“Let’s give each other a chance,” he said, urging the country to “lower the temperature.””Let this grim era of demonization in America begin to end, here and now.”Casting his eye further, Biden said he would “make America respected around the world again” – a reference to Trump’s tearing up of traditional diplomatic ties.”Tonight, the whole world is watching America and I believe that at our best America is a beacon for the globe,” he said.Addressing the coronavirus, which has killed more than 237,000 Americans under Trump’s erratic leadership, Biden said he would form a task force of “leading scientists” this Monday.While attendance was limited for social distancing purposes to about 360 cars at the drive-in style event, crowds numbering thousands of people, many of them dancing and waving American flags, lined the highway leading to the facility.This was Biden’s first public appearance since US television networks declared earlier Saturday that he’d taken an insurmountable lead in the nearly complete count from Tuesday’s election, giving him victory against Trump, who will now become a rare one-term president.The celebratory event, which featured a confetti canon, fireworks and a soundtrack including Springsteen and Tina Turner, also gave Americans a closer look at Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris, who will make history as the country’s first female and first Black vice president.

In her speech, cheered every few seconds by the ecstatic crowd, Harris lauded the record turnout of some 160 million people in the election and said that after so much division, “Joe is a healer.””When our very democracy was on the ballot in this election, with the very soul of America at stake, and the world watching, you ushered in a new day for America,” she said.Biden, who is 77 and turns 78 later this month, will be the oldest person to become president when he takes office on January 20.No Trump concessionCrowds took to the streets in major cities across the US in celebration of Trump’s defeat, while key Western allies such as Germany, which had a tempestuous relationship with the Republican, quickly congratulated Biden.But Trump—becoming the first one-term president since George H. W. Bush —refused to concede and continued to claim without any evidence that he was a victim of fraud.Biden was “rushing to falsely pose” as the winner, Trump said in a statement as he arrived to play golf at a course he owns in Virginia, his first trip outside the White House since Election Day.Tuesday’s polling went off without any reported serious incidents or even technical glitches, despite the shadow of a still out-of-control COVID-19 pandemic and volcanic political tensions.With vote-counting nearly complete around the huge country, Biden built up an irreversible lead. New tallies from the state of Pennsylvania early Saturday put him over the top, ending four days of tense waiting and allowing the TV networks’ specialized data analysts to call the overall result, as they do every election.Spontaneous celebrationsIn Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Washington and other majority-Democratic cities, people poured into the streets to celebrate and car horns honked.An excited crowd of several thousand gathered on Black Lives Matter Plaza next to the White House, giving a hostile reception to Trump as his motorcade passed nearby on return from the golf course.”It’s been so many years waiting for this day to happen,” said Jack Nugent, a 24-year-old software engineer.There were similar scenes in New York, Trump’s birthplace.”I’m happy that Trump has gone from our lives, hopefully forever,” said Catherine Griffin, 47, through tears of happiness.However, in Arizona, where the race was close, a group of almost 1,000 Trump supporters gathered in Phoenix to protest what they said was a stolen election.”There’s a lot of fraud here. It needs to be either redone totally or recounted,” Donna McCollum, 77, said.Action on COVID-19Biden vowed Saturday immediate action to contain the United States’ coronavirus crisis, signaling science would dominate the national response once Trump leaves the White House.Biden’s pledge followed three days of record infections in the United States and came as the nation’s death toll surpassed 237,000The United States has long been the worst-hit nation.Critics of Trump have blamed this on his chaotic response, which has seen him discredit the top US infectious disease expert, discourage face masks and speak at crowded campaign rallies.

At Biden’s victory event, which took into account social-distancing guidelines, the president-elect announced top scientists would be appointed to his coronavirus task force on Monday.”On Monday I will name a group of leading scientists and experts as transition advisors to help take the Biden-Harris plan and convert it into an actual blueprint that will start on January 20, 2021,” Biden told supporters.

Earlier in the day, he had emphasized the urgency he placed on beating the pandemic.”I want everyone, everyone, to know on day one we’re going to put our plan to control this virus into action,” Biden said before he had been declared the winner.Unlike Biden, Trump held massive campaign rallies ahead of the Nov. 3 vote, insisting the US was “rounding the turn” despite the virus surges.Trump campaigned after contracting the virus himself.Senior members of his administration have also contracted the virus recently. Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, was the latest to test positive, the media said late Friday.World welcomes Biden winWorld leaders rushed to congratulate US president-elect Biden, with many expressing hopes of unity and cooperation following four years of explosive Donald Trump diplomacy.While Trump refused to accept the results of the election, many world leaders made it clear they backed the announcement that Biden had won with running mate Kamala Harris.”Congratulations!” said Chancellor Angela Merkel. “I wish luck and success from the bottom of my heart.”Our transatlantic friendship is irreplaceable if we want to overcome the great challenges of our times,” she said in a tweet issued by a government spokesman.French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted: “The Americans have chosen their President. Congratulations @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris! We have a lot to do to overcome today’s challenges. Let’s work together!”British Prime Minister Boris Johnson congratulated Biden “on his election as President of the United States and Kamala Harris on her historic achievement.”The US is our most important ally and I look forward to working closely together on our shared priorities, from climate change to trade and security.Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a close Trump ally, called Biden a “great friend of Israel,” congratulating him and Harris on their victory.He tweeted: “I look forward to working with both of you to further strengthen the special alliance between the US and Israel.”Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: “I look forward to working with President-elect Biden, Vice President-elect Harris, their administration, and the United States Congress as we tackle the world’s greatest challenges together.”Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison wished Biden and Harris “every success.””The Australia-US Alliance is deep and enduring, and built on shared values. I look forward to working with you closely as we face the world’s many challenges together,” he said on Twitter.New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, a popular leader who had verbally jousted with Trump, congratulated Biden and Harris in a tweet focused on cooperation.”With so many issues facing the international community, your message of unity is one we share. New Zealand looks forward to working with you both!”Indonesian President Joko Widodo expressed his “warmest congratulations” to Biden and Harris. He said: “The huge turnout is a reflection of the hope placed on democracy.”Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga focused his congratulatory message on security issues.”Warm congratulations to @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris. I look forward to working with you to further strengthen the Japan-US Alliance and ensure peace, freedom, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond,” Suga wrote on Twitter.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Biden’s win as “spectacular” while highlighting Harris’s Indian heritage.”Your success is pathbreaking, and a matter of immense pride not just for your chittis, but also for all Indian-Americans,” Modi said in a tweet to Harris.”Chitti” is a Tamil term of endearment for the younger sisters of one’s mother, which Harris used in her acceptance of the Democratic nomination for vice president.However, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said it was too soon to congratulate Biden and he would wait for “all legal issues” in the US election to be resolved.”We don’t want to be imprudent. We don’t want to act lightly and we want to respect people’s self-determination and rights,” Lopez Obrador, who has had good relations with Trump, told reporters.NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg described Biden as a “strong supporter” of the alliance.Stoltenberg, who often had to adapt to Trump making unexpected announcements about US troop drawdowns from NATO deployments, said in a tweet he looked forward to working with Biden.”A strong NATO is good for both North America and Europe,” he said.