US election 2020: I’m the unifier in chief, says Joe Biden

Joe Biden promised ‘new day for America’ as he reached out to Trump supporters in his first ­address as US president-elect.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, president-elect Joe Biden and wife Jill in Wilmington, Delaware, after the Democratic Party claimed victory on Sunday. Picture: AFP

Joe Biden urged unity and promised “a new day for America” as he reached out to those who voted for Donald Trump as well as his own supporters in his first national ­address as US president-elect.

Mr Biden addressed the nation on Sunday hours after the Associated Press and CNN declared he had garnered the 270 electoral votes needed to defeat Mr Trump by winning the decisive states of Pennsylvania and Nevada.

“I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide but to unite, who doesn’t see red or blue states but just sees the United States,” Mr Biden said in a speech in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, after the see-sawing five-day count that began with the President claiming victory on election night.

Mr Biden, who quoted from the Bible and said this was “the time to heal”, said he sought office “to ­restore the soul of America”, “to rebuild the backbone of the nation — the middle class. To make America respected around the world again and to unite us here at home.”

He has secured the biggest popular vote in US history with 75 million votes so far, with Mr Trump’s more than 70 million the second-biggest.

Mr Trump was on his golf course in Virginia when the Democrat nominee was declared the winner with 290 electoral college votes so far to Mr Trump’s 214.

Swamped by pre-poll and postal votes for Mr Biden, the President refused to concede the election, claiming he had won it and had been robbed of victory by corrupt vote counting.

The Democrat ticket’s victory makes running mate Kamala ­Harris the first woman elected vice-president. She was the first black woman and first of Indian descent nominated on a major party’s ticket, and will be the highest-ranking woman ever in the presidential line of succession as of the inauguration in January.

“While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last,” Senator Harris said to resounding cheers, as young girls in the crowd waved flags.

Dressed in all white — the colour of the women’s suffrage movement — the 56-year-old paid tribute to the women who paved the way for her. “I reflect on their struggle, their determination and the strength of their vision to see what can be unburdened by what has been. I stand on their shoulders,” she said.

“And to the children of our country, regardless of your gender, our country has sent you a clear message: Dream with ambition, lead with conviction, and see yourself in a way that others might not see you, simply because they’ve never seen it before.”

Casting himself as a unifier of a divided and wounded nation and promising to govern for all Americans, Mr Biden, 77, reached out to Mr Trump’s supporters, calling on Americans to come together.

“Let this grim era of demonis­ation in America begin to end, here and now … this is the time to heal in America,” he said.

“I understand the disappointment 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.”

Mr Biden urged both political parties to embrace compromise after years of gridlock.

“The refusal of Democrats and Republicans to co-operate with one another is not due to some mysterious force beyond our control,” he said. “It’s a decision. It’s a choice we make. And if we can ­decide not to co-operate, then we can decide to co-operate.”

Mr Biden won by securing a slate of states won by Hillary Clinton in 2016 plus Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, which voted last time for Mr Trump. The counting continues, with Mr Biden poised for victories in ­Arizona and Georgia.

If he wins Arizona and Georgia, his victory margin will be similar to the 304 electoral college votes Mr Trump secured to defeat Mrs Clinton.

White House counsellor and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner had approached the President about conceding the election, CCN reported.

Mr Trump said his legal team would mount challenges against the result in the courts, beginning on Tuesday (AEDT).

“The simple fact is this election is far from over. 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,” he said. “Tens of thousands of votes were illegally received after 8pm on Tuesday, Election Day, totally and easily changing the results in Pennsylvania and certain other razor thin states,” he tweeted. “I WON THIS ELECTION — BY A LOT.”

There was little communication between senior staff at the White House and the Trump campaign, senior aides told The Wall Street Journal.

Read more: Joe Biden’s victory speech

Some advisers said they were looking to first lady Mel­ania Trump and the President’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, to focus Mr Trump for the final 10 weeks of his term, a period that includes preparing an administration for the transition.Mr Biden, speaking in front of hundreds of flag-waving supporters, said he was the legitimate president-elect. “The people of this nation have spoken, they have delivered us a clear victory, a convincing victory,” he said. “It is the honour of my lifetime that so many Americans have voted for (my) vision.

“I’m a proud Democrat but I will govern as an American president. I will work as hard for those who didn’t vote for me as for those who did. It’s time for our better angels to prevail.”

Mr Biden said Americans wanted to be treated with fairness and decency. “The Bible tells us that to everything there is a season — a time to build, a time to reap, a time to sow. And a time to heal. This is the time to heal in America,” he said.

“Now that the campaign is over — what is the people’s will? What is our mandate? I believe it is this: Americans have called on us to marshall the forces of decency and the forces of fairness.”

Senator Harris said voters had chosen a clear message by electing Mr Biden. “You chose hope, unity, decency, science and, yes, truth,” she said.

Mr Biden said his work would begin with trying to get the corona­virus under control, saying it was impossible to return to normal life unless the pandemic was tamed. He said he would name a taskforce to begin planning, based on “bedrock science”, to tackle the virus when he becomes president on January 20.

The virus is out of control across the US, with a record for daily infections of 134,000 cases on Saturday, the fourth record day in a row, with deaths and hospitalisations soaring.

The President’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, is the latest senior White House official to catch the virus that has killed almost a quarter of a million Americans.

Despite Mr Trump’s claims the election was not over, world leaders congratulated Mr Biden on his win.

Scott Morrison said he looked forward to working with Mr Biden, whom he described as a “great friend” of Australia over many years. “We look forward to working with president-elect Biden and his administration to continue to fight the COVID-19 global pandemic and recession, to develop a vaccine, drive a global economic recovery and develop new technologies to reduce global emissions as we practically confront the challenge of climate change,” the Prime Minister said.

“We welcome the president-elect’s commitment to multilateral institutions and strengthen­ing democracies.”

Cameron Stewart is also US contributor for Sky News Australia

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