US election 2020: Joe Biden elected 46th US President
Joe Biden has vowed to name a group of top scientists to his coronavirus task force on Monday — as the US registered a weekend record of new daily cases.
- Trump plots his comeback
- ‘Let this grim era end here’
- Biden: Put away harsh rhetoric
- PM invites Bidens to Australia
- What happens if Trump won’t go?
- Biden cabinet to transform politics
- Trump faces tough court battle
- Biden elected 46th president
Welcome to our live coverage of the US presidential election. Joe Biden has defeated Donald Trump to become 46th President of the US. Donald Trump has refused to concede and vowed to sue. Fittingly, it was Pennsylvania that got Mr Biden the 20 electoral college votes to push him over the line.
Greg Sherdian 9.20pm: Biden’s pragmatic note offers promise
The king is dead. Long live the king!
Every Australian now has an interest in Joe Biden being a successful president.
Judging by Biden’s first speech as effectively president-elect, one of the chief dangers we will face from a Biden presidency is drowning in schmaltz, slightly mangled.
Still, there are worse fates.
In the Biden presidency, Australia should care about three things: America’s standing in the world, China policy, and climate change posture.
Biden’s big speech declaring his victory was certainly as good as you could hope for from a Democrat who might turn out to be a centrist who genuflects left only when necessary.
Scott Morrison’s initial remarks were right on target, and served Australia’s national interests. Morrison congratulated Biden, thanked Donald Trump and the key members of his administration with whom Australia had such productive relationships over the past four years, cited Biden’s long connections with Australia, invited the president-elect to visit and stressed the continuity of the alliance.
Anthony Albanese’s suggestion that Morrison should ring Trump and tell him to get over himself and graciously welcome Biden into the White House is, in more than 40 years of journalism, the single silliest, most disconnected from reality, and plain cuckoo statement I have ever heard from someone claiming national leadership in Australia.
Biden in his speech encouragingly promised to govern for all Americans, including those who voted against him, he quoted a hymn, he praised the role of faith, he ended with God bless America and God protect our troops.
Paul Kelly 8.50pm: American delivered a new chance
It was a speech of restoration, renewal and hope. President-elect Joe Biden seeks to rekindle the American dream, end the demonisation and heal the divisions.
This is the message America needs. Biden radiated strength and a sense of presidential mission. The long four-year nightmare of Donald Trump’s narcissistic discord is terminated. America has a new chance.
Biden dedicates himself to govern for “the whole people” and “to rebuild the backbone of the nation — the middle class”. This will become his presidential template. In claiming victory Biden extended the olive branch to the 70 million American who voted for Trump.
AFP 8.30pm: A chance to ‘compensate for mistakes’: Rouhani
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says the next US administration has an opportunity to “compensate for its previous mistakes” following Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election.
“Now there is an opportunity for the future American administration to compensate for its previous mistakes and return to the path of adherence to international commitments,” Mr Rouhani said on Sunday.
READ MORE: Central banks muddy monetary waters
AFP 7.50pm: Palestinian president urges Biden to ‘strengthen’ ties
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas ha scalled on Joe Biden to “strengthen” relations between the Palestinians and Washington, which collapsed during President Donald Trump’s term in office.
In a statement congratulating Mr Biden and vicepresident-elect Kamala Harris, Mr Abbas urged the incoming administration “to strengthen the Palestinian-American relationship,” and to strive for Middle East “peace, stability and security.”
AFP 7.15pm: India hails Harris
Residents set off firecrackers in the ancestral home of Kamala Harris on Sunday as India celebrated the vice-president-elect’s victory in the US election, as others hailed her achievement as historic and a “proud moment” for the country.
Ms Harris — daughter of breast cancer specialist Shyamala Gopalan from the southern Indian city of Chennai — paid tribute to her late mother, who “believed so deeply in an America where a moment like this is possible” in a national address with president-elect Joe Biden.
At Thulasendrapuram village in Tamil Nadu state, once home to Ms Harris’ maternal grandfather P.V. Gopalan, celebrations broke out with locals lighting firecrackers, praying at its main temple and waving posters bearing the 56-year-old’s face.
Women in the village made a rangoli — a colourful work of folk art drawn on the ground — with the words: “Congratulations to Kamala Harris.”
“It is a matter of pride for the entire womenfolk,” housewife Arul Mozhi Sudhakar said.
Ms Harris’s uncle, academic Balachandran Gopalan, said he always knew she would be successful.
“I am relieved, because I knew she’s going to win, and I told her yesterday ... my tension is now gone away,” he told WION TV in the capital, New Delhi.
Mr Gopalan told Agence France-Presse on Friday that Ms Harris’ family in India would fly to the US to attend her inauguration.
“We were together as a family when she was sworn in as senator. And we will all be together now during her swearing-in as vice-president of the US. It’s a big moment for us,” he said.
In Delhi, people cheered the Harris family’s Indian origins.
Yash Iyer, 25, said “it’s a proud moment for us too as Indians since she traces her roots here”.
“Kamala Harris being the US VP is a monumental accomplishment not only for the US and Indians but for women across the globe,” said Smitashree Mishra, who works in international health and development in the capital.
“What I take away from this victory is a ray of hope, hope to stand strong in a society that constantly judges you on archaic notions of gender, race and ethnicity... I am proud as a woman to see another woman represent our perspective in the politics of the world’s most powerful country.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Mr Biden and called Ms Harris a source of “immense pride”.
“Your success is path-breaking, and a matter of immense pride not just for your chittis, but also for all Indian-Americans,” Mr Modi wrote.
“Chitti” is a Tamil term of endearment for the younger sisters of one’s mother, which Ms Harris used in her acceptance of the Democratic nomination for vice-president.
READ MORE: Donald’s in the bunker — time to tee up, Ivanka
AFP 6.50pm: World media reaction to Biden win
With headlines such as “God Bless America”, powerful media outlets around the world welcomed the defeat of Donald Trump but warned president-elect Joe Biden faced enormous challenges in healing the US.
The international press also focused on the feat of Kamala Harris, who will become the first black femal US vice-president.
“A new dawn for America”, read the headline of The Independent in Britain, showing a photo of Mr Biden standing next to Ms Harris and noting her historic achievement.
The Sunday Times went with a picture of a black woman draped in the US flag and the headline: “Sleepy Joe wakes up America”, taunting Mr Trump by using the derogatory nickname he had used for Mr Biden.
The Sunday People tabloid blared in capital letters: “GOD BLESS AMERICA”. Germany’s mass-market Bild newspaper carried a photo of Mr Trump with a headline: “Exit without dignity”.
“What a liberation, what a relief”, reported Germany’s left-leaning Suddeutsche Zeitung broadsheet.
But it noted that Mr Biden “inherits a heavy burden” like nothing faced by his predecessors, and warned that Mr Trump accepting defeat was “unthinkable”.
In Australia, the Daily Telegraph also focused on Trump’s expected defiance and described him as a “hotball of fury”.
“(Trump) will simply not accept the humiliation of seemingly being beaten by a foe he perceived to be feeble and barely worth turning up to fight,” it said.
Iran’s ultraconservative papers unsurprisingly celebrated the downfall of Mr Trump, a leader who had applied a “maximum pressure” policy and punishing sanctions since his 2018 withdrawal from a landmark nuclear agreement.
Still, they reserved little warmth for Mr Biden. “The maskless enemy left, the masked enemy arrived,” warned conservative publication Resalat.
Another theme were the false claims of voter fraud with the ultraconservative outlet Vatan-e Emrooz, seemingly before the Biden win was announced, headlined on “The graveyard of democracy”, and focused on false allegations.
Similarly, Egypt’s government daily al-Akhbar used a long editorial to zero in on the — unfounded — “violations” of fraudulent voting, and said “it is time for the United States to stop giving us lessons in democracy”.
Brazil’s leading media outlets reported Mr Trump’s defeat in the context of its own populist leader, Jair Bolsonaro, who has similarly sought to diminish democratic institutions and reject science-based facts.
“Trump’s defeat punishes the attacks against civilisation, it is a lesson for Bolsonaro,” wrote Folha de Sao Paulo, one of Brazil’s major daily newspapers.
“May Brazil’s leaders seize the spirit of the times — or die, like Trump, who has already left it too late.”
Spain’s centre-right El Mundo newspaper said Mr Biden’s win was a goodbye to Mr Trump’s populism, and described Ms Harris as a “symbol of renewal”.
Sweden’s biggest daily, Dagens Nyheter, headlined its opinion-editorial piece: “Bittersweet victory — Biden will struggle to heal the US”.
It described Mr Biden’s vow of a return to normalcy as “mission impossible”.
“The election result shows a deeply divided country, and it will be difficult for Biden to carry out the reform program he has promised his core voters,” the paper wrote.
Sweden’s conservative Svenska Dagbladet daily warned of the dangers posed by the many millions of Americans who will continue to believe Trump’s dangerous rhetoric that the election had been stolen from him.
“Election is over — but conflict continues,” read its headline.
