Staff Reports
Vice President Kamala Harris has returned to the public platform following her rather subdued concession speech after President-elect Donald Trump’s landslide victory. This triumphant return, however, looked more like a pep rally for the defeated than a celebration of an epic political campaign. During a National Grassroots Call with her former running mate, Governor Tim Walz, Harris reportedly attempted to galvanize her troops – just weeks after the battlefield had turned decidedly red.
In a moment reminiscent of a motivational speaker trying to lift spirits after a corporate layoff, Harris implored her supporters not to feel “powerless.” It’s always interesting when a politician who just faced a significant electoral loss turns to their loyal followers and starts pointlessly reassuring them about their untapped power. According to Kamala, supporters must not allow the circumstances of the defeated ticket to snatch their political engagement away. One can only hope her followers didn’t need too much convincing to keep the fires of activism burning after they just spent months engaging in what turned out to be a futile effort.
Vice President @KamalaHarris’ message to supporters. pic.twitter.com/x5xMUGTtkz
— The Democrats (@TheDemocrats) November 26, 2024
The social media reactions were mixed, proving once again that Kamala’s knack for creating puzzling optics is matched only by her unique ability to ignore the elephant in the room – or in this case, the big red wave that just crashed over her campaign. In the full clip of her remarks, Harris made sure to thank her loyal supporters for their ‘unprecedented’ efforts over the last 107 days. New achievement unlocked: losing with style, folks!
Those within her inner circle have spilled some candid beans post-election while sitting down for a little heart-to-heart on popular podcasts. Unsurprisingly, many advisers have admitted there simply wasn’t a path to victory for the Harris campaign. Who could have imagined that leaning into progressive ideals would leave you on the canvas after round one? One adviser recalled a sigh of resignation when he considered the lack of favorable election day breaks; perhaps a little crystal ball gazing next time could help.
Internal polling results seem to indicate Harris never truly led against Trump, despite those cheeky public polls throwing out glimmers of hope for the faithful. The irony of publicly leading when the internal team knows they are falling behind illustrates the competitive nature of today’s political landscape. Nothing says confidence like a campaign team expressing shock over their own polling while the rest of America giggles at the demise of a once-bright political star. If Harris wants to inspire her supporters moving forward, she may want to start by acknowledging the reality of the political chessboard rather than leaving them hanging with empty slogans.
