Chicago Tonight: Black Voices
Local Reaction to Kamala Harris' Loss in 2024 Race
Clip: 11/6/2024 | 11mVideo has Closed Captions
Vice President Kamala Harris is encouraging a peaceful transfer of power.
President-elect Donald Trump's victory marks a sweeping political comeback for a candidate who refused to accept defeat four years ago, was convicted on felony charges and survived two assassination attempts.
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Chicago Tonight: Black Voices is a local public television program presented by WTTW
Chicago Tonight: Black Voices
Local Reaction to Kamala Harris' Loss in 2024 Race
Clip: 11/6/2024 | 11mVideo has Closed Captions
President-elect Donald Trump's victory marks a sweeping political comeback for a candidate who refused to accept defeat four years ago, was convicted on felony charges and survived two assassination attempts.
Problems with Closed Captions? Closed Captioning Feedback
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>> First off tonight, Kamala Harris is encouraging a peaceful transfer of power as she concedes the race for president to Donald Trump.
President-elect Trump's victory marks is sweeping political comeback for candidate who refused to accept defeat 4 years ago was convicted on felony charges and survived 2 assassination attempts.
The defeat leaves Democrats, though, to pick up the pieces and figure out a path forward for their party here with their reactions are Patrick handling co-founder of operations, swing state, Michelle duster, author, historian and great granddaughter of Ida B Wells, San Tito Jackson, host of the Santee to Jackson Show and Devin Jones Republican in the 18th Ward and chairman of the South Side, Republicans welcome all of you to Chicago in black voices.
Welcome back.
And we've seen all of you before what a day of first briefly, I want to hear your reaction to the news Devin Jones and actually gonna start with shoulder.
You know, I think it was a good night for Republicans across the country.
>> having a the Senate, the House seemingly and and definitely with president.
Former President Trump.
>> Winning, I look forward to some of the policies that they plan on Introducing I think a lot of people of the conservative mindset.
I'm looking forward to a more limited government, less taxes and different things like that.
So it was a good night for Republicans that tend Jackson.
>> Well, I was not a good night for me.
Yeah, but, you know, I thought it was a good night for the country.
A great night for the country.
We saw a woman take a negative and turn it into a positive take a negative campaign position and make it a competitive one.
And I saw her break through a glass ceiling.
She chips just a little bit more than Hillary Clinton did.
I had the privilege of knowing as you I do stand these historical figures knowing Shirley Chisholm and she said while.
Sixes and was her greatest foe when she ran for president, she said I thought that racism was going to be my greatest barrier, but it was sexism.
Sexism is as Nick Kristoff of The New York Times said in 2008 while racism, we sell with proper help.
Obama was white.
Sexism is deeper, but we saw her even with those hurdles lead very, very high and go back to Howard University.
She's my fellow by Sunday just a year behind me encourage someone who in that audience I've been for the Senate House of Representatives, State seat someone who needed to be encourage someone who I become president themselves.
I lift nation today.
believe it was her finest moment.
She did encourage spoke directly to the young people in her audience today.
>> Michelle Duster, what was your reaction to?
I'm actually still trying to process everything >> I mean, very disappointing to me on, you know, I thought that we were farther along in our country when it came to looking at qualifications versus all the isms.
And so, you know, to me, the candidates worst starkly different.
And I really believe if there professional backgrounds were reversed, then it would have been no contest for Kamala Harris.
So the fact that you have somebody with the background that Trump had against somebody with the background of Kamala Harris in for him to come out the victor.
I just think it says so much that I'm still trying to process Patrick family.
Of course, he works on you know, getting volunteers to go to neighboring swing states.
>> What did you hear?
You know, as obviously the co-founder of the organization and therefore he spent a lot of time in Michigan, Wisconsin.
What did you hear from those voters?
>> So a lot of what we heard throughout the cycle Deep distaste for President Trump, but a stronger, perhaps frustration with pocketbook issues.
I mean, when prices are up 20% in 4 years, that hits in a way that even topics that are so important, us like democracy just don't touch.
And so we heard a lot of that on the doors.
I think a lot of conversations that are volunteers had did change minds, did bring out folks to vote for Kamala for Democrats.
But it wasn't enough.
>> Based on what you heard from those voters, were you surprised with this outcome?
I was I was surprised by the magnitude of the outcome across the country.
And I do take some small solace in looking at the counties that we knocked.
And I see a smaller shift to the right in places like Southeast Michigan or Southwest as our southwest Michigan Southeast Wisconsin.