“Half the country — half of those who voted at least — may have a lingering feeling that something is very wrong after months of battles and voices calling the election itself into question. That the election system itself is rigged and can’t be trusted.” On a lighter note, the Ayrshire Daily News, whose patch covers the Trump Turnberry golf course in Scotland, took a more local look at the result.
“South Ayrshire golf club owner loses 2020 presidential election,” read its headline.
READ MORE: Sales likens Trump to Mugabe
Nick Tabakoff 6.10pm: Sales likens Trump to Mugabe
Donald Trump’s bitter rejection of the US election results has polarised not only the American public but the media as well.
Robert Mugabe keeps coming to my mind.
— Leigh Sales (@leighsales) November 6, 2020
The US President has repeated fraud claims accusing the Democrats of trying to “steal” the election. He been continually called out in the media. Vanity Fair magazine even made the extraordinary suggestion that Trump will look to “barricade” himself in the White House come January.
It has all been enough to prompt ABC 7.30 host Leigh Sales, normally a model of restraint on Twitter on political matters, to give a rare forthright opinion — comparing Trump to a certain notorious late African dictator known for disputing election results. “Robert Mugabe keeps coming to my mind,” she wrote.
AFP 5.35pm: Dogs set for White House comeback
Joe Biden promises to bring many things back to America now that he’s in and President Donald Trump’s out.
Unity, accountability, compassion — and a dog in the White House.
Not just one, but two German shepherds, one a rescue dog.
One is Champ, who has been with the Bidens since 2008. The other is Major, who the Bidens fostered and then adopted in 2018.
Canines sniffing around the lawns of the presidential mansion are a long-standing staple in America.
Barack Obama muzzled playfully with Bo, a black Portuguese water dog.
George W. Bush had a Scottish terrier, Barney. Bill Clinton? A chocolate Labrador retriever called Buddy.
Enter Mr Trump, a germophobe and the first president in more than a century to not have a dog.
“How would I look walking a dog on the White House lawn,” Mr Trump asked, with a grimace, in a video included in a Biden campaign ad.
Now, make way for team Biden’s canine crew.
Biden officials say Major will become the first rescue dog to live in the White House.
“Choose your humans wisely,” says the Biden ad about presidential pooches.
READ MORE: Move over Melania, there’s a doctor in the house
AFP 5.10pm: Netanyahu congratulates ‘a great friend of Israel’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — a close Donald Trump ally — has congratulated Joe Biden on his election victory, calling the US president-elect “a great friend of Israel”.
“I look forward to working with both of you to further strengthen the special alliance between the US and Israel,” Mr Netanyahu tweeted on Sunday, referring to Mr Biden and running mate Kamala Harris.
Mr Netanyahu, whose Twitter account features a picture of himself seated next to Trump, said he and Mr Biden had “a long and warm personal relationship for nearly 40 years, and I know you as a great friend of Israel”.
He had described Mr Trump as his country’s strongest-ever ally in the White House, and the Republican advanced policies that delighted the Prime Minister’s right-wing base.
Mr Trump unilaterally pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal — an agreement between Tehran and world powers loathed by Mr Netanyahu — and recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s “undivided” capital.
He also endorsed Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights — which was seized from Syria — and avoided criticising Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Mr Netanyahu, along with his defence and foreign ministers, had been criticised earlier by opposition leader Yair Lapid for not congratulating Mr Biden in a timely manner.
“The fact that Netanyahu, (Benny) Gantz and (Gabi) Ashkenazi have yet to congratulate the US president-elect is shameful cowardice that harms Israel’s interest,” Mr Lapid said.
“If the President of France, the Chancellor of Germany and Prime Minister of Britain can do so, you can too,” he wrote on Twitter.
According to a poll before the US election by the Israel Democracy Institute think-tank, 63 per cent of Israelis wanted Trump to win a second term.
READ MORE: Trump and the real resistance
AFP 4.50pm: Move over Melania, there’s doctor in the house
Jill Biden is no stranger to the glare of the political spotlight. Her husband has been a Washington insider since they wed in 1977, and she was America’s second lady for eight years.
But now that Joe Biden has won the White House, his 69-year-old wife will have the opportunity to push the role of first lady into the 21st century – by keeping her full-time job as a professor.
“Most American women have both a work life and a family life, but first ladies have never been allowed to do so,” said Katherine Jellison, a history professor at Ohio University.
AFP 4.30pm: Biden vows robust pandemic response
US president-elect Joe Biden has vowed to name a group of top scientists to his coronavirus task force on Monday — as the US registered a weekend record of new daily cases.
After three days of record highs, 122,075 new cases were recorded over 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins University, a record in itself for a weekend.
Another 991 deaths were added to the fast-growing toll of victims, which now stands at 237,016.
“On Monday I will name a group of leading scientists and experts as transition advisers to help take the Biden-Harris plan and convert it into an actual blueprint that will start on January 20, 2021,” Mr Biden told supporters.
The pledge came in his first speech since being projected as the winner of the presidential election, signaling that he plans to prioritize the pandemic from the outset.
The US is the world’s hardest hit country in terms of deaths and total infections, which now stand at more than 9.8 million.
The outbreak has been surging for weeks in almost every part of the country, with the Midwest suffering the worst effects.
Cases are expected to surge further as the country moves into winter and people switch to socialising indoors, prime conditions for spreading the virus.
READ MORE: Daddy’s in the bunker — time to tee up, Ivanka
AFP 3.45pm: Washington scrambles for champagne after Biden win
Joe Biden’s election as US president has sparked a scramble for champagne in the capital, Washington, and some shops are already close to running out of stock in the Democratic stronghold.
Calvert and Woodley, known for its selection of wines from around the world, sold up to 75 per cent more bottles than a usual over the weekend, according to store employees.
Store salesman Mark, who did not provide his last name, said hundreds of bottles had been sold.
“People want to celebrate,” he said.
His colleague Janis said: “I bought 20 for myself.”
Dressed in a Biden-Harris t-shirt and with a Biden-Harris sign in her hand, Juanita was one of the many customers in search of the bubbly.
“I’m so happy. It’s an amazing day for democracy,” she said while choosing a bottle.
At Magruder’s, a wine shop in the residential district of Chevy Chase in business since 1845, the shelves were emptied quickly and employees had to fetch reserve cases of champagne.
“People buy two or three bottles. It’s very unusual,” said a cashier. “People are so happy today.”
And they were obviously not concerned with the price. Bottles of champagne typically sell for around $US40 dollars ($55) to start.
READ MORE: Plenty still to be worried about with Biden in charge
Agencies 3.15pm: Supporters keep the Biden party going
Wearing facemasks and waving flags from car rooftops, hundreds of Democrats cheered every sentence of Joe Biden’s first speech as president-elect at his victory party for the coronavirus era. And the party has continued in cities across the country, with many Biden supporters partying well into the night.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” said 26-year-old financial analyst Juliana Panzera, speaking through her car window in the parking lot of the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware.
“It almost feels too good to be true. But thank God it isn’t,” she added. Children standing through sunroofs waved blue glow-sticks as older revellers wearing masks with “Biden-Harris” emblazoned on them enjoyed drinks with fellow supporters beside their vehicles, happy to break the six-feet rule.
“We’re elated,” said 32-year-old content creator Alexis Reyes who drove from neighboring New Jersey.
“We have been praying and wishing for Biden to get this win. I feel like everyone just feels a sense of like, ‘Dad is gonna take over and protect everybody,’” she added.
For 59-year-old Pat Heffernan, the celebrations were third time lucky after he and his wife Debra drove to the venue twice earlier this week in anticipation of a victory party that never happened as the vote count dragged on.
“We’re having some drinks. We feel a sense of relief,” said Heffernan, dressed as Uncle Sam in red and white striped trousers with shoulder straps and a flashing top hat.
His wife wore a Statue of Liberty costume.
“It’s appropriate because we’re going to start letting immigrants into our country again,” she said.
Some 360 cars attended the drive-in, according to organisers, which saw someone parade through the crowd wearing a Donald Trump inflatable baby costume.
For 60-year-old teacher Gary Duren, the coronavirus restrictions which had limited crowd numbers and forced attendees to bring their cars had not dampened the celebrations.
“As a country it is the first piece of good news for a while. I’m full of emotions tonight,” he said.
“We have a vision for hope again. It’s history in the making,” Duren said.
AFP
Sarah Baxter 3pm: Trump plots his comeback
An avalanche of mail-in ballots has extinguished Donald Trump’s presidency, but nothing can douse his fire and fury. America loves a sequel, and Trump is already plotting his comeback, surely with the working subtitle:
Beyond the White House Thunderdome
As he tried to soothe his nerves on his own golf course in Sterling, Virginia, he will have known no blizzard of lawsuits can keep him for much longer at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The whole point of crying foul over a “rigged” election is to keep his electoral base forever inflamed.
This matters, if your name is Donald J Trump. Before he was president, Trump was a brand – and his fame was super-sized during his four years in power. He is too vain to slip back quietly into his old character of property mogul and reality- TV showman, so you can be certain he is gaming whether he has a realistic shot at running for president in 2024. Those who know him well are convinced he will have a go. “I would never rule it out,” said a source close to Trump.
