‘Now is the Time to Heal’, Biden Says in Victory Speech

“The integrity of our elections remains intact”, said President-Elect Biden in his victory address.

On Monday, the electoral college voted to affirm Joe Biden as the 46th US President.

(Photo: The Quint)

"The will of the people prevailed" said President-Elect Joe Biden as he addressed the nation for the first time after the electoral college affirmed his win.

On Monday, 14 December, Joe Biden officially won the 2020 US Presidential race. Crossing the 270-vote threshold required to win, Biden secured 306 of the 538 electoral votes in the 3 November elections.

“In this battle for the soul of America, democracy prevailed. We the people voted. Faith in our institutions held. The integrity of our elections remains intact”, said Biden.

In a first full-fledged attack on Trump since the election, Biden said that the outgoing president and his allies "refused to respect the will of the people, refused to respect the rule of law, and refused to honour our constitution."

A Historic Victory

“Once again, in America, the rule of law, our Constitution, and the will of the people prevailed,” Biden said. “Our democracy pushed, tested, threatened, proved to be resilient, true and strong.’

In his speech, Biden attested to the fact that the and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris received more votes "than any ticket has received in the history of America."

American Democracy, Undeterred

"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."

“If anyone didn’t know it before, we know it now. What beats deep in the hearts of the American people is this: Democracy,” the President-Elect said, alluding to the legal recourse the Trump campaign took to the 2020 election results.

“The right to be heard. To have your vote counted. To choose the leaders of this nation. To govern ourselves. In America, politicians don’t take power — the people grant it to them.”

He also spoke of the political pressure, verbal abuse and threats of physical violence faced by electoral officials in the election.

“It is my sincere hope we never again see anyone subjected to the kind of abuse and threats we saw in this election. It’s simply unconscionable. We owe all these public servants a debt of gratitude. They didn’t seek the spotlight,” Biden said.

"Our democracy survived because of them which is proof once more that it's every day Americans infused with honour, character and decency that is the heart of this nation."

"American democracy works because America makes it work at a local level. One of the extraordinary things we saw this year that was that everyday Americans, our friends and our neighbours, often volunteers, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, demonstrated absolute courage. They showed a deep and unwavering faith in and a commitment to the law," Biden said.

'Time to Turn the Page'

"Now it is time to turn the page. To unite. To heal", said the President-Elect, setting the tone for what is to come under his leadership. He reiterated that he would be America's president, and work for both those who voted for him, and those who didn't.

“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 — and then building our economy back better than ever.”