'I will be a President for all Americans': Joe Biden wins US election
Supporters of President-elect Joe Biden congregate in a parking lot near the Chase Center where Biden's victory rally is expected to happen tonight. Picture: AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
Democrat Joe Biden has defeated President Donald Trump to become the 46th president of the United States.
Mr Biden’s victory came after more than three days of uncertainty as election officials sorted through a surge of postal votes that delayed the processing of some ballots. Mr Biden crossed 270 electoral college votes with a win in Pennsylvania.
Mr Biden, 77, staked his candidacy less on any distinctive political ideology than on galvanising a broad coalition of voters around the notion that Mr Trump posed an existential threat to American democracy.
The strategy proved effective, resulting in pivotal victories in Michigan and Wisconsin as well as Pennsylvania, once Democratic bastions that had flipped to Mr Trump in 2016.
Mr Biden was on track to win the national popular vote by more than 4 million, a margin that could grow as ballots continue to be counted.
Mr Trump seized on delays in processing the vote in some states to falsely allege voter fraud and argue that his rival was trying to seize power – an extraordinary charge by a sitting president trying to sow doubt about a bedrock democratic process.
Following the announcement, Joe Biden tweeted: “America, I’m honored that you have chosen me to lead our great country.
“The work ahead of us will be hard, but I promise you this: I will be a President for all Americans — whether you voted for me or not.
“I will keep the faith that you have placed in me.”
In a statement, Mr Biden said: “I am honoured and humbled by the trust the American people have placed in me and in Vice President-elect Harris.
“In the face of unprecedented obstacles, a record number of Americans voted. Proving once again, that democracy beats deep in the heart of America.
“With the campaign over, it’s time to put the anger and the harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation.
“It’s time for America to unite. And to heal.
“We are the United States of America. And there’s nothing we can’t do, if we do it together.”
Vice-president-elect Kamala Harris tweeted: “This election is about so much more than @JoeBiden or me. It’s about the soul of America and our willingness to fight for it. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Let’s get started.”
However, Donald Trump has said in a statement he considers the election “far from over” as he repeated unsubstantiated claims of fraudulent ballots and vowed to press ahead with legal actions.
He said: “We all know why Joe Biden is rushing to falsely pose as the winner and why his media allies are trying so hard to help him: they don’t want the truth to be exposed. The simple fact is this election is far from over.
“Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of any states, let alone any of the highly contested states headed for mandatory recounts, or states where our campaign has valid and legitimate legal challenges that could determine the ultimate victor.
“In Pennsylvania, for example, our legal observers were not permitted meaningful access to watch the counting process. Legal votes decide who is president, not the news media.” Mr Trump added: “Beginning (on) Monday, our campaign will start prosecuting our case in court to ensure election laws are fully upheld and the rightful winner is seated.
“The American people are entitled to an honest election: that means counting all legal ballots and not counting any illegal ballots.
“This is the only way to ensure the public has full confidence in our election.
“It remains shocking that the Biden campaign refuses to agree with this basic principle and wants ballots counted even if they are fraudulent, manufactured or cast by ineligible or deceased voters.
“Only a party engaged in wrongdoing would unlawfully keep observers out of the count room – and then fight in court to block their access.
“So what is Biden hiding? I will not rest until the American people have the honest vote count they deserve and that democracy demands.”
Meanwhile, Barack Obama has said he “could not be prouder” to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, saying they will have won “a historic and decisive victory” once all votes are counted.
“We’re fortunate that Joe’s got what it takes to be President and already carries himself that way,” he said.
“Because when he walks into the White House in January, he’ll face a series of extraordinary challenges no incoming President ever has – a raging pandemic, an unequal economy and justice system, a democracy at risk, and a climate in peril.
“I know he’ll do the job with the best interests of every American at heart, whether or not he had their vote.”
Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton tweeted: “The voters have spoken, and they have chosen @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris to be our next president and vice president.
“It’s a history-making ticket, a repudiation of Trump, and a new page for America.
“Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen. Onward, together.” Her husband, former president Bill Clinton, posted: “America has spoken and democracy has won.
“Now we have a President-Elect and Vice President-Elect who will serve all of us and bring us all together.
“Congratulations to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on your momentous victory!”
In Ireland, Taoiseach Micheál Martin was among the world leaders to congratulate the former US vice president on his victory.
Mr Martin said that Mr Biden “has been a true friend of this nation throughout his life and I look forward to working with him in the years ahead.
“I also look forward to welcoming him back home when the circumstances allow!”
President Michael D Higgins has also offered his congratulations.
"Today, I have conveyed my best wishes to President-elect Joe Biden, congratulating him and wishing him and the American people every good fortune for his term in office, and congratulating Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on her historic achievement," he said.