But across the board, you see 3 to 6 point shift towards Donald Trump in places like New Jersey, New York across the country which tells us this is a broader secular trend.
But you know what?
I don't think shifting toward Donald Trump.
I think this shifting toward pocketbook issues.
>> And shifting toward a lot of pain.
I think we cannot ever underestimate.
Impact of the housing crash in the early 2, thousands, 2008 watching Wall Street over take Main Street and Americans have been struggling with that.
But I would have to say this because I think of Ida B wells and how we continue to win every day.
I saw my father after the Michigan primary in 1988 when it looked for look like for a moment that he would be the nominee, he had to find a way to turn around and make this a win.
And that is what it will stand.
She said, you know, I leave with you like And Mary McLeod Bethune.
I wound up hope.
And you're gonna keep on pushing because these problems don't end with us.
just have to pick up a tiny continue to run our race.
>> You know, I also want to say to that, I think that there's a a distrust of government for for many people.
unfortunately, Vice President Harris represents government.
You know what I'm saying and so when you look at Chicago on a lot of people are upset about a migrant crisis that that they feel like they don't have any control over.
You know, many people are displeased with with their their various mayors across the country, the various Democrat politicians, and unfortunately for help for her campaign.
I think they took some of that one and some of the swing states and various areas.
So what what you do see was pocketbook issues.
You saw distrust of of government and she has been in government for may be almost definitely my entire adult life.
38, right.
out so that, you know, I don't want people to get lost.
if they like President Trump by President Trump's personality are not.
>> People look that policies, people look at the 4 years that he was president and they made a choice based off of fall in love.
You fall in line.
So even if you don't love him.
You say, look, he's a horse on ride on.
And that's and that's what I saw with Republicans.
And I can appreciate that, although I disagree with it, it certain political discipline that you all do have I'm a little bit more emotional about this.
But I take this as a win.
I'm very excited about what all that she has done.
I'm so proud of her.
>> delivered a concession speech this afternoon about 3 o'clock local time.
Actually more like here's a listen.
>> At the same time.
our nation.
>> We owe loyalty not to a president or a party, but to the Constitution of the United States.
>> And loyalty to our conscience and to our got.
My allegiance to all 3 is why I am here to say.
While I can see this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign.
>> Michelle duster, she only had about 100 days or so to campaign after President Joe Biden stepped out of the race.
Do you think she could have had a better chance at reaching voters had had this been done a lot sooner.
Had there been maybe a different sort of Democratic primary or opportunity for Democrats to to the select who's going to run and should be given more time to get to the office.
>> Oh, yeah, absolutely.
I mean, Donald Trump has been in the public spear for over a decade.
And Kamala Harris was only maybe she is vice president.
She took more of a backseat.
And as far as the you know, knowledge of her.
So she really didn't have a very short amount of time, especially compared to 10 plus years.
That's just with the presidency mine.
And you know, and then you add all of other exposure of Donald Trump.
So people pretty much grown up with him.
Patrick, going into this race.
You know, we a lot of Poles were telling us that it was virtually tied, a virtual dead heat.
>> This was not a tie.
Not even close.
This is a decisive victory for President Trump.
Do you Vice President Harris, his reluctance to separate herself from Joe Biden?
Because I think we know that that moment on the view when she said there was not much different, might have been a bit of a turning point for her.
Do you think that that hurt her on echo?
It's in Teton.
Michelle have said about how.
>> Historic this race has been.
How difficult the race has been for the vice president to define herself while also defining President Trump as a danger to democracy that she did that he And I would just say, I do think it was impossible campaign to run against headwinds that we're truly historic, just given prices and given the mood of the electorate, given the issues that people are frustrated about that were addressed during the Biden administration, but certainly not solved.
And it reflects a broader frustration that I think we've been dealing with for for 5 presidential campaigns.
Now where folks are looking for serious change in the way that we do politics and government here in He she ran to him and for years she ran for months and I can't help but think that she was a Douglas where she and both went to Howard University, Frederick Douglass Hall.
>> As someone who really ushered us into a new America Fred with President Lincoln and the fact that she delivered that speech today lifting us above politics, lifting us really out of our own pain today.
It just I just really feel a sense of victory, you know, and we have taken out of the way was a to B.
But I think your friends sitting to your left would say it is the Republicans who who were the victors here because they house is still in play.
We're going to talk about that a little bit more coming up.
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