Biden congratulates Trump and promises a “peaceful and orderly” transfer of power

President Biden addressed the nation from the Rose Garden on Thursday after his Vice President Kamala Harris conceded the 2024 presidential election to President-elect Trump.

In brief remarks, Biden said he spoke with Trump on Wednesday to congratulate him on his victory and assure him that the entire Biden administration would work with his team “to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition.”

“This is what the American people deserve,” Biden said.

He also praised Harris for running “an inspiring campaign,” saying she had “great character” and “backbone like a ramrod.”

A day after Trump’s overwhelming victory, HARRIS officially concedes

President Joe Biden arrives during an address to the nation in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday, November 7, 2024. Biden said he accepted the decision the country made following the defeat of former President Donald Trump. Vice President Kamala Harris will become the 47th President of the United States. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump will make a triumphant return to the White House in January after more than 72 million Americans voted for him, securing at least 295 votes in the Electoral College and a majority of the national popular vote. Harris claimed 226 Electoral College votes and won at least 68 million votes. Ballots are still being counted in several states.

The results were the culmination of a tumultuous election campaign in which incumbent Biden won the Democratic primary but then withdrew from the race at his party’s insistence after his disastrous performance against Trump in the debate in June. Harris was then nominated by the Democrats to carry their standard uncontested and without receiving a single primary vote.

During the campaign, Harris and Biden called Trump a “fascist” and argued that his re-election as president would endanger democracy and prove dangerous to the American people.

But after Trump’s decisive victory, Biden changed his tune and emphasized unity. On Thursday, the president spoke of political campaigns as a “competition of competing visions.”

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Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in Mint Hill, North Carolina (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

“A country chooses one or the other. We accept the choice the country has made. I’ve said many times that you can’t just love your country when you win. You can’t love your neighbor just by agreeing. Something I hope we can do, no matter who you voted for, you don’t see yourself as an opponent, but as fellow Americans.

He also said he hopes the 2024 election will “resolve the question of the integrity of the American electoral system.”

“It’s honest, it’s fair and it’s transparent and you can trust it. Win or lose.”

BIDEN SAYS AFTER VICE PRESIDENT’S CONCESSION SPEECH THAT CHOOSING HARRIS AS RUNNING CANDIDATE WAS “THE BEST DECISION I HAVE MADE.”

President Joe Biden leaves the Rose Garden after speaking about the 2024 election in the Rose Garden on November 7, 2024 in Washington, DC (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The televised address came after Harris made a concession to Trump on Wednesday. The vice president made her first public comments on the race at Howard University, her lama mater, where she said: “While I concede this election, I do not admit the fight that fueled this campaign.”

In a previous staff note, her campaign manager and Biden ally Jen O’Malley Dillon called the defeat “unfathomably painful.”

“It will take a long time to process. But the work of protecting America from the impact of a Trump presidency begins now,” she promised.

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Biden said in his speech: “Setbacks are inevitable, but giving up is unforgivable.”

“We all get knocked down. But the measure of our character, as my father would say, is how quickly we get back up. Remember, defeat does not mean we are defeated. We lost this fight. The America of your dreams is it.” I call on you to rise again.