Vice President-elect Kamala Harris says she applauds Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for publicly acknowledging the outcome of the presidential election and speaking to President-elect Joe Biden.
But, she wishes he had done so earlier.
In her first solo-interview since the election set to air on Wednesday morning — a portion of which was released on Tuesday night — Harris addressed McConnell’s decision to acknowledge that Biden is the president-elect.
She told ABC’s Robin Roberts, “I think it’s critically important that the leaders of our government, especially those who are elected to the highest officesm that we dedicate ourselves to a peaceful transition of power, and to an adherence to, and a respect for, the Constitution of the United States and our electoral system.”
“We literally take an oath, each one of us, when we take these offices to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. And so, I applaud Mitch McConnell for talking to Joe Biden today.”
Still, she said, “It would have been better if it were earlier, but it happened, and that’s what’s most important… Let’s move forward. And where we can find common purpose and common ground, let’s do that.”
“Let that be our priority. As opposed to finding out where we disagree, let’s actually focus on where we might agree, and then get some work done,” she added.
Watch the video below:
EXCLUSIVE: Vice Pres.-elect Kamala Harris applauds Senate Majority Leader McConnell for accepting election results, telling @RobinRoberts, “It would’ve been better if it were earlier, but it happened…that’s what’s most important.” MORE TOMORROW on @GMA. https://t.co/jZhtOyuCtz pic.twitter.com/Avr4JpyLlY
— Good Morning America (@GMA) December 15, 2020
In the six weeks since the election, McConnell has avoided calling Biden the president-elect as he noted the Electoral College had not yet voted.
But, following the Electoral College’s vote, McConnell spoke on the Senate floor on Tuesday and acknowledged that Biden is the president-elect. He said, “Yesterday, electors met in all 50 states. So, as of this morning, our country has officially a president-elect and a vice president-elect.”
He continued, “Many millions of us had hoped the presidential election would yield a different result. But our system of government has processes to determine who will be sworn in on January the 20th. The electoral college has spoken.”
“Today, I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden. The president-elect is no stranger to the Senate. He’s devoted himself to public service for many years,” he added.
After McConnell’s speech, Biden told reporters he had a “good conversation” with the Republican leader and added that he is “looking forward to working with him.”
While McConnell and several other Republicans said Biden had won the election, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the Electoral College vote was just “one step in the constitutional process,” and that Trump was still “involved in ongoing litigation related to the election.”
