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US Election 2020: Yes, he can too
Joe Biden elected comfortably after dramatic count; Kamala Harris is first woman Veep
Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee, was on Saturday elected the 46th President of the United States, beating Donald Trump in a bitterly contested fight, and Kamala Harris made history by becoming the first woman, the first person of Indian descent and the first Black person elected to the office of the Vice President.
Biden, 78, won the 2020 White House race after he was projected to win Pennsylvania, the tipping-point state whose 20 electoral college votes carried the Democrat well past the 270-vote. He also clinched Nevada on Saturday afternoon, shortly after he won the presidency by taking Pennsylvania, increasing his tally from 264 to 290.
Donald Trump, whose tally stood at 214 (the figure may change), will be the first one-term US President in 30 years. He was on his golf course when Biden was declared winner.
“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,” President-elect Biden said in a statement, adding: “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.”
Biden’s victory came after more than three days of uncertainty as election officials went through mail-in votes that delayed the processing of some ballots. Biden was the Vice President during President Barack Obama’s two terms. Obama, whose campaign during his presidential election pivoted on the slogan “Yes, We Can”, endorsed Biden and his running mate Harris for the 2020 race.
Vice President-elect Harris said she and President-elect Biden have a lot of work to do. “This election is about so much more than Joe Biden 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.”
US President Trump indicated it was not over from his end. In a statement issued just after the race was called for Biden, he 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.”
“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...”
The US President has put together a legal team to shepherd the challenges, hoping, perhaps, for a repeat of the 2000 recount which gave George W Bush his first term as President.
The Trump campaign has called for donations to fund the legal fight. “This Election Isn’t Over,” it has said in texts and mail to supporters. “The President needs YOUR HELP! We can’t allow the Left-wing MOB to undermine our Election. President Trump needs his fiercest and most loyal defenders, like YOU, to step up and FIGHT BACK!”
But the President’s aides and allies in the Republican Party are also reportedly trying to prepare him for conceding, while arguing for his right to seek a recount of votes and sue to correct irregularities. “Mr. Trump’s legacy will be diminished greatly if his final act is a bitter refusal to accept a legitimate defeat,” The Wall Street Journal, a conservative media giant, wrote in an editorial on Saturday.
Biden was at home in Wilmington when news broke of his victory. It was not immediately known if Trump planned to call Biden, as has been the practice, but he has demanded recounts in two states and has filed several lawsuits challenging the counting process, and has alleged fraud and irregularities.
Biden has indicated he is ready to move on and said in a speech on Friday he had gone to work already, getting updates and briefings on the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
Biden had continued to increase his lead over Trump in Pennsylvania when counting resumed Saturday morning. He was also building on his lead in Georgia (16 electoral college votes), which is headed for a recount as requested by Trump, and in Nevada (6). He is also ahead in Arizona, whose 11 electoral college votes have already been given to him by some news organisations, but the President has been chipping away at his lead. Trump leads in North Carolina (15) and Alaska (3). “My fellow Americans, 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,” the former Vice President had said in a speech from his hometown Wilmington, Delaware, late on Friday, with Kamala Harris, his vice presidential nominee by his side.
“But while we’re waiting for the final results, I want people to know we are not waiting to get to work,” he added.
Biden, who ran on the promise of tackling the pandemic as his top priority, said he and Harris on Thursday met a group of experts on the crisis and its impact on the economy. He went on to reiterate his promise to begin tackling the crisis from the first day in office.
Celebrations began as news of Biden’s win broke. “It’s a new day in America. We can now put the rancor and the frenzy of electioneering behind us and move to governing,” said Shekar Narasimhan of AAPI fund in a statement, adding: “Biden and Harris have won a hard-fought election with States across the country and a record number of votes cast for them. As the first African American and Indian American to be the Vice President-elect, Kamala Harris has a special place in our hearts and we wish her the very best and offer her our full support. We pray for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to be successful in healing and uniting the country.” MR Rangaswamy, the founder of Indiaspora, a bipartisan body, said: “At Indiaspora, we believe, like President-elect Biden does, that the core principles shared by America and India as democracies will continue to be a source of strength in the bilateral relationship between the two nations.”
