Biden has been declared the next president of the United States. On Nov. 7, Biden gave his acceptance speech. Throughout, Biden incorporated his strong religious beliefs by referencing God. At one point, Biden quoted the well known hymn ‘Eagles Wings.’ He said,
“And He will raise you up on eagles’ wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn
Make you to shine like the sun
And hold you in the palm of His hand.”
This was to comfort the grieving Americans who had lost loved ones. Although Biden is now the president elect, he didn’t let that stop him from using a more colloquial vocabulary, especially when he used the word ‘folks’ to speak to the American people. Biden made sure to tell the American people his goals for his term office. He compared these goals to a battle in order to show just how difficult it will be to accomplish them.
Biden said, “America has called upon us to… marshal the forces of science and the forces of hope in the great battles of our time. The battle to control the virus, the battle to build prosperity, the battle to secure your family’s health care. The battle to achieve racial justice and root out systemic racism in this country. And the battle to save our planet by getting climate under control.”
However, probably most importantly, Biden wants the American people to no longer be divided.
Biden said, “I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide but unify, who doesn’t see red states and blue states, only sees the United States.”
This was just one of the many times where Biden told the American people that we are all Americans and that he will not treat anyone differently due to their political beliefs.
Finally, Biden asked the American people themselves to put aside their divisions by saying, “Refusal of Democrats and Republicans to cooperate with one another. It’s not some mysterious force beyond our control. It’s a decision, a choice we make. And if we can decide not to cooperate, then we can decide to cooperate.”
However, Biden’s hope of cooperation and peace between the two major political parties is off to a rocky start. Trump doesn’t believe the election was done fairly. On the night of the election, Trump gave a speech where he attributed the loss of his initial lead to voter fraud. This prompted him to say, “Frankly we did win this election.” In a later speech, Trump would say, “I want every legal vote counted.” Since then, the Trump administration has been filing lawsuits and asking for vote recounts.
The lawsuits have been aimed against the states of Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. They include claims of voter fraud through illegal votes, illegal ballots, and ineligible (sometimes claimed dead people) voting. The Trump administration also would like to stop the counting of late ballots and ballots with missing information. Many of these lawsuits also claim that the Trump administration was not given access to oversee the counting of votes in order to insure fairness. Recently the Trump administration handed over $3 million to the Dane and Milwaukee counties of Wisconsin for a vote recount.
Since the election, Trump has taken to Twitter to speak to the American people. Some of his recent tweets include, “Evidence of voter fraud continues to grow, including 20,000 dead people on the Pennsylvania voters roll and many thousands all over the Country,” and “We won’t let a RIGGED ELECTION steal our Country!”
However, almost all leading news sources call Trump’s claims of voter fraud, “completely baseless.” Despite this, 70% of Republicans say the election wasn’t ‘free and fair,’ according to The Guardian.
Trump’s claims that the election was rigged have stalled the usually smooth transition of power. In the past, the president has given the incoming president access to confidential information in order to protect the American people. So far, Trump has refused to hand over keys to basic office space, nor is he providing Biden with this confidential information.
Trump’s lawsuits have many wondering what will happen if the election is still contested by Jan. 20, 2021. Although unlikely, if this is indeed the case, then the speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi will become president until a president is chosen.
Others wonder what will happen if President Trump refuses to concede. This would be unprecedented as all previous presidents have conceded power. However, it were to be an issue, once Biden is inaugurated he would have the power to order the military or secret service to physically remove Trump.
2020 has been a rough year and maybe it was too much to ask for a straightforward election.