Stacey Abrams Says Trump’s Re-Election Wasn’t a ‘Seismic Shift’ or ‘Slide Victory’

Stacey Abrams said on MSNBC Monday that President-elect Donald Trump’s victory did not indicate a “seismic shift.”

“We continue to remember badly what happened in November. Yes, Donald Trump won the election, but it wasn’t a landslide,” Abrams told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes.

“It was an equally divided nation. He got more people, but it wasn’t the seismic shift where 57, 58 percent of America said no,” the two-time failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate said.

Shortly after winning the popular vote and the electoral college, Trump vowed to lead a “golden age of America” ​​as he launched the “greatest political movement of all time.”

The future commander-in-chief’s second presidential victory included the inclusion of all the battleground states, as well as Republicans winning majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate. In addition, Trump improved his share of the vote across the country, starting in conservative areas but extending to deeply Democratic states.

Vice President Kamala Harris congratulated Trump by phone the next morning and later delivered her concession speech at her alma mater, Howard University.

The achievement has been defined by many as a mandate from the American people, who are fed up with economic problems, a border crisis and a broken immigration system.

Still, Abrams said, “It was less than 50 percent of the electorate that said this is what we want.”

According to the Associated Press, Trump received 49.9% of the total national vote.

During the interview, Abrams also reflected on the legacy of the late President Jimmy Carter by discussing “decency” in politics. She urged Democrats to “broaden the ambition of civility” to bring more people into the party.

“I think politeness is a choice. It’s a tough choice, but one that, when viewed authentically, has this confidence-boosting, morale-boosting effect. It cannot in itself be the only offering, and I think what we saw, unfortunately, with President Carter, was that when decency meets humiliation – humiliation has an upper hand because he’s willing to do things that politeness does not. This does not mean that you abandon decency.”

She further argued, “Our responsibility is for decency to show those who stayed home, those who stayed silent, that there is a place for decency and a place for them,” she told Hayes. “That’s the job to do next.”

Abrams, a Democrat, made headlines after refusing to concede the 2018 gubernatorial run to Republican Brian Kemp after he lost by 60,000 votes. In 2019, Abrams said “we won” despite the final result and Kemp’s inauguration, though she has since argued that she accepted the results in 2018.

She had also suggested that Kemp, as Georgia’s secretary of state, adopt policies to suppress voters.

Abrams ran again for governor of Georgia and lost on November 8, 2022. Abrams, despite never officially admitting her defeat to Kemp, was heralded as an icon of election reform.