If not, Trump will expect — indeed demand — to be the Republican kingmaker. By then, he may have a Trump television empire to play with, if he can hold his existing creditors at bay. “There is no doubt in my mind that Donald Trump understands the power of communication through the media and social media better than anybody else,” the source added. “It would be a completely natural development of the Trump movement.”
READ the full story here.
Cameron Stewart 2.30pm: Biden calls for end of ‘grim era’
Joe Biden has pledged to unite the nation and lead for all Americans in his first speech as president-elect for the country.
In a strongly worded speech, the 77-year-old former vice president stressed the need for the country to heal its partisan divides and come together for the greater good.
“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,” he said in a speech in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.
“Let this grim era of demonisation in America begin to end, here and now … this is the time to heal in America.”
Mr Biden reached out to Donald Trump’s supporters, saying: “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.”
READ the full story here.
Rosie Lewis 2pm: Albanese backtracks on Trump call
Anthony Albanese has backed away from his call last week for Scott Morrison to contact US President Donald Trump to urge him to respect democratic processes.
The Opposition Leader said it was good the Prime Minister “has accepted the election outcome” and congratulated President-elect Joe Biden, insisting that was what he meant when he asked Mr Morrison to intervene.
On Friday Mr Albanese said: “Scott Morrison has a close relationship with President Trump. We saw that when he attended the de facto campaign rally in Ohio with President Trump.
“He should be contacting President Trump and conveying Australia’s strong view that democratic processes must be respected.”
But on Sunday he changed tack.
“What I suggested was that Scott Morrison needed to stand up for democracy,” Mr Albanese said.
“He’s done that in acknowledging the election of President-elect Biden. The other thing that needs to happen - and this is the context here - is that Scott Morrison needs to dissociate himself and his government from government members who are questioning the democratic process and continue to do so.”
Imogen Reid 1.10pm: ‘Let’s be the nation we know we can be’
Joe Biden spoke of the battles to be fought and won as he delivered a message of unity and healing in his victory speech.
“Tonight, we’re seeing all over the nation an outpouring of joy, hope, renewed faith in tomorrow and I’m humbled by the trust and confidence you’ve placed in me.
“I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide, but unify.
“I sought this office to restore the soul of America, to rebuild the backbone of this nation, the middle class.
“It’s the honour of my lifetime that so many millions of Americans have voted for that vision.”
Mr Biden said the US would now face a battle to restore and defend democracy in the post-Trump era.
“The battle to control the virus. The battle to build prosperity, the battle to secure your family’s healthcare. The battle to achieve racial justice and root out systemic racism in this country,” he said.
“And the battle to save our planet by getting the climate under control. The battle of restoring decency, defending democracy, and giving everybody in this country a fair shot.”
Mr Biden said the opportunity to build the nation on prosperity and purpose started with putting an end to the “era of demonisation in America”.
“I have always believed we could define America in a single word, possibilities,” he said.
“We are always looking ahead to an America that is freer and more just, an America that creates dignity and respect, an America that never leaves anybody behind, an America that never gives up.
“Let us be the nation that we know we can be. A nation united, a nation strengthened, a nation healed. The United States of America, and ladies and gentlemen, there is never, never been anything we have tried not been able to do.”
Anne Barrowclough 12.50pm: ‘This is a time to heal’
Joe Biden has taken the stage with the message of unity that he has been giving Americans since the election.
“The people have spoken,” he said. “They’ve delivered us a clear victory, a convincing victory, a victory for you the people.”
Mr Biden said he had been humbled by the outpouring of joy across the country and the world, and reminded the crowd gathered at the Chase Centre that he would be a president who sought “not to divide but to unify, who doesn’t see red states or blue states but the United States of America.”
“I will work with all my heart to win the confidence of all of you,” he said. “That’s what America is about”.
Mr Biden said he had sought to restore the soul of the country, “to make America respected around the world again.”
He appealed to Trump supporters, saying he understood their disappointment. “I’ve lost a couple of times myself,” he said.
“But let’s put away the harsh rhetoric, stop treating our opponents as enemies. They aren’t our enemies.”
He added: “This is a time to heal”
Anne Barrowclough 12.40pm: ‘I will not be the last woman in this office’
Kamala Harris says she will not be the last woman to be an American vice-president and said her election gave every little girl hope.
“I may be the first woman in this office but I will not be the last,” she said. “Because every little girl watching tonight see this as a country of possibilities.
“And to all the children or our country, regardless of your gender, your country as sent you a message; dream with ambition ... and know we will applaud you every step of the way’
READ MORE: ‘A new day for America’
Anne Barrowclough 12.30pm: ‘You have ushered in a new day for America’
Vice-president elect Kamala Harris is introducing Joe Biden ahead of his victory speech. Ms Harris has echoed Mr Biden’s message of unity and healing, telling the audience at the Chase Centre in WImington, Delaware: “We the people have the power to build a better future. You have ushered in a new day for America.”
Ms Harris, dressed in a cream suit with a cream silk blouse, added: “I know recent times have been challenging; we’ve witnessed the grief, the sorrow, the pain.
“But we have also witnessed your courage, resilience and generosity of spirit.”
She reminded them that Mr Biden would be a healing president.
James Madden 12.20pm: Former PMs use Biden win to urge climate action
Former prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull have seized on Joe Biden’s United States election win to urge Scott Morrison to “pivot” on climate change and adopt a more ambitious 2030 target, as well as net zero emissions by 2050.
Mr Rudd also said Labor would “have” to adopt a higher 2030 target than the Coalition’s 26 to 28 per cent emissions reduction on 2005 levels.
“My appeal to Morrison today is use this change in Washington to swallow your political pride and get real on the mid-century target of carbon neutrality and a new trajectory to 2030,” Mr Rudd told the ABC’s Insiders program.
Mr Turnbull, who said he was pursued by the right wing of the Coalition and the right wing media – “mostly owned by Murdoch” - for his stance on climate change, said the Prime Minister must use Mr Biden’s win to “move” on targets.
“Trump has lost. Murdoch’s man in the White House has been defeated,” Mr Turnbull said.
“The Americans are going to be taking a leading position, globally, on climate action once again and Biden has flagged that this is going to be part of America’s international trade agenda as well as the Europeans have.
“Now is the time for Scott Morrison to say, ‘right, the global landscape has changed, the people that have been holding us back, holding the Coalition and the country back on this issue are out of the way. I don’t have to go on with all of the BS about a gas-led recovery’, which is honestly just political piffle.
“Focus on cutting emissions, cheap electricity, zero emissions. This is the time to pivot, otherwise, he’s going to look like out on the extreme with Saudi Arabia, for heaven’s sake, as some kind of a carbon economy. Really, we can do so much better than that, and now is the time for Scott to move.”
Congratulations to @JoeBiden, @KamalaHarris and their supporters! They have a huge task in unwinding the endemic problems that gave rise to the Trump phenomenon, not to mention Murdoch’s Fox network which bred and sustains such political division. Good to join @InsidersABC. pic.twitter.com/IEUa76RttU
— Kevin Rudd (@MrKRudd) November 7, 2020
Mr Rudd also spoke about his petition for a royal commission into media diversity in Australia.
“My principal motivation in putting this petition together has been to bring to the surface this national conversation (on media diversity), rather than people being too frightened to talk about it. (Rupert) Murdoch has engendered a culture of fear in Australia about this discussion because he goes after people individually who raise this question, including myself, including Malcolm (Turnbull), including others,” he told the ABC.
“The second objective .... is to establish a royal commission so that all appropriate and alternative media models from other democracies can be examined and sorted to maximise media diversity.
“Monopoly is bad for democracy, like it’s bad for the economy. The petition will be tabled in the week ahead in the parliament.”
Mr Turnbull said he wasn’t “a fan of rural commissions”, but he thought the current state of the Australian media industry warrants such an inquiry.
“The old media models .... have been shattered by the internet and social media,” he said.
“We’ve got to work out what price we’re paying as a society for the hyperpartisanship of the media.”
Cameron McWhirter 12.10pm: Georgia signals south’s changing electoral map
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s surprising, narrow lead over President Trump in Georgia, where the two are neck-and-neck as the vote count winds down, signals a changing political landscape in a state and region that have been Republican strongholds for decades.
While a recount in Georgia is expected, its competitive status puts it among the ranks of a block of southern states that could change the presidential map in the future. North Carolina, which Mr. Trump currently holds with a slim margin, is also viewed now as a potential Democratic target following about a decade behind Virginia’s shift to becoming a blue state.
Florida, which backed former President Obama and then flipped to back Mr. Trump twice, has long been a presidential swing state, although it has been leaning red in state elections. Mr. Trump’s victory there on Tuesday is credited in part to his campaign’s outreach and messaging to the state’s diverse Hispanic population.
The Democrats’ emerging competitiveness in the South is also evident in Sunbelt states, where Arizona flipped from red to blue by backing Mr. Biden, with a narrow margin, following the continuing Democratic shifts in Nevada and the now reliably blue New Mexico.
Meanwhile, Republicans have been making inroads in the industrial Midwest. While Mr. Biden was able to recapture the Great Lakes region, Mr. Trump’s victories in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania in 2016 provide a guide for future GOP candidates to try to break through what is called the “blue wall.” Ohio, which has a history of being competitive, has grown more solidly Republican in recent elections.
