The watch party at Howard University had begun with music pumping and crowds dancing; however, the mood started to dampen as results from the Tuesday election began to trickle in, with the Republican Party surging ahead.
The heartbroken crowd, which had initially cheered as races were called in favour of Harris, was later seen booing as states were called for Trump.
Some of the disappointed Harris supporters began to leave the party after Harris Campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond announced that the candidate would not speak until later on Wednesday.
"We still have votes to count. We still have states that have not been called yet. We will continue overnight to fight to make sure that every vote is counted, that every voice has spoken.
"So you won't hear from the Vice President tonight, but you will hear from her tomorrow," Richmond told the supporters.
Trump is expected to reclaim the presidency after losing to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 edition.
He has already secured three key battleground states, putting him ahead with 267 electoral college votes against Harris's 214. He now only needs three more electoral votes to reach the 270 threshold to win the presidency.
The 78-year-old candidate is projected to win Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgiaâ€"the first three battleground states to be called in the U.S. presidential electionâ€"leaving Kamala Harris with only a slim chance to make history as the first Black woman and female U.S. President.
The 2024 presidential election was initially expected to be a rematch between Trump and Biden, but Biden dropped out of the race in July and endorsed Harris after a disastrous debate that heightened concerns about his age.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
