Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore, Wikipedia
Four days after election day, Joe Biden was announced as the winner of the 2020 presidential election. This election’s results prove to be significant in the number of firsts it has.
Because he will be 78 by the end of this month, Biden will be the oldest U.S. president when he is inaugurated. His running mate, Kamala Harris, will be the United States’ first female Vice President. She is also the first Indian and Black American to hold this title in American history.
Biden and Harris flew to Wilmington, Del. on Saturday night to make their first public appearances as president-elect and vice president-elect. For his part, Biden declared his gratefulness for the faith that 74 million Americans placed in him by voting in his speech on that day. He also promises to serve as a leader who will unify.
“I am humbled by the trust and confidence you have placed in me. I pledge to be a President who seeks not to divide, but to unify. Who doesn't see red and blue states, but the United States,” Biden said.
He also added his empathy for Americans who voted for Donald Trump, claiming to relate to their frustrations when he had lost in past elections.
“I understand the disappointment tonight. I've lost a couple of times myself. But now, let's give each other a chance," he said.
Harris’ address mentions the Biden campaign’s impact on young girls.
“While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last. Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities,” Harris said.
President Trump dismisses this election outcome, claiming that the election is “rigged against him." On the same day as the Biden entourage’s victory celebration, the incumbent head of state wrote several tweets on his Twitter account expressing his denial of the results, with one of his tweets displaying “I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!”
He also commented to some news outlets proclaiming the continuation of his legal battle to determine the “true” results of the 2020 election free from sectarian subjectivity.
In contrast to his statements, ABC, AP, CBS, CNN, Decision Desk HQ, Fox, NBC, New York Times and Reuters all agree that Biden is the clear-cut winner with 290 electoral votes, 20 more votes than the necessary 270 needed for a presidential candidate to win. Trump, on the other hand, received merely 214 electoral votes.
The electoral votes from Alaska, Georgia and North Carolina, despite a lack of declared winners there, are grouped based on their leading candidates. With this classification, Trump gains North Carolina and Alaska. Biden carries Georgia with a razor-thin majority to Donald Trump. Every other state has declared either a Biden or Trump victory.
But based on electoral map results, Biden is, without a doubt, the transparent winner.
gluyun@ramapo.edu
