0
Comment(s)
*
* The moderation of comments is automated and not cleared manually by indianexpress.com.
By: Express Web Desk | New Delhi |
Updated: November 7, 2020 11:18:40 pm
President-elect Joe BidenIn his first statement after he defeated incumbent Republican US President Donald Trump to become the 46th President of the United States, Democrat Joe Biden Saturday said he is “honoured” by the trust American people have placed in him and that he will be a “President for all Americans — whether you voted for me or not.”
Biden’s victory came after major news organisations, including the Associated Press, CNN and NBC showed him winning Pennsylvania and Nevada and gaining more than the 270 Electoral College votes needed to secure the presidency. According to the AP tally, Biden currently has 283 electoral votes against Trump’s 214.
“In the face of unprecedented obstacles, a record number of Americans voted. Proving once again that democracy beats deep in the heart of America,” Biden said in a statement.
Biden’s running mate, California Senator Kamala Harris, is set to be the next vice-president, the first woman and the first person of colour to hold the office.
“This election is about so much more than Joe Biden or me. It is 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,” Harris tweeted.
Explained | What does President Joe Biden mean for India?
Meanwhile, Trump, who was competing for re-election, has rejected the outcome, saying in a statement that the election is “far from over” and that he will not “rest until the American People have the honest vote count they deserve and what Democracy demands”.
The 2020 election has been 77-year-old Biden’s third attempt at winning the presidency. He earlier entered the Democratic nomination in 1987 and 2008, with the latter resulting in President Barack Obama appointing him as his two-term running-mate. Biden has also been a six-term senator from Delaware that elected him first in 1972.