Biden Predicts Victory, Demands Votes Be Counted

Joe Biden makes remarks on the election from the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware, on November 4, 2020.Biden Campaign/CNP via ZUMA Wire

For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis, the election, and more, subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.As supporters of President Donald Trump and his top surrogates unfurled a stream of disinformation on Wednesday afternoon to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the presidential election, Democratic nominee Joe Biden predicted victory in a speech in his home state of Delaware, promising to govern as a president of all Americans.

.@JoeBiden: “After a long night of counting, it’s clear that we’re winning enough states to reach 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. I’m not here to declare that we’ve won. But I am here to report when the count is finished, we believe we will be the winners.” pic.twitter.com/RzYdbMKAC8
— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) November 4, 2020

Biden, joined by his running mate California Sen. Kamala Harris, spoke just minutes after Trump supporters attempted to physically shut down the counting of votes in Detroit.
“After a long night of counting it’s clear that we’re winning enough states to reach the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency,” he said, noting his leads in Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Nebraska’s second congressional district.
“Of special significance to me is we’ve won with the majority of the American people,” he said, referring to his strengthening margin in the popular vote. “Every indication is that that will grow as well. Indeed, Sen. Harris and I are on track to win more votes than anybody in the history of this country has ever won.”
But Biden wasn’t just there to predict he’ll win. As Trump ominously sought to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election, Biden presented himself as a unifying figure.

“To make progress, we have to stop treating our opponents as enemies. We are not enemies. What brings us together as Americans is so much stronger than anything that can tear us apart… We’re campaigning as Democrats, but I will govern as an American president.” —@JoeBiden pic.twitter.com/qhagcjgSj5
— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) November 4, 2020

“Once this election is finalized and behind us, it’ll be time for us to do what we’ve always done as Americans: to put the harsh rhetoric of the campaign behind us, to lower the temperature, to see each other again, to listen to one another, to hear each other again, and respect and care for one another, to unite to heal to come together as a nation,” he said. 
“I know this won’t be easy,” he continued. “I’m not naive—neither of us are.” But “to make progress, we have to stop treating our opponents as enemies.”
While he turned down the heat and perhaps offered a preview of how he might approach the presidency, Biden was unflinching on what he believes must happen over the next few days and weeks: “Every vote must be counted—no one’s gonna take our democracy from us, not now, not ever.” He added: “We the people will not be silenced. We the people will not be bullied. We the people will not surrender. My friends, I’m confident we’ll emerge victorious.”