Joseph R. Biden Jr. addressed the nation for the first time as president-elect on Saturday night

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US Election, Nov 08, 2020: Forty-eight years to the day after he was first elected a senator from Delaware, Joseph R. Biden Jr. addressed the nation for the first time as president-elect on Saturday night. In his victory speech, he emphasised on a message of unity and said the time has now come to “heal and restore the soul of America.”

“I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide but to unify. For all those of you who voted for President Trump, I understand the disappointment tonight. Now let’s give each other a chance.

It’s time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again.” He also 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.”

Kamala Harris, the first Black woman and first South Asian American woman to become vice president-elect, began her victory speech by quoting the late congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis, who said, “Democracy is not a state, it’s not an act.” She also remembered her late mother and said, “While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last.” “When our very democracy was on the ballot in this election and the very soul of America was at stake and the world watching, you ushered in a new day for America,” she added.

Biden’s victory came after more than three days of uncertainty as election officials sorted through a surge of mail-in votes that delayed the processing of some ballots. However, Trump has refused to concede, saying 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”.

Alleging fraud in mail-in votes, Trump tweeted that he won “71,000,000 legal votes” and that observers were not allowed into counting rooms. However, his statement was flagged by Twitter as a disputed claim.