In a moment that caught Kamala Harris and her team completely by surprise, Donald Trump—known for his combative political style—responded with unexpected grace when Harris phoned to concede the 2024 presidential race. He commended her on running a “great” campaign and called her a “tough cookie,” according to revelations in a new book.
On the call, which took place the day after the election, Harris reportedly said, “I’m calling to concede. It was a fair election. The peaceful transfer of power is important. It’s important to the country,” as detailed in Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History by author Chris Whipple.
She didn’t hang up without getting in a subtle remark about Trump’s often polarizing style, adding, “I hope you’re president for all Americans.”
Rather than reacting defensively, Trump took the high road and expressed admiration for Harris’ campaign effort, even though she had entered the race late. Whipple writes that the president-elect was in a celebratory mood following his unprecedented win.
“You’re a tough cookie. You were really great. And that Doug — what a character! I love that guy,” Trump told her, referring fondly to her husband, Doug Emhoff.
Despite Trump’s cordial tone, one of Harris’ staffers didn’t buy it and viewed his demeanor as suspicious given his usual rhetoric during the campaign.
“I was like, what?” the aide reportedly exclaimed. “Honestly, I felt like, what is this? It’s so manipulative. He’s a sociopath.”
The now-routine concession call almost didn’t happen at all, as technical glitches made the process unexpectedly clumsy, according to Whipple’s account.
Harris’ campaign chief of staff Sheila Nix and her White House chief of staff Lorraine Voles tried to initiate the call from the vice president’s residence at the Naval Observatory in Washington, DC. But when Harris attempted to dial Trump, the phones wouldn’t connect properly.
Ultimately, Voles used her own phone to call Trump and then passed it to Harris while she and Nix physically pressed their devices together to complete the conversation, Whipple reports.
As Trump’s voice came through the line, Harris reportedly “felt the weight of the crushing defeat,” capturing the emotional toll of the moment, Whipple writes.
The book, Uncharted, is set to be released on Tuesday.
{Matzav.com}