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'It's time to heal' says Biden in victory speech after beating Trump

Updated / Sunday, 8 Nov 2020 22:27

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US President-elect Joe Biden has declared it was "time to heal" a deeply divided US in his first speech after prevailing in a bitter election, even as President Donald Trump refused to concede and pressed ahead with legal fights against the outcome.

Mr Trump returned to his golf course in a Washington suburb today while Mr Biden attended mass along with family members at the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church near his home in Wilmington, Delaware. 

The Republican incumbent had still not called his Democratic opponent to congratulate him - a long-time tradition.

Instead, Mr Trump repeated the same scenario as yesterday: a series of angry tweets complaining without evidence of vote fraud, and then back to Virginia for more golf.

The Democratic challenger's victory in the battleground state of Pennsylvania put him over the threshold of 270 Electoral College votes he needed to clinch the presidency, ending four days of suspense and sending his supporters on to the streets of major cities in celebration.

"The people of this nation have spoken. They have delivered us a clear victory, a convincing victory," Mr Biden told honking and cheering supporters in a parking lot in Wilmington.

The Democrat pledged that as president he would seek to unify the country and "marshal the forces of decency" to battle the Covid-19 pandemic, rebuild economic prosperity, secure healthcare for American families and root out systemic racism.

Joe Biden goes to Mass with grandson Hunter and daughter-in-law Hallie Biden this morning

Mr Biden did not directly address his rival when he spoke directly to the 70 million Americans who cast ballots in support of Mr Trump, some of whom took to the streets yesterday to demonstrate against the results.

"For all those of you who voted for President Trump, I understand the disappointment tonight. I've lost a couple times myself. But now, let's give each other a chance. It's time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again," he said.

"This is the time to heal in America."

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He also thanked Black voters, saying that even at his campaign's lowest moments, the African American community had stood up for him.

"They always have my back, and I'll have yours," he said.

"I'll work as hard for those who didn't vote for me as those who did. Let this grim era of demonisation in America begin to end here and now."

Mr 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.

"What a testament it is to Joe's 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," Ms Harris said.

"While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last," she declared. "Every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibility."

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

Mr Trump, who was golfing when the major television networks projected his rival had won, immediately accused Mr Biden of "rushing to falsely pose as the winner".

Clusters of Biden supporters lined two blocks of his motorcade's route back to the White House.

"This election is far from over," Mr Trump said in a statement.

Donald Trump leaving the White House for his golf course today

The US president 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 Mr Trump's 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. The wave of noise in the nation's capital built as more people learned of the news.

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

Angry pro-Trump "Stop the Steal" demonstrators 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 confronting one another, as occurred between two groups of about 100 each in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, but there were no immediate reports of the violence many had feared.

The pro-Trump protests mostly faded as the results sank in.

Before the election, Mr Trump refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he lost, and he falsely declared victory long before counting was complete.

Former and present political leaders also weighed in, including congratulations from former Democratic President Barack Obama, for whom Mr Biden served as vice president, and Republican US Senator Mitt Romney.

Trump ally Senator Lindsey Graham called on the Justice Department to investigate claims of voting irregularities.

The US networks' declaration for Mr Biden came amid concerns within Mr Trump's team about the strategy going forward and pressure on him to pick a professional legal team to outline where they believe voter fraud took place and provide evidence.

Mr Trump's allies made it clear the president does not plan to concede anytime soon.

One Trump loyalist said the president simply was not ready to admit defeat even though there would not be enough ballots thrown out in a recount to change the outcome. "There's a mathematical certainty that he's going to lose," they said.

Mr Biden's win ends Mr Trump's 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, lies and willingness to abandon democratic norms.

For Biden's supporters, it was fitting that Pennsylvania ensured his victory. He was born in the industrial city of Scranton in the state's northeast and, touting his middle-class credentials, secured the Democratic nomination with a promise to win back working-class voters who had supported Trump in 2016.

He launched his campaign in Pittsburgh last year and wrapped it up with a rally there on Tuesday. It was a tight race in industrial states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, but Mr Biden did enough to prevail.

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

When Mr Biden enters the White House on 20 January, the oldest person to assume the office at age 78, he likely will face a difficult task governing in a deeply polarised Washington, underscored by a record nationwide voter turnout.

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

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

In addition, Mr Biden faces a huge challenge remedying the economic hardship caused by Covid-19.

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

Mr Biden also has pledged to restore a sense of normalcy to the White House after a presidency in which Mr Trump praised authoritarian foreign leaders, disdained longstanding global alliances, refused to disavow white supremacists and cast doubt on the legitimacy of the US election system.

Republican former US president George W Bush offered his "warm congratulations" to President-elect Joe Biden, calling the Democrat "a good man, who has won his opportunity to lead and unify our country."

He also congratulated loser Donald Trump for his "extraordinary political achievement" in winning 70 million votes.

Mr Bush's statement made him one of the most prominent US Republicans to acknowledge Mr Biden's victory.

Despite his win, Mr Biden failed to deliver the sweeping repudiation to Trump that Democrats had hoped for, reflecting the deep support the president still retains.

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

These include deep tax cuts that especially benefitted corporations and the wealthy, hardline immigration policies, efforts to dismantle the 2010 Obamacare healthcare law and Mr Trump's abandonment of such international agreements as the Paris climate accord and Iran nuclear deal.

Should Republicans keep control of the US Senate, they would likely block large parts of his legislative agenda, including expanding healthcare and fighting climate change.

That prospect could depend on the outcome of four undecided Senate races, including two in Georgia that will not be resolved until runoffs in January.

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Accreditation: Reuters