Declaring that "the people of America have spoken," an energetic Joe Biden said that he would be a president for all Americans in his victory speech to become the 46th President of the United States following his defeat of Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
The speech was in sharp contrast to the vision Donald Trump put forth during the campaign, which depicted America as a land of chaos and distrust. Biden called for those feelings to be cast aside to take America forward in a challenging time.
Saying that he was surprised by the celebrations shown on television, Biden noted Americans and people around the world celebrated the calling of the election.
Biden said that he sought to unite the people here in America, as well as restoring the respect and dignity of the United States.
Biden noted that he would not be there without the help of his wife Jill, son Hunter, daughter Ashley as well as their grandchildren and all their spouses.
Talking about the groundbreaking nomination and victory of his running mate, Kamala Harris, who is the first woman, first Black woman, the first person of Asian heritage and the first daughter of immigrants on a major party ticket, Biden said, "Don't tell me it's not possible in the United States. It's long overdue."
"Once again," Biden said, "America has bent the mark of the moral universe more toward justice."
Like Harris, Biden thanked all those who worked the polls during the pandemic. "You deserve a special thanks from all in this grateful nation."
Addressing the deep political divide in the nation, Biden said, "It's time to put away the harsh rhetoric and lower the temperature. We need to stop seeing our opponents as our enemies; they're Americans. … This is the time to heal in America."
"America has called upon us to marshal the forces of science, decency and hope," he said vowing to wage a battle to defend democracy, fight climate change, and restore racial justice, central points to his campaign.
Biden said we must start to get COVID under control, and he would name a panel of experts on Monday to build a plan "built on bedrock science, compassion, empathy and concern" to have a plan in place ready for implementation on January 20, 2020.
"Let this grim era of demonization end now," Biden implored the audience, asking for political extremists to work together to better the condition of Americans.
"If we can chose not to cooperate, we can chose to cooperate," Biden said. "I believe this is part of the mandate given to us by the american people: they want us to cooperate."
"To all those who vote for Donald Trump," Biden said, "I understand. I lost a couple times myself."
Biden said this is an inflection point, where Americans can repair the nation, citing the times where Lincoln, FDR, Kennedy and Obama took office and brought the nation together.
"We will not only lead by the example of our power, but by the power of our example," Biden declared. "This is a great nation. It's always been a bad bet to bet against America."
"Let us be the nation we know we can be," Biden said, in a fairly obvious reference to the fact that Trump had led the nation backwards economically and socially.