READ the full story
Anne Barrowclough 11.50am: Biden ‘heard news from grandchildren’
Joe Biden found out he was the 46th president of the US from his grandchildren, CNN reports.
Mr Biden has spent most of the day at home with his family. He is about to address the nation with a message of unity.
A source on his campaign told CNN his grandchildren had alerted him to the new he had won.
We did it, @JoeBiden. pic.twitter.com/oCgeylsjB4
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 7, 2020
Rosie Lewis 11.35am: Morrison defends record on climate change
Scott Morrison has defended his record on climate change while welcoming the United States rejoining the Paris agreement under Joe Biden’s presidency.
America formally entered the Paris agreement under Barack Obama but left the 2015 accord last week, three years after US President Donald Trump signalled his intention to leave. Mr Biden has pledged to sign back up on the first day of his presidency.
“Australia never left, Australia was always there meeting and keeping our commitments,” the Prime Minister said.
“Australia’s commitment to addressing climate change will continue and we are signatories to the Paris agreement and that is something we held fast to and not only held fast to but we have a very strong story to tell about our achievement when it comes to our commitments on the global stage.
“If we want to see global emissions fall then it’s not enough for us to meet our commitments. We need to have the transformational technologies that are scalable and affordable for the developing world as well because that is where all the emissions increases are coming from in the decade ahead and the next 20 years.
“We need to ensure that those economies can successfully and commercially and prosperously transform through these technologies and I believe we will have a very positive discussion about the partnerships we can have with the United States about furthering those technological developments that will see a lower emissions future for the world but a stronger economy as well where we don’t say goodbye to jobs.”
Scott Morrison also said the door was open for the United States to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership under Joe Biden’s leadership, insisting reengagement in trade forums will help the world recover from COVID-19.
“The way out is not to pull back in. The way out is to reach out, the way out is to engage in market-based trade, fair trade under the proper rules through the World Trade Organisation, and that’s something we are very committed to. We would welcome a commitment (by the US) to that objective as well,” the Prime Minister said.
“That is going to help the world recover from the COVID-19 global recession and we are very committed to that course and we welcome other countries doing the same.”
Chris Kenny 11.30am: Plenty to worry about with Biden in charge
In the dark of night on election eve last week, a steel wall was erected around the entire White House block in Washington DC. It was to keep the protesters out, but now it seems Donald Trump is hiding behind it, keeping democratic reality at bay.
As has been looking increasingly clear since the morning after election night that a narrow win in key states will deliver Joe Biden a comfortable election win in the electoral college. This is much as it was four years ago when Trump won, and much as it looked like it might be for him again when voting first halted on election night, before the late rush of mail-in ballots proved to be even stronger for the Democrats than expected.
The first point to make is that — legal challenges withstanding — this makes it a clear and orthodox presidential victory. Much like our own system often turns on narrow margins in key seats, it is entirely normal for a US presidential result to hinge on relatively few votes in swing states.
Especially given the temporary electoral changes for this election — widely relaxed rules around mail-in ballots that boosted “turnout” and helped deliver victory to the Democrats — Republicans will need uncommon grace to acknowledge and accept the result. That is because the Democrats and large swathes of media commentary have spent the past four years undermining the legitimacy of the Trump presidency, pointing to the nationwide popular vote and the narrow margins in crucial states.
READ the full story
Rosie Lewis 11.21am: PM invites Bidens to Australia
Just hours after the United States election was called and before Donald Trump conceded, Scott Morrison has invited President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill to Australia next year to celebrate 70 years of the ANZUS Treaty.
“I hope that he and Doctor Biden will join us here in Australia for the 70th anniversary of ANZUS,” the Prime Minister said.
“ANZUS has been the bedrock of our security foundations in Australia since that alliance was first established and I look forward to inviting the President-elect to join us next year in their formal capacities at that time and for us to be able to celebrate 70 years of peace and stability and security that has been established by this incredible relationship.”
Mr Morrison said this was a “profound time” not just for the US but for its partnership with Australia and the world more broadly, as he welcomed a “new chapter” in the US-Australia alliance.
He reflected on a previous visit to Australia by Mr Biden in which he described the alliance as the “core” of America’s vision for the Indo-Pacific, which Mr Morrison said remained true.
“We wish the American people all the very best,” Mr Morrison said.
“We are like-minded. We share values. We share ... a peaceful outlook on the world, and on life. A life where families can live together in peace and stability and pursue their own dreams and plan for their own futures with confidence. These are the values that we hold dear as two countries.”
The Prime Minister will send a letter to Mr Biden on Sunday, formally inviting him to the anniversary celebrations.
Anne Barrowclough 11.15am: What happens if Trump won’t go?
What happens if Donald Trump simply to refuses to leave the White House despite losing the election?
There has been no precedent so it’s hard to say, but the 20th amendment of the Constitution stipulates that his term must end at noon on January 20.
Specifically, it says: “The terms of the president and vice president shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of their successors should then begin.”
If Mr Trump decides to ignore the Constitution, he might find himself in a “Nixonian moment,” as lawyers are now discussing with US media.
Mr Nixon was infamously forced to resign in 1974 over the Watergate scandal. He had been clinging to power despite having made the decision to go; but only resigned after a congressional delegation led by Republican Senator Barry Goldwater went to the White House on August 7 to tell him he would not survive an impeachment vote.
“I think we would have that Nixonian moment where a leadership team would travel to the White House to declare, ‘Mr. President, it is over,’ ” Michael Steele, a former Republican National Committee chairman told the Boston Globe.
Quartz website points out that as Mr Trump would be a private citizen by January 20, Mr Biden could call the Secret Service or US Marshals to kick him out as a trespasser.
Rosie Lewis 10.40am: Turnbull: No doubt Trump will go
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has declared “Trump will go” as he lashed the administration for creating four years of disruption and division and undermining the international rules-based order.
Mr Turnbull, who appeared alongside another former prime minister Kevin Rudd on the ABC’s Insiders program, said there was no evidence for US President Donald Trump to appeal election results in the court.
“The courts of law are open to him, so he’s entitled to do that if he wishes,” Mr Turnbull said. “But ultimately, I have no doubt that he will go. There is no way that he is going to try to barricade himself into the White House. That’s too absurd, even in the rather surreal environment of the Trump administration.
“It’s a relief to have a return to normal transmission, to have an administration that is going to be consistent, that isn’t going to be, you know, making decisions by wild tweets in the early hours of the morning, that isn’t going to be walking out of global treaties and alliances, you know, discombobulating friends and foes alike.
“The four years of Trump have been a very, very disruptive period. I mean, it’s left the United States, the most important, you know, democracy in the world and the most important country in the world much more divided than it was at the beginning of four years.”
Staff writers 10.30am: What happens between now and inauguration
There are still a lot of steps to be taken before Joe Biden will be inaugurated as 46th president of the US.
Here’s a timeline of what happens from today until the inauguration.
America, I’m honored that you have chosen me to lead our great country.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 7, 2020
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. pic.twitter.com/moA9qhmjn8
Nov. 4 - 23: Mail-in ballots had to be postmarked by Novemer 3 in every US state, but they can be received late and still counted in many states.
Nov. 10 - Dec. 11: States certify election results.
Dec. 8: Under the Electoral Count Act, this is the date by which states are meant to have counted votes, settled disputes, and determined the winner of their electoral college votes. Governors are supposed to create certificates of ascertainment listing the winner of the election and the slate of electors.
Dec. 14: Electoral votes are cast. In law this date is the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December. This year it falls on Dec. 14.
Dec. 23: The electoral votes must arrive in Washington. The certified electoral votes have nine days to get from their states to Capitol Hill.
Jan. 3: Members of the House and new members of the Senate take the oath of office at noon. This is the official start of the 117th Congress.
Jan. 6: Members of the House and the Senate all meet in the House chamber. The President of the Senate (that’s Vice President Mike Pence) presides over the session and the Electoral votes are read and counted in alphabetical order by two appointees each from the House and Senate. They then give their tallies to Mr Pence, who announces the results and listens for objections. There are 538 electoral votes — one for each congressman and senator plus three for Washington, DC. If no candidate gets 270, the 435 members of the House decide the election. The House has until noon on January 20 to pick the President. If they can’t, it would be the vice president or the next person eligible in the line of presidential succession.
Jan. 20: The new president takes the oath of office at noon on Inauguration Day
Agencies 10.10am: ’Decency, integrity’: How Biden did it
Joe Biden’s White House victory was powered by a broad and racially diverse coalition of voters driven to the polls by fierce opposition to Donald Trump and anxiety over a surging, deadly pandemic.
Both nationwide and in key battleground states across the Midwest and Sun Belt, the Democrat dominated with voters worried about the coronavirus and hungry for the federal government to do more to contain its spread, according to AP VoteCast, an expansive survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide. After four years of political turbulence under Mr Trump, Mr Biden won voters looking for a leader who could unify the country, and those pushing for racial justice. More saw him as empathetic and honest, and willing to stand up to extremism, compared with the Republican incumbent
“It has to do with decency. This country has got integrity and hopefully we can get decency,” said Kay Nicholas, a 73-year-old retired teacher and school principal from Brighton, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. “I think Joe Biden can do it and bring back kindness.”
