Biden: This is America’s ‘time to heal’
An American flag flies in Woodstock, Vermont, on the Fourth of July. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
After clinching an historic election victory on Saturday, U.S. President-Elect Joe Biden called for unity and healing in his first public address since the result in Pennsylvania put him over the needed 270 electoral votes earlier in the day.
It was a time of sheer jubilation for the 75 million voters who supported Biden and now-Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris, who became the first woman and the first person of color elected to the nation’s second-highest office.
Addressing the crowd gathered in Wilmington, Delaware, on Saturday night, Harris thanked the voters, saying the result proved that the people can still change the direction of the country.
“When our very democracy was on the ballot in this election, with the very soul of America at stake and the world watching, you ushered in a new day for America,” Harris said.
She acknowledged the four years of struggle while many tried to make a difference.
“For four years, you marched and organized for equality and justice, for our lives and for our planet, and then, you voted,” she said. “And you delivered a clear message. You chose hope and unity, decency, science, and yes, truth.”
Harris also mentioned her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, who came to the U.S. from India at the age of 19.
“She believed so deeply in America, where a moment like this is possible.”
The vice president-elect then paid tribute to “all the women who have worked to secure and protect the right to vote for over a century.”
“Tonight I reflect on their struggle, their determination, and the strength of their vision to be unburdened by what has been,” Harris said. “I stand on their shoulders.”
She added, “Every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.”
The 75 million vote total was the most ever won by a presidential candidate in U.S. history, and Biden-Harris supporters filled the streets of major American cities to celebrate throughout the afternoon and evening.
But it was a very different day for the nearly 71 million people who supported Biden’s Republican opponent, President Donald Trump, who is forging ahead with legal challenges to results in multiple states. The Democratic victor reached out to those voters in his speech from his hometown of Wilmington, saying he would work for them as president, too.
“For all those of you who voted for President Trump, I understand the disappointment tonight — I’ve lost a couple times myself,” Biden said. “But now, let’s give each other a chance.”
He urged people to “lower the temperature” and listen to each other.
“To make progress, we have to stop treating our opponents as our enemies, they are not our enemies, they’re Americans.”
The president-elect said Americans sent a clear mandate that their leaders need to work together.
“The Bible tells us that to everything there is a season — a time to build, a time to reap, a time to sow. And a time to heal,” Biden said. “This is the time to heal in America.”
Biden thanked his campaign team for helping to build a broad, diverse coalition, and he pledged that his administration would reflect that diversity. He also spoke to the African American community, which turned out in record numbers in key urban areas like Philadelphia, to lift the campaign over the finish line.
“You’ve always had my back, and I’ll have yours.”
Harris and Biden each spoke of unity, which has been a theme throughout their campaign.
“I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide but unify — who doesn’t see red states and blue states, only sees the United States,” Biden said Saturday night.
Laying out several priorities, Biden his first one was defeating the pandemic. He said he’d name a group of leading scientists and experts on Monday as transition advisors on a new plan to battle the crisis.
Biden also called for renewed efforts to combat climate change and root out systemic racism, while also speaking out against the bitter partisanship that has gripped the U.S.
“Let this grim era of demonization in America begin to end here and now.”
He also recited the lines to the well-known hymn, “On Eagles’ Wings,” which meant a lot to his late son, Beau, and which he hoped would bring comfort to those who have lost a loved one in the pandemic:
And He will raise you up on eagles' wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn
Make you to shine like the sun
And hold you in the palm of His hand.
In closing, Biden said, “And now together, on eagles’ wings, we embark on the work that God and history have called upon us to do, with full hearts and steady hands, with faith in America and each other.”
— Gareth Henderson
