Kamala Harris was reportedly ‘stunned’ after her defeat to Donald Trump in the 2024 US presidential election last November.
A stunning outcome for democrats
After months of silence, Kamala Harris has finally spoken out about her reaction to the 2024 U.S. presidential election results.
Harris became the Democratic nominee just months before the election, following President Joe Biden’s unexpected withdrawal from the race.
Despite hopes of victory, Donald Trump won the election, and Harris has remained largely out of the public eye since.
Kamala Harris urges courage and faith in democracy
On April 3, Harris took the stage at the Leading Women Defined Summit in California, delivering an emotional speech about fear, leadership, and the future of American democracy.
“To have the courage to say, ‘I feel fear.’ The courage to say, ‘What is happening is wrong.’ The courage to say there is a path we must chart to get through this… The power in the democracy we still have—if we hold on to it. Courage is contagious.”
Her words served as a powerful call to action, not only for female leaders but for all Americans concerned about the direction of the country under Trump’s second term.
Inside the campaign: shock and disbelief on election night
According to journalist Amie Parnes, co-author of FIGHT: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House, both Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz were completely blindsided by the loss.
“They really thought they were going to win… Kamala Harris looked at her crowd sizes, at the number of volunteers, at the fundraising figures—and she believed she had the momentum. Everyone inside the campaign believed it too.”
Parnes noted that the optimism stemmed largely from internal assumptions rather than on-the-ground voter trends.
Obama’s doubts about Kamala Harris as the democratic nominee
Another revealing detail came from co-author Jonathan Allen, who shared that former President Barack Obama had expressed early doubts about Harris’s ability to win the election.
“He didn’t think she was the best choice for Democrats. He worked quietly behind the scenes to push for a mini-primary or an open convention, because he didn’t believe Kamala could beat Trump.”
This lack of confidence from a senior party figure may have undermined Harris’s campaign from the start.
While she has yet to announce any political plans, Kamala Harris’s recent public remarks suggest she remains committed to defending democratic values.
Though no longer in elected office, her influence—especially among women, younger voters, and communities of color—remains strong.
As American politics enters a new phase, voices like Harris’s could continue to play a vital role in shaping the Democratic Party’s future and mobilizing civic action.