The election ultimately emerged as a contest between two conflicting visions of America in a time of crisis. Biden voters saw a nation in chaos and a void in presidential leadership, while Trump supporters believed the economy was roaring back to health and that the president was delivering on the dramatic political change he campaign on four years ago.
.@antjuansea believes that Biden will be “the political glue†that will be able to bring Democrats together https://t.co/E5RPoWo96t pic.twitter.com/EHmA0cMCjb
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 7, 2020
“We love our president, we love our Constitution, we love everything that he’s promised and followed through on,” said Annastasia Theodoropoulos, a 50-year-old Trump supporter in Milford, Pennsylvania, a borough outside Scranton.
Mr Biden’s coalition included clear majorities of college graduates, women, urban and suburban voters, young people and Black Americans -- all groups that have risen up in resistance to the Trump presidency. He made good on his promise to win over moderate voters, including some Republicans who rejected the president.
Mr Trump, meanwhile, held his base of white voters without a college degree, rural voters and religious conservatives. And in some competitive states, like Nevada and Florida, he also ate away at Mr Biden’s support among Latinos, according to the survey.
AP
Brendan O’Neill 10.05am: Trump and the real resistance
So Joe Biden has won the highest popular vote in the history of the US. At the time of writing, more than 73 million people have voted for him. He has beaten the record set by Barack Obama who was swept to power on that famous wave of ‘HOPE’ and 69.5 million votes in 2008. But here’s the thing: so has Donald Trump. Trump might trail Biden in the popular vote of 2020, but he, too, has beaten Obama’s 2008 record. Trump, at the time of writing, has 69.7 million votes. So he has won the second-highest popular vote in the history of the American republic. That is remarkable. Far more remarkable than Biden’s very impressive count.
Why? For one simple reason. Trump is the man we’re all meant to hate. He has been raged against ceaselessly by the cultural elites for the past four years. Hardly any of the American media backed him in 2020. Globalist institutions loathe him. Academia, the media elites, the social-media oligarchies, the celebrity set and other hugely influential sectors have branded him a 21st-century Hitler and insisted that only a “white supremacist” could countenance voting for him. He’s the butt of every sniffy East Coast joke and the target of every fiery street protest. He’s the worst thing to happen to Western politics in decades, we’re told, by clever people, constantly.
And yet around 70 million Americans voted for him. The second-highest electoral bloc in the history of the US put their cross next to the name of a man who over the past four years has been turned by the political clerisy into the embodiment of evil.
That is what makes the vote for Trump so striking, and so important.
READ the full analysis here.
Staff writers 9.50am: Furious Trump tweets, Bidens embrace next president
After returning to the White House, President Trump is voicing his anger at the result in capital letters on Twitter, hours after Joe Biden was declared the next president of the United States.
Mr Trump claimed in a tweet that he won the election and that “BAD THINGS HAPPENED WHICH OUR OBSERVERS WERE NOT ALLOWED TO SEE.”
THE OBSERVERS WERE NOT ALLOWED INTO THE COUNTING ROOMS. I WON THE ELECTION, GOT 71,000,000 LEGAL VOTES. BAD THINGS HAPPENED WHICH OUR OBSERVERS WERE NOT ALLOWED TO SEE. NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. MILLIONS OF MAIL-IN BALLOTS WERE SENT TO PEOPLE WHO NEVER ASKED FOR THEM!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2020
There has been no evidence of widespread irregularities in ballot counting. Observers from both parties have been monitoring vote counting.
Twitter labeled the tweet with “This claim about election fraud is disputed.”
In a separate tweet, the president touted his receiving 71 million popular votes, the most by a sitting president. Mr. Biden has received nearly 75 million, a record for any candidate. Votes are still being counted.
11.07.20 pic.twitter.com/HHVJMmIoAW
— Naomi Biden (@NaomiBiden) November 7, 2020
In stark contrast, Mr Biden’s granddaughter tweeted a picture of the president elect being embraced by his family. And Cindy McCain, widow of the late John McCain, tweeted a warm message to Mr Biden and Kamala Harris. Mrs McCain, who had endorsed Mr Bidento be next president during the election campaign, said: “I know Joe will unify the country toward a better future”.
Congratulations to my dear friend and President-elect @JoeBiden Vice-President-elect @KamalaHarris. Its time to move beyond politics and toward building a stronger america. I know Joe will unify the country toward a better future.
— Cindy McCain (@cindymccain) November 7, 2020
Rosie Lewis 9.30am: Rudd: Time for Trump to put on big boy pants
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd says a smooth transition of power in the United States is dependent on whether Donald Trump puts on his “big boy pants” and the future attitude of the Murdoch media.
“It really does depend on two factors, I think. One is what President Trump does personally and whether he decides to put on his big boy pants, as someone said recently in the United States, and act like a grown-up in this period of transition,” Mr Rudd told the ABC’s Insiders program.
“And, two, the attitude of the Murdoch media and the Fox network in the future because this is the media base of the entire Trump and far-right Republican phenomenon. And so those are the two critical dynamics here.”
Rosie Lewis 9.19am: Sinodinos won’t back Trump declaration
Australia’s ambassador to the United States Arthur Sinodinos has refused to back Donald Trump’s declaration that he won the election, noting the poll has been called for Joe Biden, but says the US President is free to contest results in the courts.
“We’re taking the position that the election has been called,” Mr Sinodinos told the ABC’s Insiders program. “The President has the right to contest this in the courts but we, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, India, France, Germany and others have taken a view based on the information that’s been provided by the networks and others who have called it that this is the case.
“It’s a free country. These matters can be challenged in the courts.”
Asked if he believed Mr Trump was undermining democracy by making unfounded claims of fraud and the election being stolen, Mr Sinodinos would not weigh in but to again say the President had the right to take “issues” to the courts.
READ MORE: Trump just plain wrong on so many counts
Cameron Stewart 8.55: Biden cabinet to transform politics
The new president-elect Joe Biden has started choosing the team that will transform the face of Washington politics in the post-Trump era.
For Australia, it is likely to include diplomatic and military appointments who have a strong understanding of Australia and of the importance of the ANZUS Alliance.
Australia’s ambassador to the United States, Arthur Sinodinos, told The Australian that Biden was a good friend of Australia who was an enthusiastic supporter of the US-Australia alliance.
“Joe Biden is well known as a friend of Australia, I met him some years ago in Australia. He is enthusiastic about the relationship and I believe the relationship will continue to grow and prosper,’ Mr Sinodinos said.
“We have a long and enduring relationship with the United States built on common values and the capacity to stand together and defend those values and a change of administration is an opportunity to continue that work,” he said.
“We thank the Trump administration for their co-operation in pursuing important matters of mutual interest, reflecting the great continuity in this, our most important relationship.”
READ the full story here
Cameron Stewart 8.50am: Trump faces tough court battle
Donald Trump says he will start prosecuting cases in court from Tuesday (AEDT) to prove that fraud and corruption stole the election away from him.
The president hopes that court victories will reverse the result and install him in the White House for a second term.
“Our campaign will start prosecuting our case in court to ensure election laws are fully upheld and the rightful winner is seated,” Mr Trump said in a statement. “The American People are entitled to an honest election: that means counting all legal ballots, and not counting any illegal ballots.”
I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2020
But after four days of searching for evidence to back the president’s claims, his legal team has not disclosed anything publicly that looks like it may succeed in a court.
The challenge for Mr Trump is a lot greater than it was in the famous legal battle over who won in Florida in the 2000 presidential election.
That decision, by the US Supreme Court, determined the winner of the contest between George W Bush and Al Gore.
But that legal battle was only waged over the results in one state.
To overturn Joe Biden’s victory, the president needs courts to overturn the results in at least three states.
READ the full story
Rosie Lewis 8.15am: Morrison: Australia wishes you every success
Scott Morrison has joined other world leaders in congratulating Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on their election, saying Australia “wishes you every success in office”.
The Australia-US alliance is deep and enduring, and built on shared values,” the Prime Minister tweeted.
“I look forward to working with you closely as we face the world’s many challenges together.”
Congratulations to @joebiden and @kamalaharris - Australia wishes you every success in office. The Australia-US Alliance is deep and enduring, and built on shared values. I look forward to working with you closely as we face the world’s many challenges together.
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) November 7, 2020
Anthony Albanese, whose Labor colleagues have been buoyed by the Biden win, congratulated the President-elect and Ms Harris “on a victory delivered with record support with a progressive agenda based on decency, honest government, creating opportunity and dealing with the pandemic and the challenge of climate change”.
Congratulations to @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris on a victory delivered with record support with a progressive agenda based on decency, honest government, creating opportunity and dealing with the pandemic and the challenge of climate change
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) November 7, 2020
“The US alliance has been our most important partnership since WW2 and your commitment to leadership will see this strengthened into the future,” the Opposition Leader said.
