US Election: Joe Biden pledges to "unite" the country in victory speech

 

Joe Biden said it was "time to heal" the United States in his first speech as an elected president, and pledged "not to divide the country but to unite it."

"Let's give everyone a different opportunity," he said at a tournament in Delaware, addressing those who did not vote for him now.

Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump after counting the ballots after Tuesday's election.

Trump has yet to give in and has not spoken publicly since announcing his defeat while playing golf.

The result makes Mr. Trump the first single-term president since the 1990s. His campaign has raised a barrage of lawsuits in various states, but election officials say there is no evidence that the vote was rigged, as he claimed.

Spontaneous celebrations erupted in primary cities after the media announced Biden's victory on Saturday. Frustrated Trump supporters have been validated in some cities, but there have been no reviews of the incidents.

"I pledge to be a president not seeking division, but unity," Biden said, addressing supporters in a parking lot in his hometown of Wilmington. 

Biden - who has won more than 74 million votes to date, the largest number ever for a US presidential candidate - praised the "diverse" support he had gathered during the campaign, and thanked African American voters in particular.

But he has also reached out to Trump supporters directly.

"The time has come to get off the harsh rhetoric, bring down the temperature, see each other again and listen to each other again," Biden said, without mentioning his opponent. 

    The president-elect, who arrived on stage wearing a face mask, announced that he would form the Coronavirus Response Committee to ensure its readiness to implement decisions from the day of his inauguration in January, because "this is the only way in which we can return to life."

The Trump administration's response to the pandemic has been at the center of the presidential campaign, drawing heavy criticism from Biden, who said his plan "will be based on science." The United States has reported more than 237,000 deaths, the largest number of any other country.