Photo taken in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, on Nov. 7, 2020, shows the live stream of U.S. Democratic nominee Joe Biden delivering a speech in Wilmington, Delaware. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
"I ran as a proud Democrat. I will now be an American president. I will work as hard for those who didn't vote for me - as those who did," said Biden.
Trump signaled on Saturday that he would not accept Biden's victory and vowed to mount legal challenges in court.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 -- Democrat Joe Biden declared victory for the U.S. presidential election on Saturday night, days after Election Day, since races in several battleground states were too close to call with a record number of mail-in ballots to be counted.
President Donald Trump hasn't conceded defeat but vowed to take what he believes are election misconduct to the court, thrusting more uncertainty upon an already exhausted and divided country.
URGING UNITY AMID DEEPENING DIVISION
Speaking from Wilmington, Delaware, Biden touted a "clear" and "convincing" victory while repeating a message of unity after a politically polarized election.
"I ran as a proud Democrat. I will now be an American president. I will work as hard for those who didn't vote for me - as those who did," he said.
Trump signaled on Saturday that he would not accept Biden's victory and vowed to mount legal challenges in court.
Biden's remarks came multiple hours after major U.S. media networks called the presidential race in favor of him after he was projected to take Pennsylvania, a key "battleground state" carrying 20 electoral votes.
In addition to Pennsylvania, Biden was forecast to win back Midwestern states of Wisconsin and Michigan, which have 26 electoral votes together. These three states, once dubbed as the "blue wall," all went to Trump's column in 2016.
For Trump, he held onto Florida and Ohio. The races in Georgia and North Carolina have not been called.
Meanwhile, Democrats are expected to keep control of the House but their majority is expected to be narrower. In the Senate races, Republicans and Democrats are deadlocked at 48 seats each for now.
Crowds of people gathered in Washington, D.C., Austin and other cities to celebrate Biden's projected victory.
Speaking to Xinhua near the White House, local resident Charlie Passut said he doesn't know how much Biden will be able to get done if Congress is divided, adding that the Democrat will "have a lot of work to do."
As of Saturday evening, Biden has received nearly 75 million votes nationwide, while Trump has garnered more than 70 million, according to Fox News. Both have broken Barack Obama's record for popular vote set in 2008.
"The election revealed the U.S. is now one country but two nations," tweeted Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, a U.S. think tank. "We have sorted ourselves into communities & regions with those of similar views. They will have to coexist; whether they can work together remains to be seen."