The US Alliance has been our most important partnership since WW2 and your commitment to leadership will see this strengthened into the future 🇦🇺🇺🇸
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) November 7, 2020
Mr Morrison also released a statement, congratulating Mr Biden and Ms Harris and also thanking Donald Trump for his contribution to the US-Australia relationship.
The Prime Minister said in the statement: “On behalf of the Australian Government, I congratulate President-elect Joe Biden on his election as the 46th President of the United States and wish him every success for his term in office.
“The President-elect has been a great friend of Australia over many years, including when he visited Australia in 2016.
“The Australia-US Alliance is enduring and built on shared democratic values such as the international rule of law, respect for human rights and equality, freedom of religion and belief, freedom of expression and diversity of opinion.
“Our partnership goes back more than a century. Next year, our countries will celebrate 70 years since the signing of the ANZUS Treaty — the foundation of our security alliance.
“Today, the world faces many challenges, including managing the COVID-19 pandemic, on both a health and economic front, ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and peace and stability.
“American leadership is indispensable to meeting these challenges and upholding the rules, norms and standards of our international community.
“We also 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. We welcome the President-elect’s commitment to multilateral institutions and strengthening democracies.
“I also extend my congratulations to Kamala Harris on her election as Vice President of the United States.
“On behalf of the Australian Government I also acknowledge and thank President Donald J. Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for their contribution to the Australia-US relationship. Australia has enjoyed a strong working relationship with the current administration, one that has seen the strength of our alliance continue to grow and deepen.
“We will continue to work closely with President Trump and his administration in the transition period between now and 20 January.”
Congratulations to @JoeBiden on being elected 46th President of the US & to @SenKamalaHarris, the first woman to hold the office of Vice President.
— Marise Payne (@MarisePayne) November 7, 2020
Australia looks forward to working with the Biden Administration, building on our strong and valued alliance. 🇦🇺🇺🇸 https://t.co/YOAXEkVzDN
Foreign Minister Marise Payne also tweeted her congratulations, saying: “Congratulations to @JoeBiden on being elected 46th President of the US & to @SenKamalaHarris, the first woman to hold the office of Vice President.
Australia looks forward to working with the Biden Administration, building on our strong and valued alliance.”
Anne Barrowclough 8.05am: Armed Trump supporters protest in Phoenix
It’s not all celebrations across America. Armed Trump supporters have gathered in front of the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix to protest Joe Biden’s victory.
At least a dozen men with military style rifles were photographed in the crowd, which chanted: “Fox News sucks” and “Where is Ducey?” (referring to Doug Ducey, Arizona’s moderate Republican governor, who has avoided pro-Trump protests.)
“Trump shouldn’t concede if he feels there’s been voter fraud,” an armed protester who gave his name only as Dave, told the New York Times.
He said he was a public-school teacher and had moved to Arizona from New Jersey to be in a part of the country that is friendlier to gun owners.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has returned to the White House after spending the morning playing golf.
Anne Barrowclough 7.45am: US reports record Covid cases for third straight day
In less good news, the US has reported record new coronavirus cases for the third day in a row, as Mr Biden vowed to act against the pandemic on “day one” in the world’s worst-hit nation.
More than 127,000 new infections were reported in the US, the third straight daily record.
Om Saturday (AEDT) Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff tested positive after attending a White House election party on Wednesday.
Global infections have surged past 49 million and Europe has become the new pandemic epicentre in recent weeks with more than 300,000 deaths - nearly a quarter of the global total.
Mr Biden promised he would not waste time in addressing the pandemic.
“I want everyone, everyone to know on day one we’re going to put our plan to control this virus into action,” said the Democrat president-elect.
Agencies 7.30am: US erupts in celebration
Celebrations have erupted across parts of America, as Joe Biden claims the US presidency from Donald Trump.
Street parties have broken out outside the White House in Washington DC, as well as New York and Pennsylvania.
Hundreds of Biden supporters cheered and sounded car horns as they and members of the president-elect’s family gathered at his election headquarters in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware ahead of a victory party.
After TV networks declared Mr Biden, 77, the winner of Tuesday’s election shortly before 11:30am local time, scores of Democrats descended on the Chase Center, where the next president of the United States will lead celebrations later.
Inside the adjacent Westin Hotel, Biden’s family and campaign team expressed their delight at Biden rendering Donald Trump a one-term president.
“I’m overjoyed,” Biden’s younger brother Jim Biden said. Campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said she had been on a run when her mother called to tell her that CNN had called the election for Biden.
“Ecstatic — a great day for this county,” she told reporters, after walking through the hotel’s lobby in a white Biden T-shirt.
Shortly before the long-awaited announcement, Biden’s sister Valerie Biden Owens described the result as “wonderful.” “It’s a wonderful thing for us but it’s a better thing for America,” she told reporters.
READ the full story
Anne Barrowclough 7.15am: ‘No plans’ to invite Biden to White House
Donald Trump reportedly has no plans to invite Joe Biden to the White House, defying the decades long tradition of Oval Office meetings between incoming and outgoing presidents.
Mr Trump met Barack Obama after he was elected, and has often spoken about it, including Mr Obama’s warnings over North Korea.
But a source close to the White House told CNN Mr Trump would not take those traditional transition steps with Mr Biden.
Mr Trump was on the golf course when Mr Biden was declared winner of the presidential election and is refusing to concede the election.
Corey Lewandowski, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, told the Wall St Journal the president felt strongly about continuing to fight the results.
“He’s in a fighting mood,” said Mr Lewandowski. “He’s like, ‘We’re going to fight and we’re going to win.’ We’re going to make sure we have the best legal minds in the country and we’re going to ensure the integrity of our ballot process. He’s 100 per cent fighting right now.”
.@CLewandowski_ on what the Trump campaign believes is a concrete example of voter fraud in #Pennsylvania pic.twitter.com/psBS06Vw5F
— Team Trump (Text VOTE to 88022) (@TeamTrump) November 7, 2020
Mr Lewandowski, the original manager of Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign, blasted as premature the call made by the Associated Press and other US media organisations declaring declare Mr Biden the winner. “Networks don’t call elections,” he said. “The people decide. We have to let the process play out.”
It is also unclear how other aspects of the transition will occur. One person familiar with the matter told CNN there haven’t been explicit instructions disseminated from the White House on how to proceed.
Anne Barrowclough 6.55am: Giuliani: Obvious Trump won’t concede
Donald Trump’s close ally Rudy Giuliani has confirmed Mr Trump will not concede the election, telling reporters: “Obviously he’s not going to concede when at least 600,000 ballots are in question.”
Speaking in Philadelphia shortly after Mr Biden was declared winner of the presidential eleciton, Mr Giuliani claimed without providing evidence that Mr Biden gaining a lead in the Pennsylvania vote count after Election Day was proof of corruption.
President Trump initially led in Pennsylvania, but lost his lead dramatically as mail-in votes swung the state to Mr Biden.
Americans are giving us so much evidence of election misconduct, it’s a full time job to follow up.
— Rudy W. Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) November 7, 2020
Some really powerful cases will come down very soon.
“You just don’t lose leads like that without corruption,” Mr Giuliani said, despite the fact that through election history early leads have swung the other way as more votes are counted. t
He said the Trump campaign would file several federal lawsuits alleging the “uniform deprivation of the right to inspect” ballots. He accused the “Democratic machine in Philadelphia” of tampering with counting, and “(keeping) the votes of dead people secret,” amid other baseless accusations.
“Seems to me somebody from the Democratic National Committee sent out a note that said don’t let the Republicans look at those mail-in ballots,” Mr Giuliani claimed, again without offering any evidence.
Troy Bramston 6.35am: Trump supporters need to accept he’s lost
Donald Trump’s disastrous, degraded and divisive presidency has been dispatched to history. This is the voters’ verdict which has delivered Joe Biden a large popular vote margin and a likely clear electoral college majority.
Biden’s victory is one for the ages. Trump’s defeat, after just one term, makes him what he fears most: a loser. He is only the third president to serve a full term and not win re-election since 1932. In the US, the expression “one-term president” is a catchphrase for a failed presidency.
Biden has played the role of president-elect with grace and dignity. He asked for all votes to be counted, urged his supporters to be patient and called for calm. He has been strong but not boastful. He is ready to be president and begin healing a divided nation.
Trump has been flailing like a dying king, desperately making false accusations of ballot fraud and unable to face up to the reality of losing. However, Trumpism will survive. But it is time for Trump supporters to accept the result: their man lost.
Biden won the popular vote by a whopping four million margin and perhaps as much as six million or seven million. It reflects the will of a majority of voters across the nation — mainstream Americans who decide elections. Biden has won more votes than any other presidential candidate in history.
An anti-Trump vote helps explain Biden’s win. Yet he built a broad coalition of support in states from east to west and north to south, coast-to-coast and from the rust belt to the sun belt. Biden will win Michigan and Wisconsin, and almost certainly Pennsylvania, by bigger margins than Trump did four years ago.
READ the full story
Anne Barrowclough 6.30am: Jill Biden tweets
Joe Biden’s wife Jill has tweeted a picture of the couple at home, writing: “He will be President for all our families.”
