Kamala Harris calls Donald Trump to concede US presidential election

Kamala Harris called US president-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday to concede the election and congratulate him on his victory, according to a senior adviser to the US vice-president.

The aide, who declined to be identified discussing a private conversation, said Harris talked about the need for a peaceful transfer of power.

Harris, once viewed as a potential saviour for the Democratic Party after Joe Biden ‘s re-election campaign stalled, is reckoning with a profound rejection by American voters in this year’s presidential election.

She trailed in every battleground state to Trump, a man she described as an existential danger to the country’s foundational institutions.

And Trump appeared on track to win the popular vote for the first time in his three campaigns for the White House – even after two impeachments, felony convictions and his attempt to overturn his previous election loss.

Harris planned to deliver a concession speech Wednesday at 4pm, her office announced. She will speak at Howard University, her alma mater in Washington, where her supporters watched returns Tuesday night before being sent home after midnight as Trump pulled ahead in battleground states.