Mother Jones illustration; Mark Schiefelbein/AP

Since Donald Trump won re-election, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both did what the current president-elect and his fellow Republicans refused to do in 2020: publicly accept loss and support a peaceful transition of power.

In a speech Thursday morning outside the White House, Biden told Americans, “We accept the choice the country has made.”

“I have said many times,” he continued, “You can’t love your country only when you win. You cannot love your neighbor only when you agree.” He added: “One thing I hope we can do, no matter who you voted for, is see each other not as adversaries but as fellow Americans. Lower the temperature.”

The remarks, both unifying and a call for calm, contrasted sharply with Trump’s campaign rhetoric in the last period of the elections, which included Trump just this weekend saying it would be “ok” if journalists were shot. Biden’s speech was also radically different from Trump’s almost constant conspiracy theories and his allies promoted after Trump lost 2020 elections.

President Biden: “Failures are inevitable, but giving up is unforgivable… The American experiment endures. We’ll be fine, but we have to stay engaged. We have to keep going.” pic.twitter.com/hZoGsFc7yl

— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 7, 2024

In an apparent allusion to Trump’s attacks on the voting system, Biden added Thursday that he hoped “we can put an end to a question about the integrity of the American electoral system. It is honest, fair and transparent and can be trusted, win or lose,” he said. Of course, now that Trump has won, GOP suddenly seems to agree with this, despite the fact that they and their candidate spent years sowing doubt in the electoral system –including until election night.

The president also told Americans who voted for Harris to keep the faith and continue to fight peacefully for what they believe in. “Failures are inevitable,” Biden said. “Giving up is unforgivable.”

“The American experiment lasts, we’ll be fine, but we have to stay engaged,” the president added. “We have to keep going and above all we have to keep the faith.”

Harris hit a similar tone during her concession speech at Howard University on Wednesday. “The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for,” Harris told the crowd. “But hear me say, hear me say, America’s light of promise will always burn bright as long as we never give up and as long as we fight.”

Harris, too recognized that “people are feeling and experiencing a range of emotions right now,” but urged his supporters to continue to accept the election results.

“A fundamental tenet of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results,” she continued. “This principle, like any other, distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny.”

The dual speeches came at a time of rife concerns that American democracy and so many civil liberties hang in the balance with Trump’s return to power. But with the future so unknown — and even scary — for many, both Harris’ and Biden’s post-election remarks reminded Americans of what leadership looks like: recognition and respect for the will of the people, and reminded them that the future of American democracy remains at stake. peaceful fight for.

Spokesmen for the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.