In the picture, in which Mr Biden wears a cap reading “We did it” and “46”, the pair are holding a sign saying “Dr and Vice-President Biden live here,” but she covers the word “vice” with her hand.
He will be a President for all of our families. pic.twitter.com/iGPKLMMIcK
— Dr. Jill Biden (@DrBiden) November 7, 2020
Anne Barrowclough 6.00am: Biden to address nation at noon
President-elect Joe Biden will address the nation at noon (AEDT). He is expected to repeat the message of unity that has been prevalent in his speeches during this long election; and in the statement he releaed this morning.
One of the first things he will do next week is to announce his 12-person coronavirus task force on Monday, CNN reports.
The task force will reportedly be lead by three cochairs: Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler and Yale University’s Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith.
Caroline Overington 5.55am: Vice work if Kamala can get it
There is a village outside Chennai where children play cricket, and weathered fishermen prowl the beach. Kamala Harris, whose mother was born in India, still has family there.
When a Financial Times reporter visited a year or so ago, he found one of her great aunts cracking coconuts in a ritual designed to “remove all obstacles” from Harris’s path to the White House. She was then running for president.
That campaign ran out of puff, but soon she will be America’s first female vice-president. It’s only taken 100 years. And because of the all the fuss about who will be president, the development has gone not unnoticed, but certainly under-reported.
The 19th amendment, women’s franchise in the US, was ratified on August 18, 1920. So this is a momentous and marvellous moment, and for Harris it has been a meteoric political rise.
She is a first-term junior senator from California who is now, as the saying goes, just a heartbeat from the Oval Office, and look, we’re hardly the first to bring up Joe Biden’s age. He’ll be 78 years old when he’s sworn in. Speaking actuarially, it is hardly beyond imagining that the first female president of the United States could be Kamala Harris.
What do we know about her?
READ the full story
Anne Bararowclough 5.30am: Republicans congratulate ‘unifier’ Biden
Republicans are coming out to congratulate Mr Biden on his victory.
George Bush’s brother Jeb, whom Mr Trump had beaten to become the party’s presidential candidate in 2016, tweeted: “I will be praying for you and your success. Now is the time to heal deap wounds. Many are counting on you to lead the way. “
Congratulations to President-elect Biden. I have prayed for our President most of my adult life. I will be praying for you and your success. Now is the time to heal deep wounds. Many are counting on you to lead the way.
— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) November 7, 2020
Mitt Romney, a notable opponent of Mr Trump, tweeted congratulations from himself and his wife Ann, saying they knew both Mr Biden and Kamala Harris “as people of good will and admirable character.”
Ann and I extend our congratulations to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. We know both of them as people of good will and admirable character. We pray that God may bless them in the days and years ahead.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) November 7, 2020
John Kasich, former Republican governor of Ohio who has previously spoken in support of Mr Biden, said the President-elect would work to unify the country, but he urged him to listen to Republicans’ concerns, particularly around the economy.
“Now is the time for Democrats — and I believe Joe Biden will do this — to begin to listen to what the other half of the country has had to say. I think that the other half of the country, in many respects, has felt as though they have not been listened to. They feel stuck economically, and it’s going to be up to the Democrats to listen,” Mr Kasich told CNN.
“If all sides can begin to really listen and think, this country can be healed, in my opinion,” he added.
Mr Kasich predicted Mr Biden would govern as a moderate but said he needed to make it clear to the far-left that they nearly cost him the election.
“The far left can push him as hard as they want. And frankly, the Democrats have to make it clear to the far left that they almost cost him this election. That people in this country are basically center, center right, center left. They’re not far left and they’re also not far right. We’ve got to hope the far right will act responsibly now that this election is over,” he said. He added that he was sure Congress could get deals done on climate change, tax policy and infrastructure, but it should be focused on helping middle-to-lower income Americans.
Michigan Republican Fred Upton also congratulated Mr Biden.
“The votes have been counted, the American people have spoken, and they chose Joe Biden to serve as our next President. We have to find a way to come together, bridge divisions, and focus on solutions that help the millions who are struggling,” Mr. Upton said in a statement.
“I am raising my hand and committing to working with President-elect Biden and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in Congress to do exactly that. As Frederick Douglass said, ‘I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong.’”
Anne Barrowclough 5.15am: Obama ‘couldn’t be prouder’
Former President Barack Obama has said he “could not be prouder” to congratulate “my friends” Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Congratulations to my friends, @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris — our next President and Vice President of the United States. pic.twitter.com/febgqxUi1y
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 7, 2020
Mr Obama, who campaigned vigorously for his former vice president in the final weeks of the election, said in a statement: “I could not be prouder to congratulate our next President, Joe Biden, and our next First Lady, Jill Biden.
“We’re fortunate that Joe’s got what it takes to be President and already carries himself that way. 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,” he continued.
Mr Obama also spoke with Mr Biden and Ms Harris.
His spokesman told US media: “He congratulated them on their historic victory and told them how proud he was of the campaign they ran.”
Former First Lady Hillary Clinton, who notoriously won the popular vote but lost the 2016 election to Donald Trump, tweeted: “The voters have spoken.”
She added that the election result was “a repudiation of Trump and a new page for America.”
The voters have spoken, and they have chosen @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris to be our next president and vice president.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) November 7, 2020
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. pic.twitter.com/YlDY9TJONs
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Mr Biden’s election “marks the dawning of a new day of hope.”
“A record-shattering 75 million Americans cast their ballots to elect Joe Biden President of the United States – a historic victory that has handed Democrats a mandate for action,” she said.
“In President-elect Joe Biden, Americans elected a leader ready on Day One to finally begin to crush the coronavirus so we can safely reopen our economy and schools.
“In President-elect Biden, the American people delivered a mandate for lower health costs, a mandate for creating bigger paychecks by rebuilding America’s infrastructure, and a mandate for cleaner government that works for the public interest, not the special interests. And in President-elect Biden, they have elected a unifier who values faith, family and community, and who will work tirelessly to heal our nation.”
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York, said:
“The current president is wrong to make baseless accusations of election fraud and claim that the election is being stolen from him. These false allegations are an assault on the most bedrock principle in our democracy: free and fair elections. Joe Biden has won this election fair and square and Republican leaders must unequivocally condemn the current president’s rhetoric and work to ensure the peaceful transfer of power on January 20th.”
Agencies 5.10am: Biden wins Nevada
Joe Biden has now won the contested state of Nevada, with Associated Press and the Wall St Journal projecting a win in the state for the president elect.
With 88 per cent of the vote counted, Mr Biden has won by a margin of 25,619 votes.
The win helps him solidify his lead over Donald Trump and takes his electoral college total to 290, over Mr Trump’s 214.
The magic number to win the White House is 270 out of the total 538 votes in the Electoral College, which formally decides the presidency.
Anne Barrowclough 5.00am: World leaders congratulate Biden
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau became one of the first world leaders to congratulate Joe Biden on winning the White House, shortly after US media called the race for the 77-year-old former vice president.
Il y a quelques semaines, mon fils de six ans m’a demandé « Papa, est-ce que la COVID, c’est pour toujours? » Eh bien non. Et il ne faut pas oublier que des jours meilleurs s’en viennent. Travaillons fort, respectons les consignes sanitaires et on va passer à travers ensemble. pic.twitter.com/zACBjZuYWB
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) October 28, 2020
“I look forward to working with President-elect Biden, Vice President-elect (Kamala) Harris, their administration, and the United States Congress as we tackle the world’s greatest challenges together,” Mr Trudeau said in a statement.
Boris Johnson tweeted his congratulations, saying: “The US is our most important ally and I look forward to working closely together on our shared priorities.” Mr Boris also congratulated Kamala Harris on her “historic achievement.”
Congratulations @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris pic.twitter.com/xrpE99W4c4
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) November 7, 2020
Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, congratulated Mr Biden but sent a separate tweet of congratulations to Ms Harris, saying her election was a”big and special moment.”
The first woman in the White House - and the first woman of colour too. This is a big and special moment. https://t.co/TcMwoVBDAL
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) November 7, 2020
German Chancellor Angela Merkel sent a warm message to the President elect and his Vice President elect, saying: “Congratulations! I wish luck and success from the bottom of my heart.
“Our transatlantic friendship is irreplaceable if we want to overcome the great challenges of our times,” she said in a tweet issued by a government spokesman.
Chancellor #Merkel congratulates @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris. #Election2020 pic.twitter.com/A9Vwy1XYAR
— Steffen Seibert (@RegSprecher) November 7, 2020
Her Foreign Minister Heiko Maas tweeted: “We want to invest in our cooperation (with the new president) for a new start in transatlantic relations, a ‘new deal’,” as Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz hailed the opening of a “new chapter”.
French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted: "We have a lot to do to overcome today’s challenges”.
The Americans have chosen their President. Congratulations @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris! We have a lot to do to overcome today’s challenges. Let's work together!
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) November 7, 2020
Irish Prime minister Micheal Martin was another leader to offer early congratulations, reminding the world of Mr Biden’s Irish heritage.
