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US election live: Joe Biden wins

and says ‘It’s time for America
to unite’
President)elect Joe Biden to address nation at
8pm ET
Full report: Biden wins US election after four
tumultuous years of Trump
Kamala Harris makes history as first woman
of color elected VP
Trump refuses to concede defeat as
recriminations begin
Obama: ‘Our democracy needs all of us more
than ever’
Analysis: Biden styled himself as the
antithesis to Trumpism
Trump v Biden K full 2020 results as they come
in

Maanvi Singh and %now(, Oliver Holmes and Joan

E Greve %earlier(
@joanegreve

Sat 7 Nov 2020 19.15 EST

Key events

12.56 EST

Here’s the scene in Wilmington, Delaware -

where supporters are celebrating, and
awaiting a speech from Joe Biden:

Biden supporters dance just outside the security perimeter of a

planned election celebration as they await Biden’s remarks and
fireworks. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Supporters wait for Biden at the site of his election rally in

Wilmington. Photograph: Jim Bourg/Reuters

A person wearing an inflatable Trump baby costume awaits Biden

in Wilmington, Delaware. Photograph: Jim Bourg/Reuters

Updated at 19.15 EST

12.56 EST

Hi there, it’s Maanvi Singh – blogging from

Oakland. You can also reach out
@maanvissingh.

I’ll be bringing you live updates for the next

few hours. We’re expecting Joe Biden to
deliver remarks in an hour.
Updated at 19.15 EST

12.56 EST

Today so far
I will be handing over to my colleague, Maanvi
Singh, now. Before I do, here’s a quick recap of
the past few hours and what’s ahead.

Joe Biden is due to speak at 8pm US

Eastern Time (in one hour) after winning
the US presidential election, defeating
Donald Trump. Biden was declared the
president-elect after the AP announced he
had won Pennsylvania and its 20 electoral
votes, putting him over the threshold of the
270 electoral votes needed to win the White
House.
Kamala Harris will become the first
woman, the first African American and the
first Asian American to serve as vice
president.
Biden earlier called on the nation to unite
and heal now that the election is over.
“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.”
Trump has so far refused to concede.
Shortly after Biden was declared the
winner, Trump released a statement saying,
“The simple fact is this election is far from
over.” Although a concession is considered
a hallmark of the peaceful transfer of
power, Trump does not need to concede for
Biden to be sworn in as president in
January.
Foreign leaders have offered their
congratulations to Biden and Harris.
Updated at 19.15 EST

12.56 EST

More reaction coming in from world leaders,

including the Prime Minister of India.

Narendra Modi
@narendramodi

Congratulations @JoeBiden on your

spectacular victory! As the VP, your
contribution to strengthening Indo-US
relations was critical and invaluable. I
look forward to working closely together
once again to take India-US relations to
greater heights.

1:37 PM · Nov 7, 2020

127.4K 22.1K people are Tweeting a…

Updated at 19.15 EST

12.56 EST

There are a lot of “firsts” and “historics” going

around with this election, but you may have
missed this neat observation from my
colleague and Guardian US senior political
reporter, Lauren Gambino.

Lauren Gambino
@laurenegambino

For the next two years, if Pelosi remains

the House speaker, the first and second
in line to the presidency will be women.
3:16 PM · Nov 7, 2020

130 41 people are Tweeting about this

Updated at 19.15 EST

Advertisement

Today’s Refinance Rates

Terms & Conditions apply. NMLS#1136

12.56 EST

Fiji’s prime minister got in first, gambling on

congratulating Joe Biden before the
presidential election had been called, slipping
in a plea for action on climate change.

But once the result was official,

congratulations came pouring in from around
the world. Donald Trump’s allies, critics and
reluctant partners had all been following the
vote counting, weighing up the impact of a
radical change of direction expected from
Washington under Biden.

Many of those congratulating the new

president-elect and his running mate Kamala
Harris took the opportunity to bolster ties by
underlining their connection to America.
Among the first was Canada’s prime minister,
Justin Trudeau. He said: “We share a
relationship that’s unique on the world stage.
I’m really looking forward to working together
and building on that with you both.”

Boris Johnson, who has been a close ally of

Trump, took a little longer, but about an hour
after the election was called put out a message
reminding Biden of the “special relationship”
that usually means so much more to London
than Washington. He said: “America is our
closest ally and I look forward to working
closely together on our shared priorities.”

From Dublin the congratulations came with a

nod to Biden’s Irish heritage, with his interest
in the country particularly important at a time
of fears that the Good Friday agreement could
be threatened by Brexit.

“I want to congratulate the new president

elect of the US. Joe Biden has been a true
friend of this nation throughout his life and I
look forward to working with him in the years
ahead,” wrote the Irish prime minister
Micheál Martin.

More on this topic

First, the world
mocked the
chaos, then the
congratulations
flowed in

Updated at 19.15 EST

12.56 EST

The front page of tomorrow’s Observer.

The Observer
@ObserverUK

Tomorrow’s front page

4:08 PM · Nov 7, 2020

2.6K 413 people are Tweeting about…

Updated at 19.15 EST

12.56 EST

Georgia’s Secretary of State has tweeted that

that county of Fulton had “discovered an
issue involving reporting from their work” on
Friday.

Brad Raffensperger said officials will rescan

the “work”, which I assume he means ballots,
although the tweet is fairly vague.