"Sabina and I, and the staff at Áras an Uachtaráin, have the warmest memories of Joe Biden’s two visits to us.
"The bonds between the peoples of Ireland and the United States are close and strong, and I look forward to our two countries working together to rebuild the much-needed trust in the methods and institutions of national and international solidarity and cooperation."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted: “Congratulations, @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris.
“Our two countries are close friends, partners, and allies. We share a relationship that’s unique on the world stage.
“I’m really looking forward to working together and building on that with you both.”
A top election official has dismissed US President Donald Trump’s fresh claims of voter fraud as rival Joe Biden edges closer to victory.
Mr Trump launched a flurry of unsubstantiated claims on Twitter on Saturday morning, alleging that “bad things” happened and referring to votes being “illegally received”.
But Federal Election Commission commissioner Ellen Weintraub said there is no evidence of voter fraud.
Speaking on CNN after Mr Trump’s string of tweets – which were flagged by Twitter as containing information about the election that may be “misleading” – Ms Weintraub said: “State and local officials, and poll workers throughout the country, really stepped up.
“And there have been very few complaints about how this election has run.
“Very few substantiated complaints, let me put it that way. There is no evidence of any kind of voter fraud.”
“There is no evidence of illegal votes being cast.
“In fact, and you don’t have to take my word for it because people throughout the country, nonpartisan election experts have come out and hailed this election and how it was run.
“If you want to look at the state of Pennsylvania, which the president seems to be focused on, Senator (Pat) Toomey has come out and said he has seen no evidence of fraud there.
“The Republican leader of the state senate there has also said he has seen no evidence of fraud.”
She added: “There really has been no evidence of fraud. None of the complaints have attached any evidence of fraud.
“Really, we should feel very proud of ourselves.”
Her comments came after Mr Trump wrote on Twitter that tens of thousands of votes were “illegally received” after 8pn on Tuesday “totally and easily changing the results in Pennsylvania and certain other razor thin states”.
He said hundreds of thousands of Votes were “illegally not allowed to be OBSERVED”, adding: “This would ALSO change the Election result in numerous States, including Pennsylvania, which everyone thought was easily won on Election Night, only to see a massive lead disappear, without anyone being allowed to OBSERVE, for long intervals of time, what the happened…
“….Bad things took place during those hours where LEGAL TRANSPARENCY was viciously & crudely not allowed. Tractors blocked doors & windows were covered with thick cardboard so that observers could not see into the count rooms. BAD THINGS HAPPENED INSIDE. BIG CHANGES TOOK PLACE!”
Mr Trump said there will be a “big press conference” in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon UK time.
Meanwhile, Mr Biden has stopped short of officially declaring victory but said he is confident he is ultimately going to win the race to the White House.
The Democratic candidate took the lead in the key battleground states of Pennsylvania and Georgia on Friday, with forecasters putting him just one state from victory as officials continue counting votes.
Speaking in Wilmington, Delaware, just before 11pm on Friday local time, the former vice-president said although he did not have a final declaration “the numbers tell us a clear and convincing story”.
Mr Biden said: “We’re going to win this race, just look at what has happened since yesterday.”
He added: “We’ve gotten over 74 million votes, that’s more than any presidential ticket has ever gotten in the history of the United States of America.
“And our vote total is still growing. We’re beating Donald Trump by over four million votes and that’s a margin that’s still growing as well.”
Mr Biden finished his speech with an appeal for calm along with a veiled response to Mr Trump’s legal challenges, which the president has launched to improve his chances of re-election amid baseless allegations of fraud.
The winner needs to collect 270 electoral college votes by winning states.
Victory in Pennsylvania would hand the presidency to Mr Biden with its 20 votes but Georgia, with 16 electoral votes, is a more complicated scenario.
Not everyone agrees that Mr Biden has beyond all probability won in Arizona, and without that Georgia would leave him one vote short of overall victory.
He has secured victories in the battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan but Nevada and North Carolina also remain too close to call after Tuesday’s election.
The Trump campaign requested a recount in Wisconsin and filed lawsuits in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Georgia.
But judges in Michigan and Georgia dismissed the actions launched by the Trump campaign.
Additional legal action was also expected in Nevada, the campaign indicated.
The Associated Press news agency, which PA relies on to call states, has projected Mr Biden as winning Arizona and its 11 electoral college votes.
That looks likely as he has a strong lead with more than 90% of the votes tallied – but Mr Trump’s campaign disagrees and other news organisations are not so certain.
The appearance of Mr Biden coming back from behind is an artificial one.
Many of the outstanding ballots are postal votes and absentee ballots that are being added to the tally later than their in-person counterparts.
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