Watch Live: President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to deliver remarks
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are expected to deliver remarks on Saturday, after winning the requisite electoral votes to win the presidential election. CBS News projected this morning that Biden will win the state of Pennsylvania, bringing him to 273 electoral votes — just over the 270 threshold needed. A few hours later, CBS News also projected a Biden win in Nevada, boosting his electoral vote total to 279.
The election of Biden and Harris is historic in more than one way. Biden will be the oldest president to take office and only the second Catholic. Harris will be the first woman and the first Black American and Asian American to serve as vice president.
How to watch President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris’ remarks:
In a statement on Saturday, the president-elect said he was “honored and humbled” by the election results, and he called for unity.
“With the campaign over, it’s time to put the anger and the harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation,” Biden said. “It’s time for America to unite. And to heal.”
He also tweeted, “The work ahead of us will be hard, but I promise you this: I will be a President for all Americans — whether you voted for me or not. I will keep the faith that you have placed in me.”
President Trump has not conceded the race, and said in a statement the election was “far from over.” His campaign has launched lawsuits in several states in an attempt to delay the counting of votes it considers to be disputed, but this litigation has thus far been unsuccessful. The president spent part of his Saturday golfing at his club in Virginia.
The outcome of the hard-fought presidential campaign remained too close to call for four days after Election Day, as vote counting continued in numerous battleground states. Record voter turnout and an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots due to the coronavirus pandemic slowed down the process, and close margins in several key states meant news outlets held off on projecting a winner until Saturday, when more of the vote count was complete.
Biden’s path to victory led through three states Mr. Trump narrowly won in 2016: Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. Biden also holds a razor-thin lead in Georgia, which is headed for a recount. Mr. Trump captured several large battleground states that Biden had hoped to be competitive in, including Florida, Ohio and Texas.
Biden’s campaign against Mr. Trump was largely about character. It was, he warned, “a battle for the soul of the nation,” meant to underscore his belief that Mr. Trump was not only wrong on issues but a risk to democracy.Â
And as the coronavirus pandemic surged across the country, it also became a battle for American lives. In purposeful contrast with Mr. Trump’s mask-optional campaign rallies, Biden made a deliberate public display of social distancing and emphasized the steps he would take to get the pandemic under control.
At 78, Biden will also be the oldest man to ever occupy the Oval Office. On November 3, Biden was the same age — 77 years, 11 months, 14 days — as Ronald Reagan was the day he left office.Â
CBS News’ projection that Biden has won the presidency comes 48 years — to the day — after he first won election to the Senate on November 7, 1972. Biden was just 29 years old when he won his seat in Delaware, and would serve for 36 years before becoming vice president in the Obama administration.