Kamala Harris certifies her defeat against Donald Trump

Entering the Senate chamber on Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris made a simple statement when asked by NBC News about the presidency’s certification of the 2024 election: “Democracy prevails.”

Minutes later, Harris followed through, leading Congress toward collective approval of the electoral vote she lost and affirming Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

With her hands clasped in front of her, Harris looked clearly and intently as four senators took turns reading each state’s election totals.

She broke into a wide smile both when the vote totals reached a threshold to declare Trump the next president and when she received a standing ovation from her party when her vote totals were read .

Harris’ message on Jan. 6 was one that she and her predecessor on the campaign trail, President Joe Biden, have repeatedly delivered to voters. They advocated for “freedom” and democracy and avoided the events of the violent riot by Trump supporters on January 6, 2021, which saw an unprecedented attack on the nation’s Capitol.

That day, compared to four years earlier, was missing a gallows and a noose constructed outside the Capitol grounds. Or chants for hanging the vice president for failing to reject the will of the people and the true outcome of the election. Instead, the event happened the way it was supposed to happen, pro forma, in all but 30 minutes.

Ultimately, the American electorate rejected Harris, paving the way for Trump and his promise to explode the status quo. Trump won 312 electoral votes to Harris’s 226, won the popular vote and swept battleground states, including knocking down Democrats’ so-called “blue wall” states typically necessary for their party’s victory .

In contrast to Trump’s refusal to accept the 2020 results, Harris acknowledged defeat and attempted to offer her supporters comforting words in the aftermath of the election.

“The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, nor what we fought for, nor what we voted for, but hear me when I say…the light of the American promise will always shine ” Harris said.