Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be the next president and vice president of the United States. Early Saturday, following days of vote-counting after Election Day, major media networks called the race for Biden and Harris after the Democratic ticket’s victory in Pennsylvania became clear. No matter the then-uncalled states, Pennsylvania put Biden over the top of 270 electoral votes and handed him the presidency — and Kamala Harris the vice presidency. Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama issued messages of support to Biden, Harris, and all of America after the Democratic victory became clear.
Both Barack and Michelle thanked the untold numbers of Americans who put in hours and hours and hours of work on behalf of the Biden campaign. As Michelle noted, those efforts to protect democracy from the scourge of Trumpism extended back before Joe Biden even launched a presidential campaign. For all of the almost four years of Donald Trump’s time as president, Americans from all walks of life have come together to tamp down the idea that the U.S. would be a place where Trumpism runs the show. In the 2018 elections, Democrats regained control of the U.S. House, and this victory was the result of huge levels of grassroots support — and it provided the foundation for critical efforts to hold the president accountable and develop legislation to benefit the American people, even if Republicans only sometimes went along.
Michelle said, in part:
‘I’m beyond thrilled that my friend [Joe Biden] and our first Black and Indian-American woman Vice President, [Kamala Harris], are headed to restore some dignity, competence, and heart at the White House. Our country sorely needs it. Thank you to all of you who poured every ounce of your hope and determination into this democracy over these past four years, registering voters, getting them to the polls, keeping folks informed. More votes were cast in this election than ever before. It’s because of you.’
Michelle added that “we should all take a moment to exhale after everything we’ve been through,” but she noted that electing Biden and Harris is “just a beginning.” One of the areas that she singled out for further work is voting access — work remains to tamp down efforts at voter suppression and ensure that Americans’ voices can be heard without interference.
Check out Michelle’s remarks below:
Meanwhile, Barack said, in part:
‘I could not be prouder to congratulate our next President, Joe Biden, and our next First Lady, Jill Biden. I also couldn’t be prouder to congratulate Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff for Kamala’s groundbreaking election as our next Vice President… We’re fortunate that Joe’s got what it takes to be President and already carries himself that way… I know he’ll do the job with the best interests of every American at heart, whether or not he had their vote.’
“Our democracy needs all of us more than ever,” Obama added, and he asked Americans to work to “listen to others… and find some common ground from which to move forward.”
Check out his full statement below:
Congratulations to my friends, @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris — our next President and Vice President of the United States. pic.twitter.com/febgqxUi1y
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 7, 2020
Check out Twitter’s response below:
