President Donald Trump has refused to concede the US election to president-elect Joe Biden, promising unspecified legal challenges seeking to overturn the outcome of the race for the White House.
He said in a statement that “our campaign will start prosecuting our case in court to ensure election laws are fully upheld and the rightful winner is seated”.
Trump was at his Virginia golf course when the presidential race was called for Biden on Saturday.
He was seen leaving to play his favourite sport on Saturday afternoon “wearing white Maga cap, windbreaker, dark slacks, non-dress shirt, shoes that look appropriate for golfing”, the White House pool reporter wrote.
This came as the former president incorrectly tweeted “I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!” from his motorcade, prompting the following somewhat understated disclaimer to be added to the post by Twitter: “Official sources may not have called the race when this was Tweeted.”
Biden clinched his victory with a win in Pennsylvania, the state where he was born, 48 years to the day after he won his first seat in the Senate.
Meanwhile, a number of UK politicians have publicly congratulated Biden.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: “He ran a campaign on the values that we in the United Kingdom share – decency, integrity, compassion and strength.
“And I want to congratulate @KamalaHarris on being elected Vice-President, the first woman of colour to take that role.
“Their victory is one for hope and unity over dishonesty and division. Millions of Americans of all backgrounds and ages have come together to vote for a better, more optimistic future.”
London mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted: “Congratulations @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris on your well-deserved win.
“London looks forward to working with you — it’s time to get back to building bridges, not walls.”
Over in the US, people cheered and pumped their fists along the Wilmington, Delaware, waterfront as the news that the presidential race had been called for the state’s former senator arrived on their phones.
The waterfront is just steps from the outdoor stage that Democrat Joe Biden erected on election day to celebrate victory.
On the water late on Saturday morning, two men on a kayak yelled to a couple paddling by in the opposite direction, “Joe won! They called it!” as people on the shore whooped and shouted.
Meanwhile people are celebrating Biden’s victory in the streets of Brooklyn, New York.
President-elect Joe Biden said it’s time for America to “unite” and to “heal.”
“With the campaign over, it’s time to put the anger and the harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation,” he said in a statement.
Vice president-elect Kamala Harris says she and Biden have a lot of work to do.
Harris tweeted: “This election is about so much more than Joe Biden or me. It’s about the soul of America and our willingness to fight for it. We have a lot of work ahead of us.”
The California senator makes history with her election as vice president. She is the first woman, the first Black person and the first person of South Asian descent elected to the office.