President-elect Biden calls for unity
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US President-elect Joe Biden declared it was 鈥渢ime to heal鈥 a deeply divided America in his first speech after winning in a bitter election, even as President Donald Trump refused to concede and pressed ahead with legal fights against the outcome.
Biden鈥檚 victory on Saturday in Pennsylvania put him over the threshold of 270 Electoral College votes he needed to clinch the presidency, ending four days of nail-biting suspense and sending his supporters into the streets of major cities in celebration.
鈥淭he people of this nation have spoken. They have delivered us a clear victory, a convincing victory,鈥 Biden told supporters in a parking lot in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.
The Democrat pledged that as president he will seek to unify the country and 鈥渕arshal the forces of decency鈥 to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, rebuild economic prosperity, secure health care for American families and root out systemic racism.
Without addressing his Republican rival, Biden spoke directly to the 70 million Americans who cast ballots in support of Trump. 鈥淔or all those of you who voted for President Trump, I understand the disappointment tonight. I鈥檝e lost a couple times myself. But now, let鈥檚 give each other a chance. It鈥檚 time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again,鈥 he said. 鈥淭his is the time to heal in America.鈥
He also thanked black voters, saying that even at his campaign鈥檚 lowest moments, the African American community had stood up for him. 鈥淭hey always have my back, and I鈥檒l have yours,鈥 he said.
Biden was introduced by his running mate, US Senator Kamala Harris, who will be the first woman, the first black American and the first American of Asian descent to serve as vice president, the country鈥檚 No. 2 office. 鈥淲hat a testament it is to Joe鈥檚 character that he had the audacity to break one of the most substantial barriers that exists in our country, and select a woman as his vice president,鈥 Harris said.
Congratulations poured in from abroad, including from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, making it hard for Trump to push his repeated claims, without evidence, that the election was rigged against him.
Trump, who was golfing when the major television networks projected his rival had won, immediately accused Biden of 鈥渞ushing to falsely pose as the winner.鈥
鈥淭his election is far from over,鈥 he said in a statement.
Trump has filed a raft of lawsuits to challenge the results, but elections officials in states across the country say there has been no evidence of significant fraud, and legal experts say Trump鈥檚 efforts are unlikely to succeed.
As the news of his win broke, cheers and applause were heard around Washington, with people emerging onto balconies, honking car horns and banging pots. Throngs of people streamed to the White House to rejoice outside a security fence as the sound of fireworks boomed in the distance.
Trump supporters reacted with a mix of disappointment, suspicion and resignation, highlighting the difficult task that Biden faces winning over many Americans, especially in more rural areas, who believe Trump was the first president to govern with their interests at heart.
Biden鈥檚 win ends Trump鈥檚 chaotic four-year presidency in which he played down a deadly pandemic, imposed harsh immigration policies, launched a trade war with China, tore up international agreements and deeply divided many American families with his inflammatory rhetoric, falsehoods and willingness to abandon democratic norms.
For Biden鈥檚 supporters, it was fitting that Pennsylvania ensured his victory. He was born in the industrial city of Scranton in the state鈥檚 northeast and, touting his middle-class credentials, secured the Democratic nomination with a promise to win back working-class voters.
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