Joe Biden offered himself to the United Sates as a president who “seeks not to divide, but to unify" a country gripped by a historic pandemic and economic and social turmoil.

“I sought this office to restore the soul of America and to make America respected around the world again and to unite us here at home,” Biden said in a prime-time victory speech on Saturday night (Sunday AEDT).

The speech near his home in Delaware followed a drawn-out vote count that finally confirmed he had beaten Donald Trump in the bitter 2020 race for the White House. Watch the full speech here.