It also underscores the fact that, fundamentally, this was an election in which most of the country was largely dissatisfied with the course taken and wanted change.

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Harris had portrayed herself as the author of this change, but as part of the Biden administration over the past four years, many Americans simply didn't believe it.

One of her worst moments was when she was asked on the talk show: The view, whether she would have done anything differently than Biden over the last four years.

“I can’t think of anything,” she replied, handing Trump one of his most effective attack ads.

The vice president has not yet conceded defeat, but Trump's performance was enough to galvanize Democrats still traumatized by 2016, when another woman, Hillary Clinton, unexpectedly lost.

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Many of those Democrats had gathered at Howard University, Harris' alma mater, to see what they hoped would be the first woman to be ushered into the Oval Office. But with the cold that prevailed in Washington, the tension also increased.

When Richmond came out to tell the crowd that they wouldn't hear from their candidate right away, what started as a celebration on the college lawn turned into an anxious wait.

“We will continue to fight overnight to make sure every vote is counted and every voice has spoken,” Richmond assured them.

It's an extraordinary comeback for Trump. After all, this is a man who was convicted of falsifying business records, supported an attempted coup at the U.S. Capitol, used increasingly fascist rhetoric, and is still denying the results of the 2020 election, giving him a second chance at power.

For much of the campaign, Trump conveyed a dark message of racism, misogyny, resentment and fear. But America is clearly a country willing to elect someone who will upend the norms because he is deeply dissatisfied with the status quo.

When he asked the question at his rallies: “Are you doing better now than you were four years ago?” For many, the answer was a categorical no.

This was always going to be a challenging campaign for Harris. She entered the race about 100 days ago, while Trump has been running since 2015. Facing ongoing anger over the war in Gaza, she changed her policies and struggled to distance herself from Biden, unable to find the balance between loyalty and necessary distance.

But Harris also undertook an incredibly extensive voter turnout campaign. In fact, the campaign recorded 600,000 door knocks and made 3 million phone calls in one week alone. She formed a coalition that ranged from independent Senator Bernie Sanders on the left to Republicans Dick Cheney and Liz Cheney on the right.

And her powerful message about abortion resonated with millions of American women — many of whom now fear for their reproductive health.

In the end, however, it wasn't enough. The highest and hardest glass ceiling that Hillary Clinton failed to break remains unbroken.

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