In a few hours, much of the United States of America will be awake to begin to watch another battle unleashed as President Donald Trump begins to fight in court what he lost on the political turf: the Presidency of the acclaimed world power.
Trump had promised to go to court by today (Monday) to fight a loss he described as a fraud.
As many celebrate the victory of former Vice President Joe Biden, and others lick the wound of defeat and egg on Trump’s bid to reclaim his seat, the sharply divided country totters as the world waits to see a drama of monumental proportions unravel.
Some sober persons are waxing philosophical and calling for prayers, while others recall past prophecies of doom on this particular election.
Even an American-based Nigerian pastor, Ladi Thompson, posted an ominous message on social media. It reads: “Those who love America need to remind them that there is a great difference between things born of the spirit and those born of the flesh …. Like the wave of fear that followed 9/11 this anger and hatred trailing the 2020 elections is a spiritual thing. Joe Biden cannot handle it no matter how hard he tries … The anger and hatred was transmitted spiritually and can only be cast out in the name of the Lord. If this is not done the transition will be bathed with innocent blood “
Nonetheless, in his first speech as president-elect on Saturday, Joe Biden said he hoped to unify the nation after an especially bitter campaign with President Trump, who has so far refused to concede defeat in the race.
“Folks, the people of this nation have spoken,” Biden said on an outdoor stage at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Del., as a crowd, with many people watching from inside their cars, honked and cheered approval. “They’ve delivered us a clear victory, a convincing victory, a victory for we the people. We won with the most votes ever cast on a presidential ticket in the history of the nation, 74 million!”
The former vice president repeatedly sought to reinforce his message during the campaign that he would seek to be a president for all Americans, regardless of whether they had voted for him.
“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.
“All those of you who voted for President Trump, I understand the disappointment tonight. … But now, let’s give each other a chance. We need to stop treating our opponents as our enemies,” Biden told the crowd. “They’re not our enemies. They’re Americans. This is the time to heal in America.”
Biden was declared the victor in the particularly bruising race against President Trump on a date that holds personal significance for the Democrat: It was 48 years to the day that he was first elected to the United States Senate in his home state of Delaware.
Biden ran two failed campaigns for president — one in 1988 and the other in 2008. He served eight years as vice president under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017, and then, on his third try, he crossed the finish line.
As several major news networks called the race in Biden’s favor late Saturday morning, Trump was playing golf at his club in Sterling, Va. The president vented his frustration on Twitter, continuing his attempt to discredit Biden’s victory by arguing that voting irregularities had robbed him of the presidency.
“THE OBSERVERS WERE NOT ALLOWED INTO THE COUNTING ROOMS. I WON THE ELECTION, GOT 71,000,000 LEGAL VOTES. BAD THINGS HAPPENED WHICH OUR OBSERVERS WERE NOT ALLOWED TO SEE. NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. MILLIONS OF MAIL-IN BALLOTS WERE SENT TO PEOPLE WHO NEVER ASKED FOR THEM!” Trump said in a tweet that Twitter quickly labeled as containing information about “election fraud that has been disputed.”
Sen. Kamala Harris of California, Biden’s running mate and the first woman of color to be elected vice president, introduced the president-elect.
“When our very democracy was on the ballot in this election, the very soul of America at stake, and the world watching, you ushered in a new day for America,” said Harris, who wore all white, in a nod to the women who fought to give women the right to vote in the U.S.
Noting the impact that the coronavirus pandemic has had on the country, Harris thanked all the officials and volunteers who made sure the election went forward.
“To the poll workers and election officials across our country who have worked tirelessly to make sure that every vote is counted, our nation owes you a debt of gratitude. You have protected the integrity of our democracy,” Harris said.
In her history-making speech, Harris, the daughter of an Indian-American mother and a Jamaican father, drew on her own background, saying she was reflecting on the life of her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, who died of cancer in 2009.
“I am thinking about her and about the generations of women — Black women, Asian, white, Latina, Native American, who throughout our nations history have paved the way for this moment tonight,” Harris said.
The announcement that Biden had won the election set off mass celebrations in many of the heavily Democratic cities that Trump had spent weeks attacking on the campaign trail. Crowds numbering in the thousands gathered in Washington, D.C., New York, Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Atlanta, Chicago and Austin, among others. Smaller crowds of Trump supporters also assembled to show their support for the president, like those that greeted him as he left his Virginia golf course.
“We’re so elated that Donald Trump is almost out of the White House,” a man standing outside the White House who gave his first name as Darryl told Yahoo News
Celebratory crowds also gathered outside the Naval Observatory, the official residence of Vice President Mike Pence.
▪︎ Additional reports by YahooNews