US President-elect Biden calls for healing in appeal to Trump voters

Washington

US PRESIDENT-elect Joe Biden declared it was "time to heal" a deeply divided America in his first speech after winning in a bitter election, even as outgoing President Donald Trump refused to concede and pressed ahead with legal fights against the outcome.

Mr Biden's victory on Saturday in Pennsylvania put him over the threshold of 270 Electoral College votes that he needed to clinch the presidency.

"The people of this nation have spoken. They have delivered us a clear victory, a convincing victory," he told honking and cheering supporters in a parking lot in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.

The Democrat pledged that as president, he will seek to unify the country and "marshal the forces of decency" to battle the Covid-19 pandemic, rebuild economic prosperity, secure healthcare for American families and root out systemic racism.

Without addressing his Republican rival, Mr Biden spoke directly to the 70 million Americans who cast ballots in support of Mr Trump, some of whom took to the streets on Saturday to demonstrate against the results.

"For all those of you who voted for President Trump, I understand the disappointment tonight. I've lost a couple times myself. But now, let's give each other a chance. It's time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again," he said. "This is the time to heal in America."

Mr Biden was introduced by his running mate, US Senator Kamala Harris, who will be the first woman, the first Black American and the first American of Asian descent to serve as vice-president, the country's number two office.

Congratulations poured in from abroad, including from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, making it hard for Mr Trump to push his repeated claims, without evidence, that the election was rigged against him.

Mr Trump, who was golfing when the major television networks projected his rival had won, immediately accused Mr Biden of "rushing to falsely pose as the winner". "This election is far from over," he said in a statement.

He has filed a raft of lawsuits to challenge the results, but elections officials in states across the country say there has been no evidence of significant fraud, and legal experts say his efforts are unlikely to succeed.

When Mr Biden enters the White House on Jan 20, the oldest person to assume the office at age 78, he likely will face a difficult task governing in a deeply polarised Washington, underscored by a record nationwide voter turnout.

He has said his first priority will be developing a plan to contain and recover from the pandemic, promising to improve access to testing and, unlike Mr Trump, to heed the advice of leading public health officials and scientists.

On Monday, he is expected to announce a 12-member panel that will be tasked with developing an action plan to address the pandemic once he takes office.

Mr Biden faces a huge challenge remedying the economic hardship it has caused. Some 10 million Americans thrown out of work during coronavirus lockdowns remain idled, and federal relief programmes have expired.

He has also pledged to restore a sense of normalcy to the White House after a presidency in which Mr Trump praised authoritarian foreign leaders, disdained longstanding global alliances, refused to disavow white supremacists and cast doubt on the legitimacy of the US election system.

Despite his victory, Mr Biden will have failed to deliver the sweeping repudiation to Mr Trump that Democrats had hoped for, reflecting the deep support the president still retains.

This could complicate Mr Biden's campaign promises to reverse key parts of Mr Trump's legacy. These include deep Trump tax cuts that especially benefited corporations and the wealthy, hardline immigration policies, efforts to dismantle the 2010 Obamacare healthcare law and Mr Trump's abandonment of international agreements such as the Paris climate accord and Iran nuclear deal.

Should Republicans keep control of the US Senate, they would likely block large parts of his legislative agenda. That prospect could depend on the outcome of four undecided Senate races, including two in Georgia that will not be resolved until runoffs in January. REUTERS

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