WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden called on Americans to come together and heal Saturday in his first speech since winning the presidency.
“This is the time to heal in America,” he said in a speech in Wilmington, Delaware that capped off a day of celebrations and impromptu parades nationwide.
“We’ve won with the most votes ever cast for a presidential ticket … and we’re seeing all over this nation, and in all cities in all parts of the country, indeed across the world, an outpouring of joy.”
Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential nominee Joe Biden addresses supporters at an election rally, after news media announced that Biden has won the 2020 U.S. presidential election, in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., November 7, 2020.
Andrew Harnik | Reuters
Biden reached out to those voters who supported President Donald Trump, telling the crowd of supporters. “They are not our enemies. They’re Americans.”
“I will work to be a president who seeks not to divide but unify. I won’t see red states and blue states, I will always see the United States.”
“Let this grim era of demonization in America begin to end, here and now,” he said.
Biden said his first priority will be to bring the surging coronavirus pandemic under control.
“On Monday, I will name a group of leading scientists and experts as Transition Advisors to help take the Biden-Harris COVID plan and convert it into an action blueprint that starts on January 20th, 2021.That plan will be built on a bedrock of science. It will be constructed out of compassion, empathy, and concern,” he said.
“I will spare no effort — or commitment — to turn this pandemic around.”
Biden was introduced by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, who made history Saturday as the first Black woman and the first Asian American woman to be elected vice president. She touched on these themes in her speech, reaching out to women and girls everywhere.
“While I may be the first woman in this office, I won’t be the last,” she said. “Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.”
“Dream with ambition, lead with conviction, and see yourself in a way that others might not see you, simply because they’ve never seen it before,” she said.
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