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Biden praised voters for casting record-breaking votes on Nov. 3 despite COVID-19 fears and “enormous political pressure, verbal abuse and even threats of physical violence” against those running in the elections.
United States President-elect Joe Biden raises his fist after delivering his remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, on November 7, 2020, after being declared the winner of the presidential election. Image: AFP
WASHINGTON, United States – Joe Biden said Monday that American democracy proved “resilient” against Donald Trump’s “abuse of power” after the Electoral College confirmed him as the next president, further closing the door on efforts. unprecedented to nullify the results.
In his first widespread attack on Trump since the election, Biden said in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, that the president and his allies “refused to respect the will of the people, refused to respect the rule of law, and refused to honor our constitution. “
Biden was referring to a Republican lawsuit, supported by Trump, that sought to overturn the results in several key states, before it was unanimously rejected by the Supreme Court last Friday.
Biden praised voters for casting their vote in record numbers on Nov. 3 despite COVID-19 fears and “enormous political pressure, verbal abuse and even threats of physical violence” against election candidates.
“The flame of democracy was lit in this nation a long time ago. And now we know nothing, not even a pandemic or an abuse of power can put that out,” Biden said.
“Our democracy, driven, tested, threatened, proved to be resilient, true and strong.”
Biden said that Trump has had every opportunity to challenge the results in court and “in all cases no cause or evidence was found to reverse, challenge or dispute.”
With the Electoral College formalizing its victory just hours earlier, Biden told the bitterly divided country: “It is time to turn the page.”
“I am convinced that we can work together for the good of the nation,” he said.
TRUMP ATTORNEY GENERAL DEPARTMENTS
Trump continues to maintain that he did not achieve victory, even if his lawyers have not persuaded a court that they have a case.
On Monday he announced that Attorney General Bill Barr, who contradicted his claims of fraud, would be leaving his post next week.
“Bill will be leaving just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family,” Trump tweeted.
The Electoral College vote, a formality that confirms the will of the voters expressed at the polls, is often ignored by all but political fans.
This year, the somewhat arcane procedure took center stage as the American electoral system withstood weeks of attacks from the powerful president and much of his party.
Biden only needed 270 of the Electoral College’s 538 votes, which are spread across the 50 states, and was heading for a total of 306 to Trump’s 232. The count was going on all day and when he arrived in California, the Democrat beat the minimum. amount, making him officially the president-elect from then on.
California voters erupted in applause when the president read the tally.
Biden, Barack Obama’s former vice president, will be sworn in as the 46th president on January 20.
CHANGING THE TIDE
The disinformation spearheaded by the president and spread by popular commentators on Fox News and new conspiracy theory outlets like Newsmax means that many Americans have all but given up on faith in their own institutions.
Thousands of Trump supporters, including members of far-right groups, protested in Washington over the weekend, fighting counter-protesters, while in Georgia footage showed camouflaged activists marching through the state Capitol to support Trump’s claims.
Polls show that only one in four Republican voters accepts the election results.
Trump continued his stream of unsubstantiated threats and claims on Twitter Monday, citing “MASS VOTER FRAUD” and stating that certifying election results would be “a severely punishable offense.”
The legal vote of the Electoral College, however, puts an official stamp on what the voters already decided on November 3.
“Although I supported President Trump, today’s Electoral College vote makes it clear that Joe Biden is now president-elect,” a Republican senator, Rob Portman, tweeted, noting the turning of the tide.
In another change, the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal, which strongly supported Trump, told Trump that time was up.
“President Trump’s legal challenges have run their course, and he and the rest of the Republican Party can help the country and themselves by acknowledging the outcome and moving forward,” he said.
Before Biden’s inauguration, a great formality remains, when Congress, chaired by Vice President Mike Pence, opens and counts the electoral votes on January 6.
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