Where is Kamala Harris?

Something is currently missing from America’s political landscape – no, not just the traditional concession speech of the losing candidate, but also the losing candidate herself. Kamala Harris – now officially a “former” presidential candidate – is nowhere to be found.

Of course, it’s still early and Harris will likely show up at some point in the coming hours or days. But as she did during her short and arduous presidential campaign, she is proving to be a master of political and cultural volatility.

Ultimately, this turned out to be Harris’ Achilles heel. While Donald Trump – all the spectacular assassination attempts and endless persuasion – has left little undiscovered or unsaid over the course of his career, Harris refused to really let America in. Plagued by her penchant for verbal gaffes and goofy laughter, she carefully relied on endorsements from celebrity-designed media outlets to tell her story—rather than tell it herself.

Right now, in this moment of regime change so monumental that it is sparking fears of violence, America needs Harris to stand up, get out and help his followers figure out what happens next. Harris must publicly accept Trump’s victory.

Like Hillary Clinton, who formally and gracefully conceded to Trump almost immediately, Harris must help forge a path forward. Both for the sulking progressives who are stunned that they have lost – again – and for the entire nation, for whom the old will soon be completely new again.

As America prepares for Trump 2.0, Americans need Kamala Harris to reassure those who didn’t support him that all is not lost – that the system worked, that the results are authentic, that democracy is not dead and that the will of the people is fulfilled always comes first.

Harris always positioned himself as the ultimate “anti-Trump” – all decency compared to his abrasiveness. In the days following President Biden’s 2020 victory, Trump hid, insulted and refused to honor the traditions of the presidential transition. That’s why the most “anti-Trump” thing Harris can do right now is be the graceful loser Trump never became.