Trump won a historic victory on Tuesday, becoming the first Republican since 2004 to win the popular vote. The Obamas and Clintons had gone all in on Vice President Kamala Harris, hitting the campaign trail to advocate her. Despite giving increasingly dire warnings about Trump in the final weeks of the election, Harris lost in one of the largest Democratic defeats since the Reagan landslide in 1984.
The Obamas and Clintons both released statements on Wednesday congratulating Trump on his victory while also praising Harris’s campaign.
“Over the last few weeks and through Election Day, millions of Americans cast their votes not just for president, but for leaders at every level,” the Obamas’ statement read. “Now the results are in, and we want to congratulate President Trump and Senator Vance on their victory.”
They acknowledged that the results were “obviously not the outcome we had hoped for, given our profound disagreements with the Republican ticket on a whole host of issues.”
“But living in a democracy is about recognizing that our point of view won’t always win out, and being willing to accept the peaceful transfer of power,” their statement added.
The couple blamed the loss on the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, saying, “Those conditions have created headwinds for democratic incumbents around the world, and last night showed that America is not immune.”
The Clintons released a more succinct statement along similar lines, though they stopped short of explicitly congratulating Trump.
“Kamala Harris and Tim Walz ran a positive, forward-looking campaign to be proud of,” the Clintons said in a joint statement. “The American people have voted, and Donald Trump and J.D. Vance will be the next President and Vice President of the United States. We wish them well and hope they will govern for all of us.”
“We must remember that America is bigger than the results of any one election, and what we as citizens do now will make the difference between a nation that moves forward or one that falls back,” the couple added.
Barack Obama was arguably the most active of the four in campaigning for Harris, hitting the campaign trail alongside her in the concluding weeks, specifically targeting black men. His rhetoric had grown increasingly alarmist in the final weeks.
He denounced Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, saying the speakers were “peddling the most racist, sexist, bigoted stereotypes.”
Michelle Obama scolded voters who would even contemplate voting for Trump at a rally in late October, saying that their choice would define what “side of history” they were on.
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She warned voters to “not hand our fates over to the likes of Trump, who knows nothing about us, who has shown a deep contempt for us. So fellas, before you cast your vote, ask yourselves: What side of history do you want to be on?”
Barack Obama has played a major role in Democratic politics since leaving office.
