Quotes
Otherwise, it is very fragile, and it will not be able to withstand moments of crisis. And today, America's democracy stood,
she said
If I was between a rock and a hard place and the only one that could deliver me is Donald Trump I would be preparing for my bye-bye,
Sharpton said
It was about what should be the norm and what the American people should be able to take for granted, which is that one of the most important pillars of our democracy is that there will be a peaceful transfer of power,
Harris saidShe did that with so much grace, so much dignity, so much poise, so much backbone — it was a feeling of pride watching her,
Blunt Rochester saidIn these next two years, we will see how these [Trump] policies work, whether it’s tariffs, whether it’s getting tax cuts to billionaires” — or if Republicans, who have a governing trifecta in Washington, try to enact overhauls to Social Security and the Affordable Care Act
Blunt Rochester saidThere was something about the moment that I raised my right hand and looked into [Harris’] eyes that made the moment real, made me feel alive, made me understand … the responsibility, the joy of service and the pride even standing there in front of her taking this oath,
Blunt Rochester said of her swearing in ceremonyThere is a growing sentiment among some folks in the party that we can’t talk about it because [saving democracy] doesn’t resonate,
a senior Harris campaign aide told The Recast
People who are running — they’re going to have to take claim for the stuff that they did when they were holding office. Who was there for the original bail reform? Who signed some of these procedures? You’re going to have to answer these questions,
the mayor said, when asked how he’d run against CuomoThe election did not come out the way we had hoped it would come out,
the senator told The Recast following Monday’s certification of Trump’s 312-226 electoral college victoryI do believe very strongly that America's democracy is only as strong as our willingness to fight for — every single person, their willingness to fight for — and respect the importance of our democracy,
Harris told reporters afterward
The January 6th insurrection shook our Republic to its core - and left behind physical scars and emotional trauma on members of our congressional community and our country that endure to this day,
Democrat Nancy Pelosi, who was House speaker at the time of the riot, said in a statementWe cannot accept a repeat of what occurred four years ago,
he saidThere are no election deniers on our side of the aisle,
the minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, said on the first day of the new Congress
Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered,
Orwell wroteWhat I saw was just a war scene,
Capitol police officer Caroline Edwards later told the House January 6 committeeWe ran and crawled on our knees to safety with the fear of death hanging over our heads. They left the statues in statuary hall broken and smeared with excrement and blood. Police officers were bloodied, beaten, battered, and died. It was like playing a role in a horror movie and hoping that it would soon come to an end.”
In aThen-President Trump and his allies had sought to exploit ambiguities in the arcane law to overturn the results of the 2020 election,
Politico reported
As much as any other principle, it is what distinguishes our system of government from monarchy or tyranny,
the vice president continued
The peaceful transfer of power is one of the most fundamental principles of American democracy."
Harris has rarely appeared in public following the 2024 election, but she said in a video posted to social media Monday morningToday, I did what I have done my entire career, which is take seriously the oath that I have taken many times to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, which included today performing my constitutional duties to ensure that the people of America, the voters of America, will have their votes counted,
the vice president stated