we have done it knowing that we all have so much more in common than what separates us.

I know people are feeling and experiencing a range of emotions right now. I understand, but we must accept the results of this election. I spoke with President-elect Trump today and congratulated him on his victory. I also told him that we would help him and his team with their transition and work toward a peaceful transfer of power.

A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results.

This principle, like any other, distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny, and anyone who seeks the public's trust must respect it. At the same time, in our nation we owe loyalty not to any president or party, but to the Constitution of the United States and to our conscience and our God.

My allegiance to all three is why I am here, to say that while I acknowledge this election, I do not recognize the struggle that fueled this campaign. The fight – the fight for freedom, for opportunities, for justice and the dignity of all people. A fight for the ideals at the heart of our nation, the ideals that reflect America at its best. This is a fight I will never give up.

I will never give up the fight for a future where Americans can achieve their dreams, ambitions and aspirations, where women in America have the freedom to make decisions about their own bodies and don't have to be dictated to by the government what they should do.

We will never give up the fight to protect our schools and streets from gun violence, and, America, 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 human being, every one of us, no matter who we are or where we start, has certain basic rights and freedoms that must be respected and upheld.

We will continue to fight this fight in the voting booth, in the courts, and in public squares, and we will also fight it in a quieter way, in the way we live our lives, by treating one another with kindness and respect, and by we look into the face of a stranger and the sight of a neighbor, always using our strength to lift people up and fight for the dignity that all people deserve.

Fighting for our freedom will take hard work, but as I always say, we like hard work. Hard work is good work. Hard work can be joyful work. And fighting for our country is always worth it. It's always worth it.

For the young people watching, it's okay to be sad and disappointed, but know that everything will be okay. During the election campaign I would often say: If we fight, we win.

But here's the thing: sometimes the fight takes a while. That doesn't mean we won't win, that doesn't mean we won't win. The most important thing is to never give up. Never give up. Never stop making the world a better place. You have power. You have power. And never listen when someone tells you something is impossible because it's never been done before.

You have the ability to do extraordinary good in the world.

So to everyone watching: don't despair. This is not the time to throw up your hands. Now it's time to roll up your sleeves. This is a time of organizing, mobilizing and engaging for freedom and justice and for the future we all know we can build together.

Look, many of you know, I started as a prosecutor and over the course of my career I have seen people at the worst times of their lives, people who had suffered great harm and great pain and yet found the strength and power within themselves to do so Courage and the determination to take a stand, to take a stand, to fight for justice, to fight for yourself, to fight for others.

So let their courage inspire you. Let their determination be our responsibility.

And I'll end with this: There is a saying, a historian once called it a law of history, that applies to every society throughout the centuries. The saying goes: “Only when it’s dark enough can you see the stars.”

I know many people feel that we are entering a dark time, but for everyone's sake I hope this is not the case. But here's the thing, America: If so, let's fill the sky with the light of a bright, shining billion of stars. The light, the light of optimism, faith, truth and service, and may this work lead us, even in the face of setbacks, to the extraordinary promises of the United States of America.

Thank you all, may God bless you and may God bless the United States of America. Thank you all.

Read more of the Guardian's coverage of the 2024 US election