Kamala Harris said Wednesday that “we must accept the results of this election” as she encouraged supporters to continue fighting for their vision of the country after her loss to Donald Trump.

The Democratic vice president said the battle would continue "in the voting booth, in the courts and in the public square.”

“Sometimes the fight takes a while,” she said. “That doesn’t mean we won’t win.”

Harris delivered her remarks at Howard University, her alma mater and one of the country's most prominent historically Black schools, in the same spot where she hoped to give a victory speech.

“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign,” Harris said.

Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, was in the audience. So were Reps. Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker, and Barbara Lee, both from Harris’ home state of California.

Before her speech, Harris called Trump to concede the election and congratulate him on his victory. She said, “We will engage in a peaceful transfer of power.”

Harris, once viewed as a potential savior for the Democratic Party after Joe Biden 's reelection 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.

Biden plans to address the election results on Thursday. The White House said he spoke with Harris and Trump on Wednesday, and he invited the president-elect to meet with him soon.

David Plouffe, a top Harris adviser, said campaign staffers “left it all on the field for their country.”

“We dug out of a deep hole but not enough,” he said. “A devastating loss."

In a bitter footnote for Harris, as the sitting vice president she is expected to oversee Congress' ceremonial certification of the election.