President-elect Joe Biden: 'Time to Heal America'
2020-11-08
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1U.S. President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris spoke at an outdoor victory celebration in Wilmington, Delaware Saturday night.
2A few hours earlier, the two were declared winners of Tuesday's election against President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
3Biden told supporters at the gathering that, he will be a president who "seeks not to divide, but to unify the country."
4"This is the time to heal America," Biden said to the cheering crowd.
5"It's time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again."
6Biden reached out to Trump supporters, saying, "I understand your disappointment tonight. I've lost a couple of times myself, but now let's give each other a chance."
7Harris introduced Biden after giving thanks and praise to poll workers and election officials.
8"Our nation owes you a debt of gratitude as you have protected the integrity of our democracy," she said.
9Harris also thanked American women of today and yesterday.
10"Women," she said, "who fought and sacrificed so much for equality, liberty, and justice for all."
11The Biden-Harris victory came after more than three days of a close vote count.
12A large number of mail-in votes delayed the processing of some ballots.
13With 270 Electoral College votes needed to win,
14Biden reached 273 when he won the northeastern state of Pennsylvania.
15As the news of his victory reached the nation's capital of Washington, DC, people gathered outside the White House waving signs and taking pictures.
16Others came out shouting and banging pots.
17The sound of the Queen song, "We are the Champions," could be heard floating through the air.
18Across the country, people celebrated in New York's Times Square, danced in the streets of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and set off fireworks in Atlanta, Georgia.
19Lola Faleit of New York City told the Associated Press, "I feel less worried for my immigrant friends.
20In 2016, we woke up crying.
21Today we are celebrating.
22Look, the sky is clear blue, the sun is out, Mother Nature is celebrating, too."
23President Trump was at his golf course in Virginia when news of Biden's win broke.
24The Trump campaign said, "This election is far from over."
25It released a statement saying it would begin to argue in court Monday "to ensure election laws are fully upheld and the rightful winner is seated."
26Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri tweeted his support for the Trump campaign, writing that the media does not get to decide who wins.
27"The people do," he continued. "When all lawful votes have been counted, recounts finished, and allegations of fraud addressed, we will know who the winner is."
28Sen. Mitt Romney was the 2012 Republican presidential nominee.
29On Twitter, he wrote "congratulations to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris."
30Romney added, "We know both of them as people of good will."
31Former Democratic Presidents Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton also sent congratulations to Biden and Harris.
32World leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said they look forward to working with the new administration.
33From the start of his third campaign for president, Biden centered his effort on winning Pennsylvania and the midwestern states of Michigan and Wisconsin.
34Biden argued that his popularity among working-class voters would return the three states, known as the "Blue Wall," to the Democratic Party.
35In 2016, Republican Donald Trump won the three states and the presidency over Hillary Clinton.
36Biden visited his birth state of Pennsylvania on Election Day.
37He wrote on the wall of his boyhood home in Scranton, "From this house to the White House...."
38 Four days later, Pennsylvania provided the electoral votes that Biden needed to win the presidency.
39A record number of Americans voted this year through mail-in ballots and stood in long lines at voting places.
40With vote-counting continuing in some states, Biden has already received more votes than any presidential candidate in U.S. history, with his name marked on 74 million ballots.
41Trump received about 70 million, the second-highest number recorded for any candidate.
42Biden has been in national politics for many years.
43He first served as a senator from Delaware and then two terms as Obama's vice president.
44In 1972, just weeks after his election to the Senate, Biden's wife and one-year-old daughter were killed in a car accident.
45He was left a single father of two sons and briefly considered leaving his Senate seat.
46But he decided to stay in office.
47As senator, Biden traveled daily to and from Washington on the train, so he could be home in Delaware with his sons every night.
48Biden turns 78 years old on November 20.
49Eight weeks later, on January 20, 2021, Biden will become the oldest person to take office as president.
50Kamala Harris has also made history as the first woman, first Black person and first person of South Asian descent to become vice president.
51I'm Caty Weaver.
