Kamala Harris concedes, says ‘keep fighting’

Compared to 2016, this Trump victory has seemed to come with an air of resignation among his opponents—gone is the shock of Trump’s win for those who eight years ago never thought he could be elected to office, replaced instead with a weariness and reevaluation of where the U.S. is today. There have been few calls to “resist,” at least in that language, and, so far, no pink pussy hats. (Before the election, reporting showed that many Gen Zers didn’t even remember Trump’s “grab ’em by the pussy” video, so shocking at the time and released when today’s 22-year-old was 14.) Trump won the popular vote this time, creating a different dynamic than 2016’s impulse to resist minority rule.

Yet in her concession speech yesterday, Harris rallied her supporters. “Keep fighting,” she told the crowd at her alma mater Howard University, the historically Black school. “While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign, the fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness and the dignity of all people, a fight for the ideals at the heart of our nation, the ideals that reflect America at our best. That is a fight I will never give up.”

Not mentioned in Harris’s speech was the historic nature of her candidacy—there was no nod to the “highest, hardest glass ceiling“—consistent with how Harris messaged throughout her short campaign. Instead, there was a focus on a peaceful transfer of power—the most salient variable in 2020.

At 60, Harris is still young by political standards; many of us will be watching what she does next. During her speech, she uttered the word “fight” about 20 times. The Democratic Party clearly has some soul-searching and strategizing to do. But for now, Harris’s speech aimed to energize. “Don’t ever give up,” she said.

Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com

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ALSO IN THE HEADLINES

– Behind the scenes. Highly influential within Donald Trump’s inner circle, co-campaign manager Susan Wiles helped lead Trump to victory. Wiles, who prefers to remain out of the spotlight, is known for her calmness but also willingness to disagree with Trump. Wall Street Journal

– Back in the picture. Absent from most of the presidential campaign, Ivanka Trump was back by her father’s side at his victory rally Tuesday night. She previously said she would support him from “outside the political arena.” The Cut

– Shaping up. Planet Fitness, with new CEO Colleen Keating, is looking to acquire Blink Holdings, a budget-friendly gym chain that filed for bankruptcy in August. After Planet Fitness’s initial bid was rejected, it submitted two offers—$142 million for Blink’s assets (with a $28.4 million) deposit and $155 million (with a $31 million deposit). CNBC

– Disease delay. Helen Giza, CEO of the largest kidney dialysis company Fresenius Medical Care, said that weight-loss drugs, like Ozempic, could help chronic kidney disease patients on dialysis live longer, delaying the start of end-stage renal disease. “It’s not curing kidney disease, but it will give more protection,” Giza said. Guardian

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

iRobot, a consumer robot company, named Karian Wong CFO, succeeding Julie Zeiler, and named Jules Connelly CHRO. Previously, Wong was the company’s SVP and principal accounting officer. Connelly was senior director of human resources.

DISCO, an AI legal technology company, named Lauren Caruso senior vice president and chief sales officer. Most recently, she was VP of sales at Second Nature; she was previously DISCO’s VP of North American sales.

JLL Income Property Trust, a NAV REIT, appointed Lisa Kaufman to its board of directors. Kaufman is the head of LaSalle Global Solutions for LaSalle Investment Management.

HighByte, an industrial software company, appointed Megan Buntain to its board of directors. Buntain is currently chief marketing and strategy officer at Seeq.

FIS, a fintech company, appointed Kourtney Gibson to its board of directors. She serves as CEO, retirement solutions at TIAA.

Floor & Decor Holdings, a flooring distributor, appointed Nada Aried to its board of directors. She is executive vice president and chief digital technology officer at Safelite Autoglass.

ON MY RADAR

The next Trump administration’s crackdown on abortion will be swift, brutal, and nationwide Slate

Harris hoped to ride abortion to another post-Dobbs Democratic victory. It didn’t work Politico

She hoped her pregnancy story would matter. Then came election night Washington Post

PARTING WORDS

“In a country as big and diverse as ours, we won’t always see eye to eye on everything. But progress requires us to extend good faith and grace—even to people with whom we deeply disagree.”

—Former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s statement on the election results