"I will be a President for all Americans": Biden elected
After a close and tense contest for four days, all of the leading US networks announced that Joe Biden, after winning the 20 electoral votes of Pennsylvania, defeated incumbent President Donald Trump. On the agenda: immediately setting up a special task force for the struggle against the COVID-19 epidemic
Mandi Kogosowski
| 08/11/2020
Biden and Harris at the victory speech. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was elected as the 46th president of the United States, and is expected to be sworn in on January 20, 2021. Yesterday, shortly after 6pm (Israel time), the leading networks announced that Biden had won the 20 electoral votes of Pennsylvania, which brought him past the required 270 electoral votes, to 273. It should be noted that, while the vote tallying in Pennsylvania (as in most states) has not yet ended, incumbent President Trump cannot overcome Biden's lead. Trump himself refuses to admit defeat continues to argue, baselessly, for voter fraud, while he remains secluded in the White House with his legal team planning his battle against the results, one that has incredibly slim to no chance of success, and is doubtful will be carried out at all.
"I will be a President for all Americans – whether you voted for me or not," Biden wrote on his Twitter account after the results were released. In a victory speech he delivered last night outside his campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, he continued his conciliatory tone. "It's time to put away the harsh rhetoric. To lower the temperature. To see each other again. To listen to each other again," he said. "I pledge to be a President who seeks not to divide, but to unify. Who doesn't see Red and Blue states, but a United States. And who will work with all my heart to win the confidence of the whole people."
And indeed, during his extensive political career, Biden, who was born in 1942, has built a reputation as a moderate, level-headed, unifying man of the people who is capable of understanding everyday difficulties and distress and to show empathy. In 1988, Biden made his first attempt at the presidential run, but lost in the primaries to Michael Dukakis (who lost the presidential election to George H.W. Bush). He tried again in 2008, when he lost to an anonymous and charismatic senator, Barack Obama, who then made him his vice president.
“What a testament it is to Joe’s character that he had the audacity to break one of the most substantial barriers that exists in our country, and select a woman as his vice president,” said the Vice President-elect, Kamala Harris, last night. Harris, who was born in 1964, is a personification of the American dream: her mother immigrated to the US from India when she was 19 to conduct breast cancer research, and her father immigrated from Jamaica and became a professor in economics at Stanford University. In other words, Harris is making history not only as the first woman (and not the last, she said last night) who will serve as vice president of the US, but also as the first Black and first South-Asian American in the position.
Biden and Harris announced that the first task that will be carried out, on Monday, is setting up a scientific task force for fighting the COVID-19 epidemic, which is breaking records over the last few days with over 120,000 new cases every day.
And briefly, as for what can be expected for Israel under the new president: Joe Biden, as well as his vice president (who is married to an American Jew), is known as a sworn supporter of Israel. Biden demonstrates great expertise on the conflict with the Palestinians, has been following the issue ever since his first days in the Senate, and believes in a two-state solution. After an initial period of focusing on domestic policy, overcoming the coronavirus and efforts to heal the rifts in the country, it is possible to expect efforts to renew the dialogue between the sides, and for the Palestinians, a more attentive ear in the White House. Unlike Trump, Biden is expected to take a hard line regarding Israeli building in areas of Judea and Samaria, which he sees as a main obstacle to peace. It can be assumed that he has not forgotten the slap in the face that he received from the Netanyahu government in 2010 when, during a visit to Israel, Israel announced a plan to establish another 1,600 housing units in East Jerusalem. Regarding regional normalization, it can be assumed that Biden will continue the line that his predecessor started and will take action for the establishment of relations between Israel and additional countries, especially Saudi Arabia.
Unlike the leaders of the free world, Prime Minister Netanyahu, who had hoped of course for a victory by Trump, did not congratulate President-elect Biden until early Sunday morning, a decision that drew political criticism in Israel as well as media attention around the world.
After a close and tense contest for four days, all of the leading US networks announced that Joe Biden, after winning the 20 electoral votes of Pennsylvania, defeated incumbent President Donald Trump. On the agenda: immediately setting up a special task force for the struggle against the COVID-19 epidemic
Biden and Harris at the victory speech. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was elected as the 46th president of the United States, and is expected to be sworn in on January 20, 2021. Yesterday, shortly after 6pm (Israel time), the leading networks announced that Biden had won the 20 electoral votes of Pennsylvania, which brought him past the required 270 electoral votes, to 273. It should be noted that, while the vote tallying in Pennsylvania (as in most states) has not yet ended, incumbent President Trump cannot overcome Biden's lead. Trump himself refuses to admit defeat continues to argue, baselessly, for voter fraud, while he remains secluded in the White House with his legal team planning his battle against the results, one that has incredibly slim to no chance of success, and is doubtful will be carried out at all.
"I will be a President for all Americans – whether you voted for me or not," Biden wrote on his Twitter account after the results were released. In a victory speech he delivered last night outside his campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, he continued his conciliatory tone. "It's time to put away the harsh rhetoric. To lower the temperature. To see each other again. To listen to each other again," he said. "I pledge to be a President who seeks not to divide, but to unify. Who doesn't see Red and Blue states, but a United States. And who will work with all my heart to win the confidence of the whole people."
And indeed, during his extensive political career, Biden, who was born in 1942, has built a reputation as a moderate, level-headed, unifying man of the people who is capable of understanding everyday difficulties and distress and to show empathy. In 1988, Biden made his first attempt at the presidential run, but lost in the primaries to Michael Dukakis (who lost the presidential election to George H.W. Bush). He tried again in 2008, when he lost to an anonymous and charismatic senator, Barack Obama, who then made him his vice president.
“What a testament it is to Joe’s character that he had the audacity to break one of the most substantial barriers that exists in our country, and select a woman as his vice president,” said the Vice President-elect, Kamala Harris, last night. Harris, who was born in 1964, is a personification of the American dream: her mother immigrated to the US from India when she was 19 to conduct breast cancer research, and her father immigrated from Jamaica and became a professor in economics at Stanford University. In other words, Harris is making history not only as the first woman (and not the last, she said last night) who will serve as vice president of the US, but also as the first Black and first South-Asian American in the position.
Biden and Harris announced that the first task that will be carried out, on Monday, is setting up a scientific task force for fighting the COVID-19 epidemic, which is breaking records over the last few days with over 120,000 new cases every day.
And briefly, as for what can be expected for Israel under the new president: Joe Biden, as well as his vice president (who is married to an American Jew), is known as a sworn supporter of Israel. Biden demonstrates great expertise on the conflict with the Palestinians, has been following the issue ever since his first days in the Senate, and believes in a two-state solution. After an initial period of focusing on domestic policy, overcoming the coronavirus and efforts to heal the rifts in the country, it is possible to expect efforts to renew the dialogue between the sides, and for the Palestinians, a more attentive ear in the White House. Unlike Trump, Biden is expected to take a hard line regarding Israeli building in areas of Judea and Samaria, which he sees as a main obstacle to peace. It can be assumed that he has not forgotten the slap in the face that he received from the Netanyahu government in 2010 when, during a visit to Israel, Israel announced a plan to establish another 1,600 housing units in East Jerusalem. Regarding regional normalization, it can be assumed that Biden will continue the line that his predecessor started and will take action for the establishment of relations between Israel and additional countries, especially Saudi Arabia.
Unlike the leaders of the free world, Prime Minister Netanyahu, who had hoped of course for a victory by Trump, did not congratulate President-elect Biden until early Sunday morning, a decision that drew political criticism in Israel as well as media attention around the world.
