WASHINGTON, Nov 7 - After four days of waiting patiently for the slow march of vote counting to work itself out, Democratic candidate Joe Biden, 77, pulled off one of the great political turnarounds in America by defeating Republican President Donald Trump in the US 2020 Presidential election and is now effectively the country�s President-elect. The current occupant of the White House continues to project a defiant public posture, though. White House insiders, although deflated, have been sending signals that Trump has no plans to concede until every last fight is finished. Five states are yet to report final results.
Biden�s victory comes amidst a most unusual terrain for a presidential election. From coast to coast, mail-in ballots did the star turn for Biden and his vice president pick Kamala Harris in an election transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Biden�s big breakthrough came around 9 am Friday EST when he broke into the lead in Pennsylvania and initially overtook Trump by about 5,000 votes. Since then, that lead is only growing as votes continue to be counted.
Biden is projected to win the 2020 US Presidential elections with 284 out of the 538 electoral votes, according to AP. He had also been leading in Georgia and Nevada, ensuring over 270 electoral votes that is needed to win the presidency.
Biden was inching towards a historic electoral victory over Trump on Saturday, with the Democratic candidate declaring that the voting numbers tell a �clear and convincing story� that he was going to win the race for the White House.
Given that counting of votes has not concluded in some key battleground states, Biden refrained from declaring victory on Friday night but exuded confidence that he will be the winner when final results are out.
�My fellow Americans, we don�t have a final declaration of victory yet, but the numbers tell a clear and convincing story: We are going to win this race,� Biden said in his address to the nation from his campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware.
His running mate Senator Kamala Harris, 56, was also present at the podium. But she did not speak.
Reflecting on the progress made in the vote count in the states of Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada and Georgia in the last 24 hours, Biden asserted that he is on track for over 300 electoral college votes.
�And look at the national numbers: We�re going to win this race with a clear majority of the nation behind us. We�ve gotten over 74 million votes. That�s more votes than any presidential ticket has gotten in the history of the United States of America, and our vote total is still growing... We�re beating Donald Trump by over four million votes, and that margin is still growing as well,� he said.
Trump, 74, has not yet conceded defeat. In fact, he went on to say that his Democratic rival should not wrongfully claim victory. �Joe Biden should not wrongfully claim the office of the President. I could make that claim also. Legal proceedings are just now beginning.� Trump said in a tweet on Friday.
In his address, Biden said the people have given them a mandate for action on COVID and the economy and climate change and systemic racism. �They made it clear they want the country to come together � not pull apart. The people spoke. More than 74 million Americans. And they spoke loudly for our ticket,� Biden said.
He announced that he will introduce his plans to contain the COVID-19 pandemic on his first day in office. �On day one, we�re going to put our plan to control this virus into action,� he said.
Biden said he and Harris have begun working on the task ahead by focusing on two critical areas of public health and economy, both battered by the raging COVID-19 pandemic. �While we�re waiting for the final results, I want people to know we are not waiting to get to work,� Biden said. � Agencies
