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Former US President George W. Bush says the American people “can be confident that this election was fundamentally fair, its integrity will be maintained, and its outcome is clear.”
Bush, who issued a statement Monday (NZT), is the highest-profile Republican to acknowledge Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump.
Bush says he spoke to Biden and thanked the president-elect for what Bush says was “the patriotic message” in Biden’s national speech on Sunday (NZT) after he was declared the winner of the election.
Bush added that while he and Biden have political differences, the former president says he knows that Biden “is a good man who has earned the opportunity to lead and unify our country.”
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Scott iskowitz
Former US President George W. Bush praised Biden’s “patriotic message” (file photo)
“I extended my warm congratulations to him and thanked him for the patriotic message he delivered last night.
“I also called Kamala Harris to congratulate her on her historic election to the vice presidency.”
Bush, the only living former Republican president, noted that Trump has the right to request retellings and file legal challenges, and that any unresolved issues be “properly resolved,” but his statement made clear that he did not believe they would be successful.
Carolyn Kaster / AP
United States President-elect Joe Biden leaves Mass on St. Joseph at Brandywine Catholic Church the day after winning the election.
Most Republican leaders or senior figures have either remained silent or issued statements similar to those of the Trump camp calling for all legal votes to be counted.
Only a few well-known Republicans, like Mitt Romney and Lisa Murkowski, have congratulated Biden.
Steve Helber / AP
Donald Trump played a round of golf at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling Virginia the day after his electoral defeat.
Bush says now is the time “we must come together for the good of our families and neighbors, and for our nation and its future.”
– with AP
