There was a deafening silence from Kamala Harris amid growing criticism over why she was waiting so long to concede the 2024 presidential election to Donald Trump, several hours after the GOP candidate had been declared the winner.
The Democratic Party nominee was said to be working on her speech before calling her opponent to admit defeat.
Finally, a few minutes before Noon on Wednesday, the White House announced that the vice president will “deliver remarks” at Howard University at 4 p.m. ET. She will be joined by her husband, the second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, according to the White House statement.
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Harris was facing pressure to appear in public—although Trump never conceded to Joe Biden in 2020. He denied the election results, sought to overturn them and was indicted on state and federal charges for his alleged role in subverting democracy.
Former White House First Lady press officer Barbara Heineback, a Howard University alum, called Harris “classless” and “a sore loser.”
Heineback told Sky News in Australia that she was “so disappointed… that she didn‘t have the decency to walk out and say something to her university, make a comment to the United States that things were not looking well for her.”
Harris’ supporters were also left wondering where she was as Trump and his acolytes dominated the networks crowing about the scale and the consequences of their victory.
As the results took a downturn, Harris canceled her planned speech at her election watch party at her alma mater, Howard University, in Washington.
Cedric Richmond, the Harris-Walz campaign co-chair, marched to the outdoor podium just after midnight on Tuesday night to announce that she would not deliver remarks from her campaign’s election night HQ.
He said the vice president wanted to wait until all states’ results were called and that she planned to deliver remarks on Wednesday evening.
“We still have votes to count. We still have states that have not been called yet. We will continue overnight to fight to make sure that every vote is counted, that every voice has spoken. So you won’t hear from the vice president tonight but you will hear from her tomorrow.
“She will be back here tomorrow to address not only the HU family, not only to address her supporters but to address the nation,” he added.
The crowds could be seen leaving in droves as soon as Richmond returned to the building. The party had already turned sour as the votes from across the nation quickly put Trump in position for a dramatic return to the White House.
Counting was still underway in Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, and other Western states, even some where Trump was declared the winner, but once the former president surpassed the 270 electoral votes with a win in Wisconsin, there was no path forward for Harris.
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