President Joe Biden said Thursday there would be a peaceful transition of power after Republican Donald Trump won the White House and urged Americans to "bring down the temperature."
Biden made the remarks at the White House Rose Garden in the wake of Trump's decisive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.
"You can't love your country only when you win. You can't love your neighbor only when you agree," Biden said. "Something to hope we can do, no matter who you voted for, is see each other not as adversaries, but as fellow Americans. Bring down the temperature."
He also sought to console fellow Democrats who were alarmed by the former president's stunning comeback.
"Setbacks are unavoidable. Giving up is unforgiveable," Biden said as he addressed staff who were disappointed in Harris' defeat. "A defeat does not mean we are defeated."
Biden said Tuesday's election had proven the integrity of the U.S. electoral system and said he would preside over an orderly transfer of power.
"I also hope we can lay to rest a question about the integrity of the American electoral system. It is honest, it is fair and it is transparent. It can be trusted, win or lose," he said. "We lost this battle. The America of your dreams is calling for you to get back up," he added.
Some Democrats have blamed Biden, 81, for Harris' defeat, saying he should not have sought reelection. Biden only dropped his reelection bid in July after a disastrous TV debate with Trump raised alarm bells about his mental fitness.
Trump's campaign said Biden had invited him to meet at the White House at an unspecified time. In the weeks ahead, Trump will select personnel to serve under his leadership.
Harris sought Wednesday to console supporters. Like Biden, she promised to aid Trump's transition before his inauguration on Jan. 20 but urged Democrats to continue to fight for what they believe in.
Some Democrats worried their loss in Tuesday's presidential election showed that their values — left-leaning, socially liberal — were now firmly a minority among Americans in a divisive campaign. Others were frustrated with the party's leadership, who they said had lost touch with much of the electorate who wanted help with the rising cost of living.
Trump's victory, decisive despite opinion polls that had shown a neck-and-neck contest, underscored how disenchanted Americans had become with the economy — in particular inflation — along with border security and the direction of the country and its culture.
Hispanics, traditionally Democrat voters, and lower-income households hit hardest by inflation helped fuel Trump's victory.
Harris' campaign pressed the message that Trump was unfit to serve again as president, as a convicted felon and one whose claims of voting fraud they said inspired a mob to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in a failed bid to overturn his 2020 loss to Biden.
The former president will face far fewer limits on his power in his second White House term, as the head of a Republican Party that he has remade in his image over the last eight years.
Republicans wrested the U.S. Senate from Democrats in Tuesday's vote, ensuring Trump's party will control at least one chamber of Congress next year. Republicans also held an edge in the battle for the House of Representatives, though 38 of the 435 races still had no winner.
Trump prevailed in five of the seven battleground states to give him at least 295 Electoral College votes, more than the 270 needed to win the presidency. He was leading in the remaining two, Arizona and Nevada, where votes were still being tallied.
Trump was also on track to become the first Republican presidential candidate to win the popular vote since George W. Bush two decades ago. He lost the popular vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 but secured 304 electoral votes to win the White House.
World stocks gained on Thursday after a record rise for U.S. shares overnight, and U.S. Treasuries remained under pressure as investors processed the impact of a second Trump presidency.
Wall Street executives expected smaller government, broad deregulation as well as tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy, although fresh tariffs could bring challenges in the form of a higher deficit and inflation.
PERSONNEL PICKS
Among people who may figure in Trump's leadership, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the world's richest man and a prominent Trump donor, has been promised a role in his administration, as has former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson and investor Scott Bessent were seen as possible cabinet officers in his administration, while former Trump officials Robert O'Brien and Mike Pompeo could return to office.
On trade, Trump is expected to revive policies he favored during his first term, notably tariffs that he has called the "most beautiful word."
That could set him on a collision course with China, which has the world's second largest economy, sow discord with allies and roil global industries from automakers to chipmakers.
Chinese President Xi Jinping sent Trump a congratulatory message and said he hopes the two powers will coexist peacefully, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was among world leaders congratulating Trump. But Trump has been critical of U.S. assistance for Ukraine in its war with Russia. He has said he could end the war in 24 hours but has not said how.
The White House plans to rush billions of dollars in security assistance to Ukraine before Biden leaves office in January, sources said Wednesday, hoping to shore up the government in Kyiv before Trump takes over.
This story has been updated.