Biden Set to Address Nation

U.S. President Joe Biden was set to address the nation on Thursday after a stinging election defeat for his Democratic Party at the hands of Republican Donald Trump, whose stunning political comeback has reverberated around the world.

Biden, who was replaced in July as the Democrats’ candidate in the race by Vice President Kamala Harris because of concerns about his mental acuity after a stumbling debate with Trump, will speak at 11:00 a.m. (1600 GMT), the White House said.

Harris sought on Wednesday to console the voters who had hoped she would become the first woman to win the White House. She, like Biden, has promised to aid Trump’s transition between now and his inauguration on Jan. 20 but said she was not prepared to embrace his vision for the country.

Trump’s campaign said Biden had invited him to a meeting at the White House at an unspecified time.

Former President Trump’s victory, surprisingly decisive after opinion polls that had showed a neck-and-neck contest ahead of Tuesday’s election, underscored how disenchanted Americans had become with the economy – in particular the effect of inflation on their standard of living – border security and the direction of the country and its culture.

Hispanics, traditionally Democratic voters, and lower-income households hit hardest by inflation helped fuel the victory. Harris’ campaign had sought to press the message that Trump was unfit to serve again as president, as a convicted felon and one whose false claims of voting fraud after his 2020 election defeat spurred a mob to storm the U.S. Capitol.

This time, Trump prevailed in five of the seven battleground states to push him past the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency and was leading in the remaining two, Arizona and Nevada, where votes were still being tallied.

He was also on track to become the first Republican presidential candidate to win the popular vote since George W. Bush two decades ago.

Republicans wrested control of the U.S. Senate from Democrats, ensuring Trump will control at least one chamber of Congress next year. It is not clear if they will retain their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, with dozens of races not yet called.

U.S. stocks rallied to close at record highs on Wednesday after Trump’s victory, with investors expecting lower taxes, deregulation and a U.S. president who is not shy to weigh in on everything from the stock market to the dollar, although fresh tariffs could bring challenges in the form of a higher deficit and inflation.

Reuters/Shakirat Sadiq