'You Ushered In A New Day For America': President-Elect Joe Biden, Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris Call For Nation To Heal In Acceptance Speeches
WILMINGTON, Del. (CBS) -- Call them President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. CBS News has projected the Biden-Harris ticket as the winners of the 2020 presidential election, and at the Chase Center in Wilmington on Saturday night, they addressed the country, calling for the nation to heal.
Biden is set to become the 46th President of the United States, and it was the Keystone State that was key to securing the 270 electoral votes needed for Biden to clinch the presidency.
Biden will become the first president ever from the state of Delaware, and at 77, he becomes the first to defeat a sitting president in more than a quarter-century.
Harris is set to make history as the first woman and Black woman to ever hold the office of vice president.
Emotions ran high outside of the Chase Center in Wilmington as President-elect Biden's motorcade pulled up.
"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," Vice President-elect Harris said.
There were tears, smiles and cheers in Wilmington as Biden addressed the nation.
"Americans have called on us to marshal the forces of decency and the forces of fairness," Biden said, "to marshal the forces of science and the forces of hope in the great battles of our time."
One family told Eyewitness News on Saturday night that they came to the Chase Center witness history.
"Being biracial as well I wanted them to see that there's nothing that you can't do. We're witnessing the first woman of color in office and I never thought I'd be alive to see that day," Janein Selby said.
A victory many election experts say was ushered in by voters in the Philadelphia area.
"To all those who volunteered, worked the polls in the middle of this pandemic, local election officials -- you deserve a special thanks from this nation," Biden said.
But not everyone is on board with the victory, which was projected by all major news outlets.
On Saturday, Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani announced the Trump campaign plans to pursue a court battle over the election.
"Lawsuits will be brought starting on Monday," Giuliani said.
Pennsylvania's top government officials have defended the commonwealth saying there has been no evidence of voter fraud and poll watchers were given access to watch all ballots being counted.
"It's not my job to determine if the ballots are right or not. It's their job," Giuliani said. "But with a mail-in ballot or an absentee ballot, the burden under the law is on the party which is proposing, which is why it has to be inspected."
Biden dismissed the claims, saying it's time to come together and move forward.
"I will work as hard for those who didn't vote for me as those who did," Biden said. "To those who voted for President Trump, I understand your disappointment tonight. I've lost a couple of elections myself. But now, let's give each other a chance. It's time to put away the harsh rhetoric. To lower the temperature. To see each other again. To listen to each other again. To make progress, we must stop treating our opponents as our enemy. We are not enemies. We are Americans."
Biden says on Monday he will unveil a group of scientists and experts to help him craft a plan to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
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