Former President Bill Clinton and ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton commented on the election results on Wednesday.
They praised Vice President Kamala Harris and Minesota Gov. Tim Walz for running a “positive, forward-looking campaign” and acknowledged the election win of President-elect Donald Trump and his running mate Sen. J.D. Vance, saying, “We wish them well and hope they will govern for all of us.”
The Clinton’s had actively supported Harris’s campaign, with both actively out on the campaign trail stumping for the vice president ahead of the election.
“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,” they stated. “We need to solve our problems and seize our opportunities together. The future of our country depends on it.”
Former President Barack Obama also congratulated Trump on his remarkable electoral win, attributing the Democrats’ loss to inflation woes.
“[T]he results are in, and we want to congratulate President Trump and Senator Vance on their victory,” Obama penned. “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.”
Obama attributed his party’s losses to the pandemic and its impact on skyrocketing inflation.
“Michelle and I could not be prouder of Vice President Harris and Governor Walz – two extraordinary public servants who ran a remarkable campaign,” he 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.”
Obama noted that there was “good news” as the “problems are solvable,” but asserted that will only happen if Americans “listen to each other.”
He stressed the importance of maintaining constitutional principles and democratic norms in a diverse country.
“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.
