Biden Elected
At 8:30 PM Eastern Time on November 7, 2020, Joe Biden jogged onto the stage at the Chase Center in Wilmington, marking the conclusion of a historic American election. In reality, the outcome had already been determined when the deadline for mail-in ballots passed at midnight on November 3.
The Road to Victory
On April 25, 2019, at 6 AM Eastern Time, 76-year-old former Vice President Joe Biden officially announced his candidacy for the 2020 U.S. presidential election via Twitter, citing threats to America’s “core values,” “global standing,” and democracy itself.
On April 8, 2020, Bernie Sanders withdrew from the primary race, allowing the Democratic Party to officially nominate Biden as their candidate.
On August 11, 2020, Biden announced his running mate, California Senator Kamala Harris.
From then on, Biden and Harris ran against the Republican ticket of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
On September 29, 2020, at 9 PM, the first presidential debate took place. The U.S. media described the event as a “chaotic brawl” between Biden and Trump.
On October 26, 2020, Trump and Biden faced off in their final debate before the election, clashing over COVID-19 policies, family business ties, and Obama’s political legacy. Unlike the first debate, this one was more restrained.
At midnight on November 4, the first votes were cast in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. The town’s first randomly selected voter, a Republican, still cast his ballot for Biden. In the end, Biden won all five votes in the town.
On the evening of November 4, initial results came in from Indiana, Pence’s home state, giving Trump an early lead with 11 electoral votes.
By 8 PM, Biden pulled ahead with wins in Vermont, Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and his home state of Delaware, leading Trump 30–26.
On November 5, Pennsylvania and Georgia started shifting towards Biden. The margin in Georgia was within 0.2%, triggering a recount.
As the battle for Georgia continued, Biden supporters found ways to express their hopes for the state to turn blue.
At 12:27 PM Eastern Time on November 7, CNN, CBS, NBC, FOX, and other major networks simultaneously declared Biden the winner, making him the 46th President of the United States.
At that moment, several of Trump’s tweets were flagged as misleading.
That evening, at 8:30 PM, Biden’s team formally announced their victory at the Chase Center in Wilmington.
Biden then posted his victory speech on Twitter:
“My fellow Americans, I am honored that you have chosen me to lead our great nation.
The work ahead of us will be challenging, but I promise you this: I will be a president for all Americans—whether you voted for me or not.
I will honor your trust in me.”
Who Is Joe Biden?
This unprecedentedly contentious election captivated the world. The results remained uncertain for days, with lawsuits and recounts still underway.
At 78, Biden is set to become the oldest president in U.S. history. According to projections from American media on November 7, he had surpassed 270 electoral votes.
Few realize that Biden’s life has been marked by significant personal tragedies—losing his first wife and daughter in a car accident, the death of his son Beau Biden from brain cancer, and surviving a life-threatening brain aneurysm at age 46.
These experiences shaped his approach to international affairs. He criticized Reagan’s Iran-Contra affair, opposed Bush’s Iraq War, advocated against apartheid in South Africa, and was an early supporter of international efforts to combat carbon emissions.
As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden traveled extensively, building relationships with world leaders and playing key roles in arms control, nuclear non-proliferation, NATO expansion, and U.S. relations with developing nations.
Now, as the newly elected president, Biden is set to lead America into a new era—where it will go remains to be seen.
