U.S. President Joe Biden, long a political adversary of President-elect Donald Trump, declared that Trump’s election this week to a second nonconsecutive four-year term in the White House was “fair” and “transparent,” and that there would be a peaceful transfer of power on January 20.
Biden, speaking to dozens of his White House aides in the Rose Garden, said he accepted that Trump had defeated his vice president, Kamala Harris.
“The will of the people always prevail,” Biden said, “As I’ve said many times, you can’t love your country only when you win. And you can’t love your neighbor only when you agree.”
“We lost this battle,” Biden said. “Setbacks are unavoidable, but giving up is unforgivable. 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 called Trump on Wednesday to congratulate him and invited him to the White House soon to discuss their handover of power.
