– Trump is an exception because he refused to realize that he lost last time. Whether Harris will participate in the nomination process in 2028, it is too early to say anything about, says Restad, who is an associate professor at Oslo Nye Høyskole
Donald Trump won the presidential election in the United States on Wednesday night, and vice-president and presidential candidate Kamala Harris has not yet commented on the defeat. Restad says it is difficult to predict what Harris will concentrate on in the speech she will give on Wednesday evening.
– In her speech, Hillary Clinton focused on the fact that she was the first woman to stand as a presidential candidate, and that she was not quite able to break the glass ceiling, says Restad about the result when the Democrats’ candidate lost the election in 2016.
Too early to conclude
– But it is always noticeable that you can expect a calm and sane response from the Democrats, which is the opposite of what would have happened if Trump had lost, Restad continues.
She points out that it is too early to determine what may have been decisive for the election until all the figures are in place and confirmed, and that it is therefore not clear what made Trump win and Harris lose.
– We have to wait a bit for the verified figures from the voters to see. It seems likely that the decisive factor is that people’s personal finances do not feel good, that things are expensive, and that people have voted with the hope of a better personal economy.
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Question mark
Harris became a presidential candidate this summer after incumbent President Joe Biden resigned, and therefore did not have as much time as Trump to establish himself in the minds of the American people.
– Of course, she started with the fact that she was not that well known to the voters and was met with question marks. As a person, she has made a good impression and conducted a very strong debate against Trump, says Restad about Harris.
She believes the Democrats will now go through an intense internal discussion about what went wrong, which will determine whether she has support in the party going forward.
– It depends on whether you point to her, Biden or the economy. It will lay guidelines for how welcome she is.
Read also: Donald Trump has promised this: – Will not say how it looks
Read comment: President Joe Biden gave Kamala Harris a hopeless starting point, writes Lars West Johnsen