At 8:30 a.m. on January 8, Vietnam time (8:30 p.m. on November 7, US time), President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris gave their first speech nationwide.
"I will be the President of Solidarity"
President-elect Joe Biden opened his speech in Wilmington, Delaware, saying the American people have made a clear choice.
"The people of this country say they gave us a clear victory, a convincing victory, a victory of us, the entire people," Mr. Biden said.
We won with the most votes in the history of the countrys presidential election - 74 million. I am humbled by the trust and confidence that my compatriots have placed in me," Mr. Biden said.
"I will be a president of unity, who does not see a red state or a blue state, but only sees a United States of America," Mr. Biden affirmed.
President-elect Joe Biden sent a message to those who voted for President Donald Trump, calling for solidarity and reconciliation.
"Now for all those who voted for President Donald Trump, I understand your disappointment tonight. I have lost twice, but now let's give each other a chance," said Joe Biden.
The former Vice President said it was time for both sides to "listen to each other once again".
"It's time to put aside harsh arguments, cool down, sit together, listen to each other again and to make progress, we must stop considering our opponents as our friends. They are not our enemy. They are American," said Joe Biden.
He continued: "The Church tells us that everything has its season, its time to build, its time to harvest, its time to sow and its time to heal. This is the time for healing in the US."
"We must restore the soul of America," Joe Biden said while speaking to the nation as President-elect.
"Our country is shaped by the endless war between the best and the darkest volumes. And what the president says in this battle is very important. It is time for our Angels to dominate," Mr. Biden said.
"Tonight, the whole world is watching America, and I believe that with our best, America is a beacon for the world," Mr. Biden said and affirmed before the audience: "Once again, America has dragged the conduct of the moral world towards justice."
Mr. Joe Biden praised the voters who have worked tirelessly since November 3 to count millions of votes.
"To all of you who have volunteered and worked in the mid-pandemic vote counting, you deserve a special thank you from the entire country," Joe Biden added.
Also in his speech, President-elect Joe Biden thanked his wife and First Lady Jill Biden.
"I am Jill's husband. And I wouldn't be here without her love," Joe Biden said. He highlighted her background as a teacher and a military mother.
"Jill is a military mother, an educator. She has devoted her life to the cause of education, but teaching is not just what she does. That is who she is. For American educators, its a great day for all of you. You will have one of your colleagues in the White House. And Jill will be a great First Lady. I am very proud of her," said Joe Biden.
The power to build a better future
Previously, Kamala Harris, the first woman of color and the first South Asian-American woman to become Vice President-elect, began her victory speech by quoting former congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis, who said: Democracy is not a state, not an action.
She said: "Defending our democracy, we need to fight and sacrifice. But there is joy in that. We are the ones who have the power to build a better future. And as our democracy is in the votes in this election and the soul of the United States is under threat and the world is watching, you have opened a new day for the United States," Harris said.
A century after women won the right to vote, Kamala Harris, in a white suit, spoke about her late mother, Shamala Gopalan Harris.
When she came here from India, at the age of 19, she probably couldnt have imagined this moment. But I have a deep belief in an America where there can be a moment like this, Harris said of her mother.
So Im thinking about her and about generations of women black women, Asian women, white women, Latins, Native Americans who throughout our nations history have paved the way for tonights moment.
While I can be the first woman in this office, I wont be the last, Harris added.
Previously, on the morning of November 7 (US time), Mr. Joe Biden defeated incumbent US President Donald Trump to win more than 270 electoral votes in the 2020 presidential election. According to AP calculations, Mr. Joe Biden received 284 electoral votes.
Mr. Joe Biden will be sworn in on January 20, 2021 and officially become the 46th President of the United States. Kamala Harris was also sworn in as US Vice President on this occasion.
