US PRESIDENT JOE Biden will address the country he leads today, committing to a peaceful transfer to Donald Trump, after the Republican stormed home in the US election yesterday.
Trump handily won the election, defeating sitting Vice President Kamala Harris. He clinched all the important swing states and is well on the way to winning the popular vote. This will be the first time a Republican has won the popular vote in an election in 20 years (Bush won in 2004).
Joe Biden (81) – who was replaced by Harris on the ticket in July following a disastrous debate performance – will speak in the Rose Garden of the White House at 11am (4pm Irish time) to “discuss the election results and the transition” to Trump’s second term.
This will be in stark contrast to Trump himself, who refused to accept defeat in 2020, a move that culminated in the violent 6 January, 2021 assault by Trump supporters on the US Capitol.
Trump falsely claimed widespread voter fraud, and refused to attend Joe Biden’s inauguration, retreating instead to his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. He also did not allow a proper transition.
The White House said Biden spoke with Trump yesterday and “expressed his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition and emphasised the importance of working to bring the country together.”
Biden has also invited Trump to meet at the White House, despite their long history of bitter animosity. Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said Trump “looks forward to the meeting, which will take place shortly, and very much appreciated the call.”
It would be the first time they had met since the president’s disastrous debate performance against Trump in June that forced him out of the race.
Kamala concedes
Kamala Harris did not address supporters immediately yesterday as the results of Trump’s victory became clear. However, she gave a concession speech yesterday while also vowing to help his transition to power.
An emotional Harris told tearful supporters in a speech in Washington to “not despair,” urging them to “keep fighting” after her loss.
“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fuelled this campaign,” Harris said in her short speech at Howard University, her alma mater.
“I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time,” she said, her voice hoarse as she made her first public remarks since Trump’s surprisingly heavy victory.
“But for the benefit of us all, I hope that’s not the case.”
Harris — who had blasted Trump as a threat to democracy during her failed bid to become America’s first woman president — earlier called him to offer her congratulations, an aide said.
Despite criminal convictions, indictments, and multiple allegations of sexual assault, US Americans wholeheartedly back Trump’s hardline right-wing policies and rejected Biden and Harris’s record.
World leaders swiftly pledged to work with Trump, despite concerns in much of the globe about his nationalist “America First” approach and pledges to slap huge tariffs on foreign imports.
Trump’s choices for his own White House team will be in the spotlight, with the world’s richest man Elon Musk and vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. both in line for roles after they helped propel him to victory.
The Trump campaign’s transition team said Wednesday that “in the days and weeks ahead” Trump would be seeking the “best people.”
Armed with a sweeping mandate, Trump 2.0 promises to be more untrammeled than his first chaotic presidency – and could dismantle huge chunks of Biden’s legacy.
Trump could start by halting the incumbent’s billions of dollars in military aid for Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s 2022 invasion.
Trump will also return to the White House as a climate change denier, poised to take apart Biden’s green policies with his pledge to “drill, baby, drill” for oil.
Already 78, Trump is on course to break Biden’s record as the oldest-ever sitting president during his four-year term. He will surpass Biden, who is set to step down in January at the age of 82.
With reporting from AFP
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