President-elect Joe Biden told Americans on Monday that “democracy prevailed” as electors nationwide cast votes affirming his victory in last month’s election, saying the country’s governing principles were “pushed, tested, threatened” but did not crumble.
In a speech from his longtime home of Wilmington, Delaware, Biden aimed to guide Americans past the tumult of the campaign and President Donald Trump’s refusal to accept defeat. Courtesy of
“If anyone didn’t know it before, we know it now. What beats deep in the hearts of the American people is this: Democracy,” Biden said. “The right to be heard. To have your vote counted. To choose the leaders of this nation. To govern ourselves.”
After garnering a record of more than 81 million votes, Biden is still trying to build momentum as he prepares to assume the presidency on Jan. 20. That’s been complicated by Trump refusing to concede and has instead pursued baseless legal challenges that have been roundly rejected by judges across the political spectrum, including the justices at the Supreme Court.
Though Trump’s actions have threatened core democratic norms, including the peaceful transfer of power, Biden argued that America’s system of government remains in tact.
Elsewhere, Texas electors met at the state Capitol on Monday and delivered their state’s 38 electoral votes to President Donald Trump. They also passed a resolution asking the swing states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin to overrule the will of their voters and appoint their own electors. Electors in those states had already voted for Biden.
