Biden urges unity in victory speech after beating Trump

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US President-elect Joe Biden declared it was “time to heal” a deeply divided America in his first speech after prevailing in a bitter election, even as President Donald Trump refused to budge and went ahead with legal fights against the result.

Biden’s victory in the battlefield state of Pennsylvania put him above the threshold of 270 Electoral College votes he needed to win the presidency, ending a four-day suspension and sending his supporters to the streets. of the main cities in celebration.

“The people of this nation have spoken. They have given us a clear victory, a compelling victory,” Biden said, honking the horn and cheering for his supporters in a parking lot in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.

The Democrat promised that, as president, he would seek to unify the country and “rally the forces of decency” to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, rebuild economic prosperity, secure health care for American families and eradicate systemic racism.

Without addressing his Republican rival, Biden directly addressed the 70 million Americans who voted in support of Trump, some of whom took to the streets on Saturday to demonstrate against the results.

“To everyone who voted for President Trump, I understand the disappointment tonight. I’ve gotten lost a couple of times. But now, let’s give ourselves a chance. It’s time to put the harsh rhetoric aside, lower the temperature, see each other again. , listen to us again, “he said.

“This is the time to heal in America.”

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He also thanked black voters, saying that even at the lowest moments of his campaign, the African-American community had stood up for him.

“They always have my back and I’ll have yours,” he said.

Biden was introduced by his running mate, US Senator Kamala Harris, who will be the first woman, the first African-American and the first American of Asian descent to serve as Vice President.

“What a testament to Joe’s character is that he had the audacity to break down one of the most substantial barriers in our country and select a woman as his vice president,” Harris said.

Congratulations came from abroad, including those from Taoiseach Micheál Martin, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Trump, who was playing golf when major television networks projected that his rival had won, immediately accused Biden of “rushing to falsely pose as the winner.”

Groups of Biden supporters lined two blocks of his caravan route back to the White House.

“This election is far from over,” he said in a statement.

Trump has filed a number of lawsuits to challenge the results, but election officials in states across the country say there has been no evidence of significant fraud, and legal experts say Trump’s efforts are unlikely to be successful.

When news of his victory broke, cheers and applause could be heard across Washington, with people coming out onto balconies, honking car horns and banging on pots. The wave of noise in the nation’s capital increased as more people heard the news.

Trump supporters reacted with a mix of disappointment, suspicion and resignation, highlighting the difficult task facing Biden in winning over many Americans, especially in more rural areas, who believe that Trump was the first president to govern with their interests at heart. .

Angry pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” protesters gathered at state capitol buildings in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Arizona. Protesters in Phoenix chanted “We want audits!” One speaker told the crowd: “We will win in court!”

There were isolated instances of Trump and Biden supporters clashing, as occurred between two groups of about 100 each in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, but there were no immediate reports of the violence many feared.

The pro-Trump protests mostly faded as the results plunged.

Before the election, Trump refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he lost, falsely declaring victory long before the count was complete.

Past and current political leaders also weighed in, including congratulations from former Democratic President Barack Obama, for whom Biden served as Vice President, and Republican United States Senator Mitt Romney.

Trump’s ally Senator Lindsey Graham asked the Justice Department to investigate the allegations of voting irregularities.

The US media statement for Biden came amid concerns within Trump’s team about strategy going forward and pressure on him to choose a professional legal team to outline where they believe the voter fraud took place. and provide evidence.

Trump’s allies made it clear that the president does not plan to budge any time soon.

A Trump loyalist said the president was simply not ready to admit defeat even though not enough ballots would be thrown out in a recount to change the outcome. “There is a mathematical certainty that you are going to lose,” they said.

Biden’s victory ends Trump’s chaotic four-year presidency in which he downplayed a deadly pandemic, imposed tough immigration policies, launched a trade war with China, broke international agreements and deeply divided many American families with his incendiary rhetoric, lies and will. abandon democratic norms.

For Biden’s supporters, it was appropriate for Pennsylvania to ensure their victory. He was born in the northeastern industrial city of Scranton and, touting his middle-class credentials, secured the Democratic nomination by promising to win back working-class voters who had supported Trump in 2016.

He launched his campaign in Pittsburgh last year and closed it with a rally there on Tuesday. It was a close race in industrial states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, but Biden did enough to win.

He faced unprecedented challenges. These included Republican-led efforts to limit voting by mail at a time when a record number of people were required to vote by mail due to the pandemic, which has killed more than 236,000 people in the United States.

When Biden enters the White House on January 20, the oldest person to take office at 78, he will likely face a difficult task of governing in deeply polarized Washington, underscored by record turnout across the country.

Biden’s victory was fueled by strong support from groups including women, African Americans, white voters with college degrees, and city dwellers. He beat Trump by more than four million votes in the popular vote count nationwide.

Biden has said his first priority will be to develop a plan to contain and recover from the pandemic, promising to improve access to testing and, unlike Trump, to follow the advice of leading scientists and public health officials.

In addition, Biden faces a great challenge to remedy the economic difficulties caused by Covid-19.

The US economy remains technically in recession and the prospects for millions of people to return to work are bleak, especially in service industries such as hospitality and entertainment, where job losses hit women and minorities especially hard.

Biden has also vowed to restore a sense of normalcy in the White House after a presidency in which Trump praised authoritarian foreign leaders, scorned long-standing global alliances, refused to repudiate white supremacists and cast doubt on the legitimacy of the US electoral system.

Despite his victory, Biden will have failed to deliver the radical repudiation of Trump that Democrats hoped for, reflecting the deep support the president still retains.

This could complicate his campaign promises to reverse key parts of Trump’s legacy.

These include deep tax cuts that especially benefited hardline and wealthy corporations and immigration policies, efforts to dismantle the 2010 Obamacare healthcare bill, and Trump’s abandonment of international agreements such as the Paris climate agreement. and the Iran nuclear deal.

If Republicans maintain control of the United States Senate, they are likely to block much of its legislative agenda, including expanding health care and fighting climate change.

That prospect could hinge on the outcome of four undecided Senate races, including two in Georgia that won’t be resolved until the second round in January.



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