With his victory now formally recognized, President-elect Joe Biden lambasted President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn people’s verdict through a series of court cases casting doubt over the U.S. election system.,
The U.S. Electorate, comprising electors from all states, officially endorsed Biden’s victory in the November 3 election with 306 votes against President Trump’s 232 out of a total of 538.
In a speech from his hometown Wilmington, Delaware, Biden reminded Trump and his allies of the people’s choice in the American democratic system.
“In America, politicians don’t take power, the people grant it to them,” Biden said.
He said the American tradition of democratic choices has lived through many challenges.
“The flame of democracy was lit in this nation a long time ago. And we now know that nothing, not even a pandemic or an abuse of power, can extinguish that flame.”
Biden and Vice President-elect secured more votes than any other candidates in the history, which the president-elected called as the “clearest demonstration of the will of the American people.”
Continuing to press his point against the Trump accusations of fraud in the election, Biden noted that “respecting the will of the people is at the heart of our democracy even when we find those results hard to accept,” Biden said.
“But that’s the obligation of those who have taken on a sworn duty to uphold the Constitution.”
“In this battle for the soul of America, democracy prevailed … faith in our institutions held and the integrity of our elections remained intact,” he continued. “And now it’s time to turn the page as we’ve done throughout our history, to unite and to heal.’
In the next phase of certification, Congress will confirm the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, and Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Jan. 20.
Biden praised the election staff across the country for upholding the integrity of the system.
Even as he celebrated the endorsement of his victory, Biden called for the country to “unite” and “heal” in the face of pandemic and political partisanship.
“There is urgent work in front of all of us,” he said. “Getting the pandemic under control to getting the nation vaccinated against this virus, delivering immediate economic help so badly needed by so many Americans who are hurting today.”
