US President-elect Joe Biden on Monday urged the country to “turn the page” in a victory speech after the electoral college voted to reaffirm its victory in the White House in 2020.
He also went on to express rare outrage and impatience at the “assault on democracy” by President Donald Trump and his allies for refusing to acknowledge their defeat.
Shortly after the vote, William Barr, the once loyal attorney general who later disputed Trump’s allegations of voter fraud, resigned, ending a bitter relationship.
Biden formally won 306 electoral college votes as voters voted in state capitals across the country, either virtually or in person, fulfilling a pro forma responsibility that would not have received as much public attention had it not been for the denial. Trump to acknowledge his defeat. Trump was expected to win 232.
“If someone didn’t know before, we know now. What beats deep in the hearts of the American people is this: democracy, ”Biden said in remarks from Wilmington, Delaware. “So now is the time to turn the page, to unite, to heal.”
Biden had been publicly patient with Trump’s constant efforts to question and overturn the election result, giving the president time to accept his defeat. He had extended the same understanding to Republican lawmakers, most of whom also did not acknowledge Biden’s victory for fear of Trump’s ire.
However, the dam broke on Monday. Biden lashed out at Trump, mentioning him by name more times than ever before in any speech after winning the election, and also at Republicans, accusing them of launching an “unprecedented assault on democracy.”
Biden listed Trump’s efforts: the legal challenges that were heard and rejected by 80 justices across the country, including the Supreme Court, multiple recounts, and political pressure on Republican elected officials and election officials.
“All avenues were made available to President Trump to challenge the results,” Biden said. “Respecting the will of the people is at the heart of our democracy, even when we find those results difficult to accept. But that is the obligation of those who have assumed the sworn duty of defending our constitution. “
Biden became the “projected” winner of the election in the week of November 3, when the polls closed. He was then “officially” the winner on December 8 when all 50 states and Washington, DC “certified” the election result by setting the electoral college vote for December 14.
Electoral college votes cast Monday will be counted by the House of Representatives on January 6, another formality raised to prominence.
Trump’s allies in the House of Representatives hope to use that part of the process to try to reverse the election one last time. They will fail, as they have done so far, and the president-elect will be sworn in on January 20.
Shortly after the electoral college vote became apparent in the evening, Trump announced the departure of Barr, who has publicly disputed Trump’s allegations of voter fraud, saying his department had found no evidence of wrongdoing of the scale that could change the outcome of the elections.
Barr’s departure had been imminent since his public break with the president. But instead of being kicked out of the office like his predecessor Jeff Sessions, Barr managed a carefully choreographed exit that seemed friendly. So much so that Trump tweeted Barr’s resignation letter.
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