After a divisive election season, Biden aims to restore confidence in US democracy.
Rabat – President-elect Joe Biden delivered his acceptance speech on Saturday after Pennsylvania ensured his victory in the US presidential election. After a long and difficult campaign that started in April of 2019, the US election season is over. The American people, Biden said, have “delivered us a clear victory.”
Healing divisions
Biden stated he was humbled by the 74 million votes cast for his presidential ticket, the most votes ever cast for a presidential candidate in US history. After a divisive primary and general election that cost an unprecedented $14 billion, Biden pledged to be “a president who seeks not to divide, but to unify.”
Biden promised to “work with all his heart to win the confidence of the whole people,” as the US is set for an uncertain post-Trump era. Healing the partisan divide and mutual distrust will be the central theme of Biden’s presidency, which hopes to “restore the soul of America.”
After four years of divisive rhetoric from outgoing President Donald Trump, Biden stated he wishes to “make America respected around the world again and to unite us here at home.” In his acceptance speech, Biden described his victory as the “honor of my lifetime,” stating that much work was ahead to bring together Americans and regain trust in US diplomacy.
Vital support
President-elect Biden emphasized the importance of the support he received from his wife, Jill Biden. “I’m Jill’s husband,” he proudly stated as he thanked his family for their support throughout the long campaign. Jill Biden’s dedication to education meant that US educators now have “one of your own in the White House,” according to Biden.
Biden highlighted the historic election of his running mate Kamala Harris, who will become the first female vice-president and the first Black and South Asian person elected to the position. Harris is the “first daughter of immigrants ever elected to national office in this country,” Biden emphasized.
Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff had become “honorary Bidens,” the president-elect stated before thanking his, volunteers who had risked much campaigning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “I owe you everything,” Biden stated, expressing his pride in what he described as the “broadest and most diverse” coalition built in US history.
Time for action
Biden stated that he considers it his mandate to “marshal the forces of decency and the forces of fairness.” He promised to “battle” the COVID-19 epidemic in the US, fight for prosperity and health care, combat climate change, and achieve racial justice by rooting out systemic racism.
Biden’s victory speech emphasized that his ambitious plans begin with “getting COVID-19 under control.” Biden promised to rapidly announce an expert panel of scientists and experts to function as “transition advisers” to develop a plan ahead of his January 20 inauguration.
“We must make the promise of the country real for everybody,” Biden told the crowd who gathered in Wilmington, Delaware for his victory speech, “no matter their race, their ethnicity, their faith, their identity, or their disability.” He hinted at the divisive election cycle, calling it an example of “the constant battle between our better angels and our darkest impulses.”
Biden’s speech featured a presidential tone welcomed by many. He promised to “embark on the work that God and history have called upon us to do.” With tough work ahead, Biden expressed in his speech that his victory over Trump would unite, strengthen and heal the United States of America.
