Kamala Harris has lost her bid to become America's first female president, as her Republican opponent Donald Trump claimed a decisive victory in the U.S. presidential election.
The vice president has yet to make a statement or formally concede, even though by Wednesday morning it was apparent that Trump had won the necessary votes in crucial swing states.
Harris canceled her planned Election Night appearance at Howard University in Washington, D.C., her alma mater, as Trump gained steady momentum.
Trump has now secured enough key battleground states, including Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, to clinch the presidency, with a few states still pending final results.
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As anticipated, Trump swept conservative strongholds across the U.S., while Harris won liberal states from New York to California.
Harris experienced a rise in popularity after becoming the Democratic nominee in June, following Joe Biden’s poor performance in the first presidential debate.
Her campaign aimed to promote a more optimistic vision for America, contrasting Trump’s portrayal of national decline, with a particular focus on securing abortion rights.
In contrast, Trump targeted Harris with pointed personal attacks throughout the campaign, frequently calling her “stupid,” “lazy,” and “dumb as a rock,” and even questioning her racial identity during the early campaign stages.
Harris is expected to address the public later on Wednesday. A senior Trump adviser told CBS, the BBC’s U.S. partner, that they expect Harris to call the president-elect to concede, a step Trump himself declined to take after his 2020 loss.
The vice president was scheduled to address supporters on Tuesday night, but campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond announced shortly after midnight that she would not attend.
“We still have votes to count,” he had said at the time.
The celebratory atmosphere at Howard University earlier in the evening had turned somber as two swing states went to Trump. At Harris HQ, Democratic fundraiser Lindy Li told the BBC the mood was “pretty grim right now.
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