President Joe Biden urged Americans on Thursday to lower the political temperature after Donald Trump’s crushing election win over Kamala Harris, saying in a conciliatory address to the nation that he would ensure a peaceful transition of power.

In a solemn speech from the White House, Biden also said the result should “lay to rest” doubts about the integrity of the US election system fueled by Trump’s refusal to acknowledge his own 2020 defeat by the Democrat.

“Something I 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,” Biden said.

Staff rose to their feet, cheered and clapped as Biden arrived in the famed Rose Garden.

The 81-year-old dropped out of the race against Trump in July and handed the Democratic nomination to Harris, his vice president.

Biden said he had called Republican Trump to congratulate the twice-impeached former president and assure him there would be a “peaceful and orderly” transition.

“On January 20, we’ll have a peaceful transfer of power here in America,” said Biden, whose inauguration Trump had refused to attend.

The outgoing president also urged supporters not to lose hope after the reelection of Trump, who is likely to dismantle many of Biden’s policies as soon as he returns to the White House.

“Remember, a defeat does not mean we are defeated,” he said.

Biden’s comments were in stark contrast to billionaire Trump, whose election defeat denial four years ago culminated in the violent January 6, 2021 assault by Trump’s supporters on the US Capitol.

Biden has invited Trump to meet at the White House, for what would be their first encounter since Biden’s disastrous debate performance against Trump in June that forced him out of the race.

World leaders have swiftly pledged to work with Trump, despite concerns in much of the globe about his nationalist “America First” approach and pledges to slap huge tariffs on foreign imports.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Beijing and Washington must find a way to “get along” in a message to Trump, calling for “stable” bilateral ties.

‘Selecting personnel’

Trump, who is at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, is now working on his transition team after an overwhelming victory that promises a radically transformed political landscape for the United States and the world.

His campaign said in a statement late on Wednesday that “in the days and weeks ahead, President Trump will be selecting personnel to serve our nation under his leadership.”

Robert F Kennedy Jr, a leading figure in the anti-vaccine movement for whom Trump has pledged a “big role” in healthcare, told NBC News on Wednesday that “I’m not going to take away anybody’s vaccines.”

But the former independent candidate, who dropped out of the race to back Trump, reiterated that the Trump administration would recommend removing fluoride from the US water supply.

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, could also be in line for a job after enthusiastically backing Trump. The incoming president has said he will ask the SpaceX, Tesla and X boss to audit the US government to cut waste.

US voters backed Trump’s hard-line right-wing policies and rejected Biden and Harris’s record, especially on the economy and inflation, exit polls showed.

Trump’s victory makes him the first convicted felon and oldest man to be elected US president, and came after a turbulent campaign in which he escaped two assassination attempts and rode out the transfer from Biden to Harris.

Armed with a sweeping mandate, Trump 2.0 is set to dismantle huge chunks of Biden’s legacy.

Trump could start by halting the incumbent’s billions of dollars in military aid for Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s 2022 invasion, having previously suggested he would pressure Kyiv to make a peace deal.

Trump will also return to the White House as a climate change denier, poised to take apart Biden’s green policies with his pledge to “drill, baby, drill” for oil.

Ultimately Biden’s legacy was supposed to be a Harris victory that would keep Trump out of power — but many Democrats feel he waited too long to step aside for his vice president.

National polls show both candidates in a dead heat. With voter turnout reportedly surging across the country, the next U.S. president will likely be determined by razor-thin margins in a few key battleground states.

Trump and Harris urge Americans to vote

On social media, both Trump and Harris issued rallying calls to voters as polling began. Kamala Harris, addressing Americans via X, emphasized the election’s importance, saying, “America, this is your moment to make your voice heard.”

Trump, meanwhile, took to social media with a familiar message, urging supporters to “Make America Great Again” and to “stay in line no matter how long it takes.”

 Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance casts vote in Ohio

Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance cast his ballot early this morning in Ohio, underscoring the high stakes of the election. Trump himself voted in Palm Beach, Florida, accompanied by his wife, Melania, and family members, as cameras captured the scene at his polling location.

Trump expressed optimism about the election outcome, telling reporters, “We have a great country but it’s in trouble right now – we have to fix it, and I’m confident that we will succeed by a large margin.”

Kamala Harris leads in Pennsylvania

According to recent reports from British media, Harris is currently leading in Pennsylvania, one of the pivotal battleground states. However, Trump holds narrow leads in Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina, and Arizona, while Harris has a slight advantage in Wisconsin and Michigan.

With 78.9 million early ballots already cast, all eyes are on these key states as both candidates aim for the 270 electoral votes needed to win.

Swing states see strong turnout

Polling has started in more than 34 states, including crucial swing states like Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, and Arizona.
Turnout is reportedly high, with long lines observed in states like Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Delays and extensions in voting hours are expected, as high turnout and technical glitches test the election infrastructure.

