Joe Biden breaks silence as Harris concedes defeat, invites Trump to White House

On Thursday, US President Joe Biden congratulated President-elect Donald Trump on his victory and invited him to visit the White House.
The US president will also address the nation on Thursday, a statement issued by the White House said. Follow US elections LIVE updates here.
In his call with Trump, Joe Biden also expressed his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition and emphasised the importance of working to bring the country together.
“He also invited president-elect Trump to meet with him in the White House. The staff will coordinate a specific date in the near future. Tomorrow, President Biden will address the nation to discuss the election results and the transition,” the White House said.
Joe Biden also spoke over the phone with Vice President Kamala Harris and congratulated her on her historic campaign.
Meanwhile, Kamala Harris also dialled Trump to congratulate him for winning the 2024 presidential election. Harris discussed with Trump the importance of a peaceful transfer of power and being a president for all Americans.
Donald Trump won the US presidential election for a second term, handing Harris a shock defeat in one of the most remarkable comebacks in American electoral history.
As of 2pm. ET, Trump had won 291 electoral votes to Harris’ 223. Counting in some states is still going on. Donald Trump needed 270 Electoral College votes to win his second presidency.
Donald Trump is set to take oath as the President of the United States on January 20, 2025. He has a 75-day transition period to build out his team before Inauguration Day.
Earlier today, in his victory speech in Florida, Donald Trump thanked his family and the members of his campaign for helping him secure a majority among US states.
“I want to thank my whole family, my amazing children. Now, we all think our children are amazing. Everybody here thinks their children are amazing. But Don, Eric, Ivanka, Tiffany, Barron, Laura, Jared, Kimberly, and Michael, thank you all. What a help,” Trump said.
He then congratulated his Republican running mate and Vice President-elect JD Vance.
“I want to be the first to congratulate, now I can say, Vice President-elect of United States, JD Vance, and his absolutely remarkable and beautiful wife Usha Vance.”
Polls for weeks had shown a knife-edge race between Harris and the twice-impeached Trump, who would be the oldest ever president at the time of inauguration, the first felon president and only the second in history to serve non-consecutive terms.