1U.S. President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris spoke at an outdoor victory celebration in Wilmington, Delaware Saturday night. 2A few hours earlier, the two were declared winners of Tuesday's election against President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. 3Biden told supporters at the gathering that, he will be a president who "seeks not to divide, but to unify the country." 4"This is the time to heal America," Biden said to the cheering crowd. "It's time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again." 5Biden reached out to Trump supporters, saying, "I understand your disappointment tonight. I've lost a couple of times myself, but now let's give each other a chance." 6Harris introduced Biden after giving thanks and praise to poll workers and election officials. 7"Our nation owes you a debt of gratitude as you have protected the integrity of our democracy," she said. 8Harris also thanked American women of today and yesterday. "Women," she said, "who fought and sacrificed so much for equality, liberty, and justice for all." 9The Biden-Harris victory came after more than three days of a close vote count. A large number of mail-in votes delayed the processing of some ballots. With 270 Electoral College votes needed to win, Biden reached 273 when he won the northeastern state of Pennsylvania. 10Reactions to the news 11As the news of his victory reached the nation's capital of Washington, DC, people gathered outside the White House waving signs and taking pictures. Others came out shouting and banging pots. The sound of the Queen song, "We are the Champions," could be heard floating through the air. 12Across the country, people celebrated in New York's Times Square, danced in the streets of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and set off fireworks in Atlanta, Georgia. 13Lola Faleit of New York City told the Associated Press, "I feel less worried for my immigrant friends. In 2016, we woke up crying. Today we are celebrating. Look, the sky is clear blue, the sun is out, Mother Nature is celebrating, too." 14"This election is far from over" 15President Trump was at his golf course in Virginia when news of Biden's win broke. 16The Trump campaign said, "This election is far from over." It released a statement saying it would begin to argue in court Monday "to ensure election laws are fully upheld and the rightful winner is seated." 17Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri tweeted his support for the Trump campaign, writing that the media does not get to decide who wins. "The people do," he continued. "When all lawful votes have been counted, recounts finished, and allegations of fraud addressed, we will know who the winner is." 18Sen. Mitt Romney was the 2012 Republican presidential nominee. On Twitter, he wrote "congratulations to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris." Romney added, "We know both of them as people of good will." 19Former Democratic Presidents Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton also sent congratulations to Biden and Harris. 20World leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said they look forward to working with the new administration. 21Race for the White House 22From the start of his third campaign for president, Biden centered his effort on winning Pennsylvania and the midwestern states of Michigan and Wisconsin. 23Biden argued that his popularity among working-class voters would return the three states, known as the "Blue Wall," to the Democratic Party. In 2016, Republican Donald Trump won the three states and the presidency over Hillary Clinton. 24Biden visited his birth state of Pennsylvania on Election Day. He wrote on the wall of his boyhood home in Scranton, "From this house to the White House...." Four days later, Pennsylvania provided the electoral votes that Biden needed to win the presidency. 25A record number of Americans voted this year through mail-in ballots and stood in long lines at voting places. With vote-counting continuing in some states, Biden has already received more votes than any presidential candidate in U.S. history, with his name marked on 74 million ballots. Trump received about 70 million, the second-highest number recorded for any candidate. 26Biden's career 27Biden has been in national politics for many years. He first served as a senator from Delaware and then two terms as Obama's vice president. 28In 1972, just weeks after his election to the Senate, Biden's wife and one-year-old daughter were killed in a car accident. He was left a single father of two sons and briefly considered leaving his Senate seat. But he decided to stay in office. As senator, Biden traveled daily to and from Washington on the train, so he could be home in Delaware with his sons every night. 29Biden turns 78 years old on November 20. Eight weeks later, on January 20, 2021, Biden will become the oldest person to take office as president. 30Kamala Harris has also made history as the first woman, first Black person and first person of South Asian descent to become vice president. 31I'm Caty Weaver. 32Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English with additional reporting from the Associated Press and Reuters. Caty Weaver was the editor. 33________________________________________________________________ 34Words in This Story 35harsh - adj. very critical, strongly negative 36rhetoric - n. the language that is intended to influence people and that may not be honest 37disappointment - n. state of unhappiness when something is not as expected 38bang - v. to hit something in a way to make a loud noise 39pot - n. a round container used for cooking 40allegation - n. a statement saying that someone has done something wrong or illegal 41fraud - n. a crime of using dishonest methods 42address - v. to deal with an issue