Former US Vice President, Joe Biden, has been projected to win the US presidential election, even as his opponent, incumbent president Donald Trump lashed out at Biden after he was projected winner of the polls, accusing his opponent of “rushing to falsely pose as the winner” of the polls.
Major US news organizations and networks such as the Associated Press (AP), CNN and others had called the election for Biden, projecting that he had won the 20 electoral votes for the state of Pennsylvania. Results for other battleground states such as Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Wisconsin and Arizona were still outstanding or were still being disputed.
With Biden’s projected, and still-disputed, victory, his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris would become the first Black woman and first Asian American elected vice president of the United States.
“I am honored and humbled by the trust the American people have placed in me and in Vice President-elect Harris,” Biden said in a statement soon after he was projected as the winner of the election. “In the face of unprecedented obstacles, a record number of Americans voted. Proving once again, that democracy beats deep in the heart of America.
“With the campaign over, it’s time to put the anger and the harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation,” the president-elect continued. “It’s time for America to unite. And to heal”, Biden said, adding that “we are the United States of America. And there’s nothing we can’t do, if we do it together.”
Biden is also scheduled to address the nation from his home in Wilmington, Delaware, later on Saturday evening.
Many celebrated the projections of Biden’s victory across many US cities, including New York, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. Pro-Trump also rallied in reaction to the news of Biden’s victory; in Lansing, Michigan, dozens of Trump supporters gathered outside the State Capitol Building, chanting “four more years” about an hour after the race was called.
On his part, incumbent president Donald Trump signaled his intention not to concede defeat to Biden, saying in a statement soon after the media houses made their projections of a victory for the former Vice-President: “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.”
According to Trump, “The simple fact is this election is far from over.
“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 president said.
According to Trump, “I will not rest until the American People have the honest vote count they deserve and that Democracy demands.
“So what is Biden hiding? I will not rest until the American People have the honest vote count they deserve and that Democracy demands,” Trump concluded.