Election 2024 live updates: Biden vows to ensure a peaceful transition to Trump in address to nation

For years, Donald Trump has threatened to go after countless political rivals who he claims have wronged him.

In speeches to supporters and rants on his Truth Social platform, he has on multiple occasions vowed to seek “retribution” and called his political opponents the “enemies from within.”

During an interview with Dr Phil in June, he issued an especially ominous threat. “Well, revenge does take time. I will say that. And sometimes revenge can be justified,” he said.

Rhian Lubin reports.

Four years after Donald Trump refused to acknowledge losing the 2020 presidential election, President Joe Biden said his administration would honor Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris by facilitating a “peaceful and orderly transition” to the incoming Republican administration.

In remarks delivered from the White House Rose Garden to an audience that included a large portion of Biden’s cabinet and his granddaughter, Finnegan Biden, the president called the American electoral system “the greatest experiment in self-government in thehistory of the world.”

“The people vote and choose their own leaders, and hey do it peacefully. And we’re in a democracy — the will of the people always prevails,” he said.

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Biden ended his short speech in the Rose Garden, urging supporters to “Remember, defeat does not mean we are defeated. We lost this battle. The America of your dreams is calling for you to get back up.”

He added: “That's the story of America for over 240 years, and counting. It’s the story for all of us, not just some of us. The American experiment endures. We're going to be okay, but we need to stay engaged. We need to keep going. And above all, we need to keep the faith.”

Biden said he spoke to Harris yesterday, calling her “a partner and a public servant.”

“She ran an inspiring campaign, and everyone got to see something that I learned early on to respect so much. Her character, she has a backbone like a ramrod,” he added.

President Joe Biden began his speech from the Rose Garden on Thursday by saying, “For over 200 years, America has carried on the greatest experiment in self-government in the history of the world. That's not hyperbole. That's a fact.”

“The people vote and choose their own leaders, and they do it peacefully. And we're in a democracy. The will of the people always prevails,” he added. “Yesterday, I spoke with President-elect Trump to congratulate him on his victory, and I assured him, I direct my entire administration work with his team to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition.”

Watch live as President Joe Biden addresses the nation on Thursday (7 November) after Donald Trump’s historic win against Kamala Harris.

Biden will address the nation from the White House Rose Garden at 11am ET (4pm GMT).

Meanwhile, Trump is celebrating his election win by beginning the process of choosing who will join his second administration, as his conservative allies and surrogates jostle for position in the hope of securing a top role.

Trump completed a shocking political comeback by winning the election four years after leaving the White House.

The former president surpassed the magic number of 270 Electoral College votes early yesterday after winning key battleground states.

He also won 51 percent of the popular vote, picking up 72.5m votes to Harris’s 68m as she fell well short of Biden’s 2020 total of 81m.

In theory, the next President of the United States is supposed to face sentencing for his New York criminal trial conviction at the end of the month.

But following his dramatic election win this week it is looking increasingly likely that won’t happen and Donald Trump will once again evade repercussions for his actions.

More than five months ago, a New York jury found Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records stemming from hush-money payments he gave to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.

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