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Former President Barack Obama congratulated President-elect Donald Trump on his astounding electoral victory and blamed inflation for the devastating loss for Democrats.
Obama released the statement on Wednesday afternoon after Election Day about the time that Vice President Kamala Harris ended her concession speech at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
'Progress requires us to extend good faith and grace - even to people with whom we deeply disagree.'
"[T]he results are in, and we want to congratulate President Trump and Senator Vance on their victory," wrote Obama. "This is 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."
While the vote tabulation is still ongoing, Trump appears to have increased his support among nearly every demographic and in every single state. Some have projected Republicans to have seized control of the U.S. Senate, and the fate of the House of Representatives remains to be determined.
Obama assigned the blame for his party's devastating losses on the pandemic and the resultant inflation.
"Michelle and I could not be prouder of Vice President Harris and Governor Walz - two extraordinary public servants who ran a remarkable campaign," Obama continued. "As I said on the campaign trail, America has been through a lot over the last few years - from a historic pandemic and price hikes resulting from the pandemic, to rapid change and the feeling a lot of folks have that, no matter how hard they work, treading water is the best they can do. Those conditions have created headwinds for democratic incumbents around the world, and last night showed that America is not immune."
Polls showed that high inflation and the state of the economy were among the most important concerns for likely voters in the election.
"The good news is that these problems are solvable - but only if we listen to each other, and only if we abide by the core constitutional principles and democratic norms that made this country great. 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," Obama continued.
"That's how we've come this far, and it's how we'll keep building a country that is more fair and more just, more equal and more free," he concluded.
Harris said in her concession speech that she had congratulated Trump and his running mate JD Vance and had promised to help facilitate a peaceful transfer of power.
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