I want to congratulate the new President Elect of the USA @JoeBiden Joe 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! 🇮🇪 🇺🇸
— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) November 7, 2020
“Ireland takes pride in Joe Biden’s election, just as we are proud of all the generations of Irish women and Irish men and their ancestors whose toil and genius have enriched the diversity that powers America,” Mr Martin said in a statement.
“This is a particularly special day for the people of County Louth and of County Mayo who count president-elect Biden among their own,” he said, pledging to welcome Mr Biden back to Ireland when circumstances allow.
“Joe Biden has always been a stalwart friend and supporter of Ireland, including of the prosperity, stability and opportunity made possible by the Good Friday Agreement (for Northern Ireland), to which he has pledged his ongoing steadfast support.”
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said on Facebook: “Congratulations Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on your well-deserved win.
London looks forward to working with you — it’s time to get back to building bridges, not walls.”
In Australia, former Prime Minister Malacolm Turnbull tweeted: “What a relief that you won.”
Congratulations Joe Biden and Kamala Harris! What a relief that you won. ðŸ™ðŸ™ðŸ™
— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) November 7, 2020
Daniel Sankey 4.40am: Trump one of 11 one term presidents
With Joe Biden declared the 46th President of the United States, it means Donald Trump is just the 11th sitting president not to be returned for a second term.
Republican George HW Bush was the most recent president to lose a re-election bid when he was defeated by Bill Clinton in 1992.
10 elected presidents to lose re-election campaigns
2020: Donald Trump (lost to Joe Biden)
1992: George HW Bush (lost to Bill Clinton)
1980: Jimmy Carter (lost to Ronald Reagan)
1932: Herbert Hoover (lost to Franklin D Roosevelt
1912: William H Taft (lost to Woodrow Wilson)
1892: Benjamin Harrison (lost to Grover Cleveland)
1888: Grover Cleveland (lost to Benjamin Harrison
1840: Martin Van Buren (lost to William Henry Harrison)
1828: John Quincy Adams (lost to Andrew Jackson)
1800: John Adams (lost to Thomas Jefferson)
Anne Barrowclough 4.40am: US takes to the streets in celebration
As news emerged that Joe Biden had won the presidential election, crowds poured onto the streets of Washington and other cities in exuberant celebration.
In the capital, the sound of car horns filled the streets, with hundreds gathering downtown -- whooping, laughing and clapping, in Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House.
Across the city, people came out onto porches, toasting the Biden victory with champagne and tequila, many of them glued to their phones as they shared the news.
People poured into the streets of New York as well, yelling and clapping from balconies and banging on pans.
As the country celebrated, Mr Trump was on the golf course.
Daniel Sankey 4.30am: Pennsylvania pushes Biden over the line
Fittingly in the end, it was Joe Biden’s home state of Pennsylvania - a state in which both he and Trump invested significant campaign time in the 2020 US Election - that was the final domino to fall for a Biden presidency.
Both the Associated Press - seen as the definitive source of election results - and CNN called the state of Pennsylvania for Biden just before 3.30am AEDT.
With 99 per cent of the vote counted, Biden’s lead of 34,458 votes is seen as unassailable, handing him a crucial 20 electoral college votes and pushing him to a total of 284 ... 14 more than the 270 required to claim the White House.
Moments before Pennsylvania was called for Biden, Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien insisted the president still had a path to victory.
“He is in this fight. He is in this fight. These are razor thin margins. We are not giving up the fight in these places. We are not giving up the fight,” CNN reported Mr Stepien as saying.
Trump Campaign Lawyer Rudy Giuliani repeats unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in Pennsylvania.
— SkyNews (@SkyNews) November 7, 2020
Read more: https://t.co/1cj4IQw10j pic.twitter.com/Q73rrRnKz2
About 4am AEDT, Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani said legal action would be taken over claims Republican poll watchers were deprived of their right to inspect mail-in ballots.
“Instead of going to a high degree of care to allow inspection of (Pennsylvania) mail-in ballots, there was no inspection of a single mail-in ballot. Those mail-in ballots could have been for anybody,” he said.
Cameron Stewart 4.30am: Trump vows to sue over election
Donald Trump has claimed the election is not over and vowed to go to court “to ensure the rightful winner is seated.”
In a statement, Mr Trump 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.
Georgia Counties Using Same Software as Michigan Counties Also Encounter ‘Glitch’ https://t.co/N2KlEOezGi via @BreitbartNews What a total mess this “election†has been!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2020
“Beginning 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.”
Anne Barrowclough 4.25am: Harris echoes Biden's message of unity
Kamala Harris has echoed Joe Biden’s message of unity in a tweet, saying: “This election is so about so much nmore than Joe Biden or me. It’s about the soul of America.”
https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris/status/1325119592130252801
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.pic.twitter.com/Bb9JZpggLN
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 7, 2020
Another tweet said simply: “We did it.”
We did it, @JoeBiden. pic.twitter.com/oCgeylsjB4
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 7, 2020
Ms Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff tweeted photo of the couple, saying: “So proud of you.”
So proud of you. â¤ï¸â¤ï¸ðŸ‡ºðŸ‡¸ðŸ‡ºðŸ‡¸ pic.twitter.com/Orb1ISe0dU
— Doug Emhoff (@DouglasEmhoff) November 7, 2020
Agencies 4.15am: Trump refuses to concede
Donald Trump, refusing to concede defeat in the US presidential election, said Saturday that Joe Biden was “rushing to falsely pose as the winner” after television networks declared the Democrat’s victory.
Mr Trump tweeted in capitals: “I won this election by a lot.”
I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2020
“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,” Mr Trump said.
“The simple fact is this election is far from over.”
Mr Trump underlined that states had not yet certified the results, and his campaign has launched multiple legal challenges.
However, near complete results issued by each state showed an insurmountable lead for Biden, allowing network news channels to call the overall result, as they do every election.
Cameron Stewart 3.30am: Biden elected 46th president
Joe Biden has told Americans it is time to unite as a nation and heal the bitter divisions hurting the country.
After defeating Donald Trump to become America’s 46th president, Mr Biden said in a statement early on Sunday morning (AEDT): “I am honored 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.”
After days of vote counting CNN and AP called the election for the 77-year-old former Vice President, saying he now has the 270 electoral college votes he needs to win the White House.
CNN and AP called the key state of Pennsylvania for Mr Biden after he amassed a 49.6 per cent lead to 49.1 or more than 30,000 votes, a lead that is now considered insurmountable.
Mr Biden has also increased leads over Mr Trump in Nevada and Georgia and continues to lead in Arizona.
BREAKING: Joe Biden wins Pennsylvania. #APracecall at 11:25 a.m. EST. #Election2020 https://t.co/lGfinjTqT4
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) November 7, 2020
The victory came as the president continued to alleged that the election has been stolen away from him by fraudulent and corrupt counting of votes.
“Tens of thousands of votes were illegally received after 8 P.M. on Tuesday, Election Day, totally and easily changing the results in Pennsylvania and certain other razor thin states. As a separate matter, hundreds of thousands of Votes were illegally not allowed to be OBSERVED …,” the president tweeted from the White House.
“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 …” he added in tweets that were flagged by Twitter as potentially misleading.
The president’s team of lawyers are combing through the results to find evidence of possible fraud that they can use to challenge the results in the court.
But so far they do not appear to have found major evidence of wrongdoing that would lead a court to take action which could change the election outcome.
Mr Biden did not immediately respond to the announcement of his victory, but said on Saturday (AEDT) that he was confident that he had won the election.
In a short presidential-style address in Wilmington, Delaware, the former vice president chose not to formally declare victory despite favourable vote counting that makes it all but certain than he will win the election.
In a clear reference to Donald Trump, he said he would not let anyone try to interfere in the democratic process of this election.
“We need to remain calm. Patient. And let the process work out as we count all the votes. Democracy works. Your vote will be counted. I don’t care how hard people try to stop it. I will not let it happen,” he said.
Mr Biden said that it was clear with the vote counting trends in undecided states that he would win the election.
“We don’t have a final declaration of victory yet, but the numbers tell a clear and convincing story – we are going to win this race,” he said.
“We are going to win this race with a clear majority of the nation behind us.”
Mr Biden is already putting into place his transition team and will soon consider his Cabinet appointments.
At a time when Mr Trump is alleging widespread fraud in the election, Mr Biden called on Saturday for greater unity.
‘The purpose of our politics, the work of the nation, isn’t to fan the flames of conflict but to solve problems,” he said.
“No matter who you voted for, I’m certain of one thing. The vast majority want to get rid of the vitriol out of our politics. Were certainly not going to agree on a lot of the issues – but we can at least be civil to one another.”
“My responsibility as president will be to represent the whole nation. And I want you to know that I will work as hard for those who voted against me as for those who voted for me.’
“We don’t have any more time to waste on partisan warfare.”
Mr Biden spoke of the suffering of so many people with the surging coronavirus and the crushed economy.
“Daily cases are skyrocketing, and it is now believed that we could see spikes as high as 200,000 cases in a single day,” he said.
“I want everyone to know that on Day One, we are going to put our plan to control this virus into action.”
“More than 20 million people are on unemployment. Millions are worried about making rent and putting food on the table. Our economic plan will put a focus on a path to a strong recovery,” he said.
(Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia)
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