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

Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton all posted on social media yesterday wishing Trump and running JD Vance well after their election win (presumably through gritted teeth), leading by example in frankly accepting the result.

Both couples had been on the campaign trail for Harris but their efforts ultimately fell short.

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, had a more pragmatic message for disillusioned and disappointed party activists yesterday:

Here’s more from Kelly Rissman.

The Minnesota Governor was great fun on the campaign trail and attacked his task with zest.

Here he is paying tribute to the defeated nominee:

The Indy video team meanwhile has this look at where it all went wrong for the Democrats.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is reportedly trying to “wind down” the federal criminal cases against President-Elect Donald Trump before he returns to the White House.

DOJ officials are considering ways to fizzle out the two federal criminal cases that Trump faces – one involving his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and the other related to improperly storing a trove of classified documents – in order to comply with its long-standing policy not to prosecute sitting presidents.

The policy in question states: “The indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would unconstitutionally undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions.”

New York attorney general Letitia James, however, is striking a more defiant note.

Here’s more from Kelly Rissman.

“It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them,” Bernie Sanders said in a statement yesterday, setting the tone for the Democratic inquest already ongoing.

“While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they’re right.”

Green Party candidate Jill Stein likewise told Newsweek: “The Democrats have really lost credibility. They are seen as bought and paid for… Their primaries are rigged, power is top down.

“The Democrats betrayed their base. I don’t see them coming back. The economic disparities are real. People are tired of the Democrats. They need to move over and allow a proper opposition.”

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said: “It’s time to look in the mirror and make sure [we] either change our substance, if it needs to be changed, or change the way we communicate what we stand for.”

Most damning of all was Philadelphia Democratic Chair and former congressman Bob Brady, who told NBC10: “I would’ve liked to see the Harris campaign – especially the national campaign – coordinate with us a little bit. Talk to us a little bit. Give us a little bit more resources. Show us some respect. Didn’t happen.

“They were just elitist and went out there, did their own thing and didn’t include Democratic city committee or (ward leaders) or committee people. They just didn’t do it.”

Here’s more from Graig Graziosi.

Now Donald Trump has won the 2024 presidential election, all eyes are on who he might appoint to his top team.

The individuals selected for cabinet positions are meant to be the president’s close allies, ideally with some interest or experience in the department they head.

But the former president has made it clear his priority will be appointing loyalists rather than those best suited for a position – a takeaway from his first administration where he faced record turnover.

One person who has already ruled himself out is JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who has said he has no current plans to leave the banking sector.

Ariana Baio reports on some of the names being thrown out there.

The president-elect spoke to Joe Biden late on Wednesday by phone and the two men will soon meet in person in the West Wing to discuss the peaceful transfer of power.

That was not a gesture Trump extended to the Democrat when he left the White House.

“President Joe Biden called President Donald J Trump to congratulate him on his victory and extended an invitation to the White House to ensure a smooth transition between the current Administration and the incoming Administration,” Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement.

“President Trump looks forward to the meeting, which will take place shortly, and very much appreciated the call.”

In their own statement, the White House said the president “expressed his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition and emphasized the importance of working to bring the country together”.

Biden is due to make a televised address this afternoon to reflect on the election.

Good morning!

Donald Trump has won the presidency for a second time, overcoming impeachments, indictments, two assassination attempts and unforced errors on the campaign trail that would have taken down most other political candidates.

But he won’t take office for another couple of months.

During that time, states will certify the results, electoral votes will be counted and a new Congress will convene.

Here are the dates that matter leading up to Inauguration Day on January 20 2025.

Bethenny Frankel has criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for spending too much time “hobnobbing with celebrities” during her failed presidential campaign against Donald Trump.

The former Real Housewives of New York City star, 54, said she felt the tactic was not successful with the American public.

Kevin E G Perry reports.

Russian leaders and media figures responded with a mix of jubilation and caution after Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election.

“There is only one place in the world where the mood is worse than it is at Kamala Harris’s campaign headquarters: Bankova Street, the office of the president of Ukraine in Kyiv,” the host of the Russian TV show The Big Game, Dmitry Suslov, said after the election, according to a translation from Russia analyst Julia Davis.

Josh Marcus has the story.

Robert F Kennedy Jr, a likely political appointee in Trump’s new government, has already announced his intentions to clear out departments of the Federal Drug Administration.

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to let the former independent presidential candidate take over health, food and medicines government sectors during his second administration despite his much-derided obsession with debunked conspiracies.

Michelle Del Rey reports.