U.S. presidential elections | America is a ‘beacon for the globe’, says Joe Biden

“We must restore the soul of America,” Mr. Biden said while celebrating his electoral victory along with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

November 08, 2020 04:35 pm | Updated 04:35 pm IST - Washington

President-elect Joe Biden with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris celebrate in Wilmington on November 7, 2020.

President-elect Joe Biden with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris celebrate in Wilmington on November 7, 2020.

President-elect Joe Biden has said that America is a “beacon for the globe” and that efforts must be made to “restore the soul” of the country.

“Tonight the whole world is watching America, and I believe that at our best, America is a beacon for the globe. We will lead not only by the example of our power, but by the power of our example,” Mr Biden said while addressing the nation for the first time as president-elect.

Also read: U.S. presidential polls | Media reports say Jared Kushner approached Donald Trump about conceding the election

“We must restore the soul of America,” Mr. Biden said late on Saturday while celebrating his electoral victory along with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

He noted that America has always been shaped by “inflection points, by moments in time we’ve made hard decisions about who we are and what we want to be,” Mr. Biden said, hours after the 77-year-old Democrat was declared as the winner of the November 3 presidential election against incumbent US President Donald Trump, a Republican.

Also read: ‘I may be the first, but won’t be the last’: Kamala Harris in her first speech as VP-elect

“(Abraham) Lincoln in 1860 coming to save the union, FDR (Franklin D. Roosevelt) in 1932 promising a beleaguered country a new deal. JFK (John F Kennedy) in 1960 pledging a new frontier and when Barack Obama made history and told us: ‘Yes we can’

“Our nation is shaped by the constant battle between our better angels and our darkest impulses,” Mr. Biden continues. “Now, a president’s say in this battle matters. It’s time for our better angels to prevail,” the former Vice President said.

U.S. elections results reactions

Since Mr. Trump took office as President, the image of the U.S. has suffered across many regions of the globe, the Pew Research Center said in a 13-nation survey released in September.

America’s reputation has declined further over the past year among many key allies and partners, it said as the country was struggling to contain the coronavirus, “In several countries, the share of the public with a favourable view of the U.S. is as low as it has been at any point since the Centre began polling on this topic nearly two decades ago,” Pew said on September 15.

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