Joe Biden to Become America’s 46th President

America has spoken, and it chose former Vice President Joseph R. Biden to become the country’s next president. The Donald Trump administration is coming to an end.

Pledging to restore calm and truth after Trump’s exhausting and manic single term, Biden said in his victory speech Saturday night in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware that he was humbled by the trust America placed in him and reached out to those who did not vote for him.

“I understand the disappointment tonight,” Biden said. “I’ve lost a couple of times myself. But now, let’s give each other a chance. This is the time to heal in America.

Trump is the first president since George H.W. Bush to lose their bid for reelection, and the first president to lose the popular vote twice.

Biden chose California Sen. Kamala Harris to be his running mate, and she will make history as the first woman, the first Black person, and the first person of South Asian descent to hold the vice president position.

During her speech Saturday night, she said, “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.” Trump, who has not been handling the situation well since he started losing the race, was on the golf course when CNN and other news networks called the race for Biden. Trump is showing no indicated to concede, and tweeted “I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!” while en route to his course in Virginia. This is one of several false claims and accusations he has spewed about the election.

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Immediately after the race was called, Biden supporters flooded the streets across the country to celebrate the President-elect’s victory.

After four years of Trump’s lies, bullying, and vilification of his political opponents, Biden said he was running to restore the character of the nation and bring dignity back to the White House. His election will end Trump’s grip on Washington, but he will be handed the worst public health emergency in 100 years, the deepest economic slump since the 1930s, and a national reckoning on racism and police brutality.

Former President Barack Obama released a statement that served as testimonial to the character of his former vice president. He asked Americans to set aside their political differences and give him a chance.

“When he walks into the White House in January, he will face a series of extraordinary challenges no incoming president ever has,” Obama said. “A raging pandemic, an unequal economy and justice system, a democracy at risk, and a climate in peril. I know he will do the job with the best interests of every American at heart, whether or not he had their vote. The election results at every level show that the country remains deeply and bitterly divided. It will be up to not just Joe and Kamala, but each of us to do our part. To reach out beyond our comfort zone, to listen to others, to lower the temperature and find some common ground from which to move forward, all of us remembering that we are one nation, under God.”

It was Biden’s boyhood state of Pennsylvania that put him over the 270 electoral vote threshold and delivered the presidency. Trump had a wide lead over Biden on the night of the election, but as election officials counted thousands of mail-in ballots which disproportionately leaned heavily democratic, the race shifted in Biden’s favor. This of course infuriated Trump and his allies.

In the final days of the race, Biden’s team redoubled their efforts to rebuild the Democrats’ “blue wall.” Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan normally sway towards the democratic candidate, but Hillary Clinton lost all three of these states to Trump in 2016.

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Currently, Biden holds a 279-214 margin in the Electoral College. Ballots are still being counted in Arizona, but it looks like the state will go to the president-elect. Biden passed Trump’s lead in Georgia, but because the race was too close to call, the state will go into a recount. If Biden becomes the official winner in Georgia, this will be the first time the Peach State went blue in 30 years.

As Trump watched his hope of reelection dwindle away, he lashed out on Twitter and attempted to undermine democratic institutions with demands like “STOP THE COUNT.” Trump falsely claimed the election was being stolen from him. His team is mounting a series of lawsuits in several states, including Pennsylvania, and they are demanding a recount in Wisconsin where Biden led by 20,000 votes. No matter what the Trump administration does, the outcome will unlikely be reversed.

Unlike Biden supporters who took to the street to celebrate, Trump supporters went out to protest the election outcome. Denver based photographer Devon Wiggers captured some of these moments within the Mile High City, which can be seen below.

Photos Courtesy of The Associated Press and Devon Wiggers