President Biden promises a peaceful transfer of power
Nov 7, 2024, 11:31 AM | Updated: 3:33 pm
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about the results of the 2024 election in the Rose Garden on November 07, 2024 in Washington, DC. Biden pledged to work with the Trump team to ensure a smooth transition and invited the former President for an Oval Office meeting. (Andrew Harnik, Getty Images)
(Andrew Harnik, Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY — President Joe Biden addressed the nation from the Whitehouse on Thursday for the first time since the Nov. 5 election.
Biden said he spoke with President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday to congratulate him on winning the 2024 presidential race.
“I assured him that I’d direct my entire administration to work with his team to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition,” President Biden said. “That’s what the American people deserve.”
Biden said he also spoke with Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday.
“[Harris has] been a partner and a public servant,” President Biden said. “She ran an inspiring campaign, and everyone got to see something that I learned early on to respect so much,”
Biden went on to speak of Harris’ character, and how hard he saw the Vice President and her campaign team work during the presidential race.
Race to the Whitehouse
The president spoke of what the race to the Whitehouse means to the people of America.
“The struggle for the soul of America, since our very founding, has always been an ongoing debate and is still vital today,” Biden said.
Biden added how the results of the election are a cause for victory for some and a time of loss for others.
“A campaign [is] a contest of competing visions, the country chooses one or the other,” the president said. “We accept the choice the country made.”
Questions around the electoral system
President Biden also addressed “the integrity of the electoral system” during his speech.
“[The electoral system] is honest, it is fair, and it is transparent,” Biden said. “And it can be trusted, win or lose,”
The president also recognized the people who worked during the election.
“We should thank them. Thank them for staffing voting sites, counting the votes, protecting the very integrity of the election,” the president said. “Many of them are volunteers, who do it simply out of love for their country.”
Transfer of power
Biden promised a “peaceful transfer of power” to happen on Jan. 20, 2025.
“To all of our incredible staff, supporters, cabinet members, all of the people who have been hanging out with me for the last four years, God love you, as my mother would say,” Biden said. “Thank you so much, you put so much into the past four years.”
The president ended his speech with a message for those who helped him during his presidency.
“Don’t forget all that we’ve accomplished, it’s been a historic presidency. Not because I’m president but because of what we’ve done. What you’ve done,” Biden said.
“We’re leaving behind the strongest economy in the world. I know people are still hurting,” but things are changing rapidly. And together we’ve changed America for the better. Now we have 74 days to finish the term. Our term. Let’s make everyday count.”
Kennedy Camarena is a digital content producer for KSL NewsRadio.
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