US President Joe Biden has said that he has spoken with President-elect Trump to congratulate him and assure him that his administration will cooperate to ensure a “peaceful and orderly” transfer of power.
Addressing the nation from the White House Rose Garden, Mr Biden described the result as a “setback” but said that it “lays to rest the question about the integrity of the American electoral system”.
The election, which saw Republican candidate Donald Trump secure a decisive victory over his Democrat rival Kamala Harris, also saw the Republican party gain control of the senate and likely the House of Representatives.
President-elect Trump told supporters at his campaign headquarters in West Palm Beach, Florida that the result has given them “an unprecedented and powerful mandate” as he vowed to fix the borders and the economy.
Speaking today at the White House, Mr Biden said that America is a democracy and that “the will of the people always prevails”.
“Yesterday, I spoke with President-elect Trump to congratulate him on his victory and I assured him that I’ve directed my entire administration to work with his team to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition. That’s what the American people deserve,” he said.
The president also spoke with Vice-President Harris, saying that she and her team should be “proud” of the campaign they ran.
“Campaigns are contests of competing visions. The country chooses one or the other. We accept the choice the country made. I’ve said many times, you can’t love your country only when you win. You can’t love your neighbour only when you agree.
“Something to hope we can do, no matter who you voted for, is see each other not as adversaries, but as fellow Americans,” President Biden said, adding, “bring down the temperature”.
“Also we can lay to rest the question about the integrity of the American electoral system. It is honest, it is fair, and it is transparent and it can be trusted, win or lose.”
On January 20th, the United States will have a “peaceful transfer of power,” he said.
Addressing dejected supporters of Ms Harris, the president said that “setbacks are unavoidable” and encouraged them to remember that “the American experiment endures”.
Democrats across the country expressed concern about the impending Trump presidency, with Californian Governor Gavin Newsom calling a special session later this year to safeguard the state’s progressive policies on such issues as abortion, climate change and immigration.
Other Democratic officials are likely to follow suit as they consider how to prepare for the incoming Trump administration and Republican federal majorities.