Joe Biden has won the US election, managing to cross the 270-point threshold needed to become the 46th president of the United States.
Mr Biden won the battleground state of Pennsylvania’s 20 Electoral College votes to secure a total of 279.
Biden’s victory came after the Associated Press, CNN and NBC showed him winning Pennsylvania and gaining more than the 270 Electoral College votes needed to secure the presidency.
Trump sought to undermine the outcome, baselessly accusing Democrats of trying to steal the election and claiming victory before the race was called.
Biden prevailed by flipping key states that went to Trump in 2016, including Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Trump again won in Florida and Ohio, but in the end was unable to chart a path to an electoral victory. Biden also leads by millions in the popular vote, with a record number of votes cast this year, many through the mail.
As his vice president, Kamala Harris will make history in myriad ways, becoming the first woman — and the first woman of color — to occupy the office. Harris, a California senator and the state’s former attorney general, built a career in the tech industry’s front yard.
In a victory speech Saturday night in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, Biden said he was humbled by the trust America had placed in him and reached out to those Americans who did not vote for him.
“I understand the disappointment tonight. I’ve lost a couple of times myself. But now, let’s give each other a chance,” Biden said. “This is the time to heal in America.”
In Washington Square Park in Manhattan, hundreds gathered to cheer President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory, the afternoon’s celebrations carried on into the night, transforming the park into a cathartic commune.
Some shared bottles of champagne with strangers, while others waved Biden-Harris flags. People shimmied to drum circle rhythms, and on the west side of the park, the crowd sang lyrics in response to a trumpet’s blare: “Hey hey hey, goodbye.”
The Democrat managed to confine Donald Trump to a single term in office – bringing to a close four tumultuous years in the White House.
Biden, 77, will become the oldest president-elect in U.S. history and the first to oust a sitting commander-in-chief after one term since Bill Clinton defeated George H.W. Bush in 1992.