Voting machine issues

In Pennsylvania’s Cambria County, a software glitch in voting machines led the Board of Elections to request a court extension of voting hours from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. This delay has raised concerns about potential disenfranchisement.

“The [electronic voting system] software malfunction is jeopardizing the right of a large number of voters,” the board noted in court filings.

Bomb threat in Georgia’s Fulton county

Two polling stations in Fulton County, Georgia, were temporarily evacuated due to a bomb threat, adding to the challenges of Election Day.

Georgia election bomb threat: Poll worker arrested for sending chilling letter about concealed ‘boom toy’ – Hindustan Times

Officials have since confirmed that the threats, suspected to originate from Russian sources, were deemed false, and voting has since resumed. County officials are requesting that polling hours be extended to account for the disruption.

First vote cast in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire

As is tradition, the small town of Dixville Notch in New Hampshire kicked off Election Day voting, casting the first ballots of the 2024 election. Both Trump and Harris received three votes each, reflecting the tight nature of this race.

This New Hampshire town, located near the Canadian border, has held this tradition since the 1960s and often offers an early indicator of the nation’s mood.

Trump pledges to accept results If “fair”

After casting his vote, Trump addressed the issue of election integrity, stating he would “be the first one to acknowledge” the results if the election is fair.

However, he did not specify what he considers “fair,” and when pressed by reporters, he mentioned no plans to instruct his supporters against violence in the event of a loss, saying, “My supporters are not violent people.”

Results expected in early morning, Pakistan time

As Americans vote, those watching from Pakistan can expect early election results to start trickling in between 5 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Wednesday, November 6, Pakistan Standard Time.

Given the extended hours for vote counting in western states, a definitive result may not emerge until later, particularly if the outcome hinges on close margins in swing states.

With early voting numbers exceeding 70 million, the outcome of the 2024 presidential race may still be days away. Each candidate will need a minimum of 270 electoral votes from a total of 538 to claim victory.

Swing states like Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, and Michigan are expected to be pivotal, and their delayed results may extend the election’s suspense well beyond Election Day.

Kamala Harris will urge Americans to turn the page on Donald Trump as she delivers her closing election argument Tuesday on the spot where her rival rallied supporters before the January 6, 2021 US Capitol attack.

With polls in a dead heat exactly one week before Election Day, the Democratic vice president’s campaign said she chose the symbolic site to push her case that the Republican former president is a threat to American democracy.

But Harris will also deliver an “optimistic and hopeful” message, a senior campaign official said, amid rumblings in the party that she is focusing too much on Trump and not enough on her own policies.

She will address some 20,000 people on the Ellipse, a park outside the White House where Trump delivered a fiery speech in which he ramped up his false claims that he won the 2020 election.

Trump supporters then marched on the Capitol to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s victory, in an assault that left at least five people dead and 140 police officers injured.

Harris’s campaign said in a statement that the former prosecutor would deliver a “major closing argument” and “make the case that it is time to turn the page on Trump and chart a new way forward.”

For his part, Trump, who at 78 is the oldest presidential candidate in US history, will be trying to take the sting out of Harris’s big event by delivering remarks at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

He will then rally in blue-collar Allentown in Pennsylvania, perhaps the most crucial of the seven battleground states that are expected to decide the election.

Trump gave his closing arguments in a mass rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden at the weekend, where some of the other speakers used language widely condemned as racist and sexist.

Fears of chaos
The 2024 White House race has already been one of the most divisive in modern times, with Harris and Trump completely deadlocked as they offer two starkly contrasting visions to a deeply polarised nation.

Fears of a repeat of the chaos from four years ago hang heavy over this year’s election, with Trump indicating that he might again refuse to accept the result if he loses.

Trump’s former advisor Steve Bannon, who was imprisoned for refusing to testify to Congress about the January 6 assault, was released Tuesday. Much has changed since the influential right-wing podcaster entered prison on July 1.

Trump has survived two assassination attempts, while Harris has replaced Biden at the top of the Democratic following his shock exit.

The vice president has pledged that America is “not going back” to Trump, while increasingly zeroing in on his harsh rhetoric on migrants and stance on abortion.

In her speech on Tuesday, Harris is expected to echo her recent comments that Trump would focus on an “enemies list” if he returns to the White House, while she would have a “to-do list” to lower costs for Americans.

The first female, Black and Asian American vice president in US history will rely heavily on the visuals of being within sight of the White House, with the campaign describing it as a symbol of presidential power and unity.

But she will also seek to remind Americans of the dark time around the January 6, 2021 riot, when Trump’s refusal to accept the election results brought the country to the brink of civil strife.

A CNN poll on Monday showed only 30 per cent of Americans think Trump would concede defeat this time around, while 73 per cent think Harris would accept a loss.

Harris’s campaign said she would take her message from the Ellipse speech on the road to the battleground states during the last week of the election. Both candidates will keep up a punishing schedule in the final days until November 5, sometimes hitting three or more states in one day.