Joe Biden has called for the country to “bring down the temperature” as he addressed the US for the first time in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s sweeping election victory.
Speaking in the White House Rose Garden, the US president said: “I know for some people it is a time for victory, for others it is a time of loss… the country chooses one or the other.
“I have said many times you can’t love your country only when you win, you can’t love your neighbour only when you agree.”
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The president said he had spoken with Mr Trump and said he has ordered his team to ensure a smooth transition of power.
He said: “The people vote and choose their own leaders and they do it peacefully. In a democracy, the will of the people prevails.”
The president also spoke about the “integrity of the American electoral system,” saying: “It is honest, it is fair and it is transparent. It can be trusted, win or lose.”
He concluded: “America endures. We’re going to be okay, but we need to stay engaged.”
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‘We must accept the result,’ Harris tells supporters
It comes after vice president Kamala Harris called Mr Trump to concede the race and congratulate him.
In a speech in Washington DC she told her supporters she was “proud of the race we ran” but said “we must accept the result”.
Mr Biden has already called Mr Trump and invited him to an Oval Office meeting to prepare for his return to the White House.
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Trump’s path to decisive victory
Mr Trump won a decisive victory – comfortably clearing the 270 Electoral College votes needed to secure the presidency and clinching five battleground states: North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
He is also leading in Arizona and Nevada, which are yet to be called, according to Sky’s US partner NBC News, meaning Mr Trump is on course to claim all seven swing states.
The 78-year-old president-elect has been keeping a low profile after addressing his supporters in Florida yesterday morning to declare victory.
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