Many voters and supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris have shown they have not taken her defeat to President-elect Donald Trump well. Numerous social media posts have shown Harris supporters expressing great despair and dismay over the results of the 2024 presidential election. Now, a Democratic senator is telling those upset over the election results that they have a right to be angry but also should be ready to “fight” and “get to work.”
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) took to his social media accounts on Sunday to post a video about his opinions on the 2024 presidential election. He acknowledged feeling sad and upset; he even mentioned engaging in some self-reflection. He warned of “tough times ahead” and claimed things were “not OK.”
“Like many of you in this moment, I think I have felt the full range of emotion: shock, hurt, anger, fear, pain,” Booker said during the opening of his video. “And I’ve done my share of introspection.”
“It’s hard to work through the consequences of this election, from Project 2025 to Trump threatening retribution and even prosecution against people who stood against him,” Booker said. “So yeah, it’s hard now, and there are tough times ahead. Things are not OK. We should feel grief but never despair. We should be angry but not bitter, sad but not cynical. This is a defeat, but we are not defeated. I promise you, there is something in all of us that is unconquerable.”
Booker then advised those people who were hurting and disappointed with the election results to take inspiration from historical moments and leaders of the past. He asked people to remember the tragedies, oppression, and challenges they faced before overcoming such obstacles and moving the “nation forward.”
“Our ancestors’ legacy to us is a master’s class in invincible spirit, to never giving up, to unconquerable love,” Booker said. “I don’t know for sure what’s going to happen. We have to be ready, though, to stand up and do the work. I know we may lose some of the fights ahead, but if we fight, we will win some, too.”
The senator from New Jersey then encouraged supporters to do good because that is what was needed now in the country and the world. He reminded people they were “not powerless” and could “still love one another.”
“We can still help people. We can still protect people. We can still put our arms around folks, and to someone today, we can be a ray of light in a dark, tough time,” Booker said. “We can, we will, do good. Because no righteous word, no noble act, no kind deed, is ever in vain. We are our ancestors’ dreams and the only hope for a better tomorrow. Let’s be hope, not look for it, and let’s start now.”