GA Secretary of State Brad Ra…

@GaSecofState

Fulton has discovered an issue involving

reporting from their work on Fri. Officials
are at State Farm Arena to rescan that
work. I have a monitor & investigators
onsite. Also sent Dep. SOS as well to
oversee the process to make sure to
secure the vote and protect all legal
votes
5:38 PM · Nov 7, 2020

10.3K 5.3K people are Tweeting abo…

The post will no doubt attract a lot of

attention. Fulton voted overwhelmingly for
Joe Biden – more than 72% – and Donald
Trump and his allies have been attempting to
discredit those votes by making accusations of
fraud while providing no evidence.

What is clear from Raffensperger tweet is that

he is not alleging any foul play.

Biden is ahead in Georgia by a few thousand

votes and election officials have already
announced a recount. With his Pennsylvania
win, Biden does not need Georgia for the
presidency, which is why his win was called
before the state is decided.
Updated at 19.15 EST

12.56 EST

The Guardian’s Libby Brooks reports from

Glasgow:

Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has

congratulated President-elect Joe Biden and
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris following
the US Presidential election.

Sturgeon - a long-standing critic of Donald

Trump - said:

“I warmly congratulate President-elect Joe

Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris
on their success. Theirs is a historic victory
that will be welcomed by progressives across
the globe. Women and people of colour in
particular will feel inspired by the historic
nature of Vice President-elect Harris’
achievement.

“I welcome the commitment that was so

evident in the Biden/Harris campaign to
leadership and multilateral cooperation on the
many challenges faced by countries across the
world, from COVID-19 to climate change.

“Scotland and America share deep and

longstanding bonds of friendship, and I look
forward to these being renewed and
strengthened in the years ahead.”
Updated at 19.15 EST

12.56 EST

A glum-looking Donald Trump returning to

the White House today after finding out he
lost the election.

US President Donald Trump returns to the White House after news

media declared Democratic US presidential nominee Joe Biden to be
the winner of the 2020 US presidential election. Photograph: Tom
Brenner/Reuters

US President Donald Trump returns to the White House after news

media declared Democratic US presidential nominee Joe Biden to be
the winner of the 2020 US presidential election. Photograph: Carlos
Barría/Reuters

US President Donald Trump returns to the White House after news

media declared Democratic US presidential nominee Joe Biden to be
the winner of the 2020 US presidential election. Photograph: Carlos
Barría/Reuters

Updated at 19.15 EST

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12.56 EST

Our senior political reporter for Guardian US,

Daniel Strauss, is in Wilmington, Delaware
ahead of Joe Biden’s rally tonight.

Daniel Strauss
@DanielStrauss4

Cars and supporters are starting to

trickle in for President-elect Biden’s
speech tonight.

4:57 PM · Nov 7, 2020

23 See Daniel Strauss’s other Tweets

The drive-in event is being held in the

president-elect’s hometown and is expected
to be a victory speech, with calls for unity. It is
scheduled to begin at 8pm Eastern Time (two
and a half hours from now).
Updated at 19.15 EST

12.56 EST

It appears that Donald Trump’s personal

attorney and one of his most loyal allies, Rudy
Giuliani, found out that the election was lost
during a press conference earlier today.

Reporters told Giuliani US broadcast news

networks had just reported a Biden victory,
which he immediately dismissed.

'Don't be ridiculous': Rudy Giuliani learns about Biden win from

reporters – video

Updated at 19.15 EST

12.56 EST

Donald Trump appears to have logged back on

to the White House wifi and has started
tweeting again.

He begins by falsely repeating that he “won

the election”, as well as other allegations of
fraud without evidence.

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump

THE OBSERVERS WERE NOT ALLOWED

INTO THE COUNTING ROOMS. I WON
THE ELECTION, GOT 71,000,000 LEGAL
VOTES. BAD THINGS HAPPENED
WHICH OUR OBSERVERS WERE NOT
ALLOWED TO SEE. NEVER HAPPENED
BEFORE. MILLIONS OF MAIL-IN
BALLOTS WERE SENT TO PEOPLE
WHO NEVER ASKED FOR THEM!
This claim about election fraud is disputed
4:53 PM · Nov 7, 2020

337.4K 254.5K people are Tweeting …

He goes on to say that he received more votes

than any other sitting president, which is true.
However, he overestimated his vote count by
a few hundred thousand, according to our
tally, and refers to his votes as “legal votes”,
which suggests - again without evidence - that
some of Joe Biden’s are not.

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump

71,000,000 Legal Votes. The most EVER

for a sitting President!
4:54 PM · Nov 7, 2020

436.3K 307.6K Share this Tw…

Updated at 19.15 EST

12.56 EST

Joe Biden’s granddaughter, Naomi Biden, just

tweeted a photo of the family hugging the
president-elect. She dated it today.

Naomi Biden
@NaomiBiden

11.07.20

Updated at 19.15 EST

12.56 EST

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, an actress who played a

female vice president for the TV show, Veep, is
celebrating how fiction has become reality.

“Madam Vice President” is no longer a

fictional character. @KamalaHarris
pic.twitter.com/rg1fErtHGX

— Julia Louis-Dreyfus (@OfficialJLD)

November 7, 2020

Updated at 19.15 EST

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Topics
US elections 2020 / US politics live
Joe Biden / Kamala Harris / Donald Trump / US politics /
House of Representatives / US Senate

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