promoearn: President-elect Biden: 'Time to heal in America'

Sunday, November 8, 2020

President-elect Biden: 'Time to heal in America'

Sunday, November 8

President-elect Biden: 'Time to heal in America'

Today's special Sunday Daily Briefing is our first since Biden officially won the election.

Good morning, Daily Briefing readers. This time yesterday, we were all still on president-elect watch. A lot has happened in 24 hours.

USA TODAY, which usually only publishes a print edition on weekdays, released a special edition to mark the moment. Scroll to the bottom for a peek at the pages, and you can read the full e-edition by becoming a subscriber.

Now, the news. (If you're tired of politics and just want your Sunday links, we've got you.)

Biden makes primetime address

President-elect Joe Biden delivered a celebratory message but also a message of healing for the nation Saturday in his first remarks following a bitter and divisive battle for the presidency.

Calling it a "time to heal in America," Biden promised to restore a spirit of civility, decency and compromise to the White House. He said it is part of an election "mandate from the American people," setting a different tone from the tumultuous and divisive four years under Trump. Biden also made a direct appeal to Trump supporters, some of whom protested the former vice president's election win Saturday outside statehouses across the country. "For all those of you who voted for President Trump, I understand the disappointment," Biden said empathetically. "But now let's give each other a chance. It's time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again."

•	Read the transcript of what Biden said in his first speech as president-elect

Joe Biden delivers a victory speech outside the Chase Center.

William Bretzger, Delaware News Journal

Harris: "I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last"

Kamala Harris has made history as the first woman, and the first woman of color, to be named vice president of the U.S. In her first speech as vice president-elect on Saturday , Harris invoked not only the historic nature of her election, but praised those who came before her to help pave the path to the White House. "While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last," Harris said. "Every little girl that's watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities." Harris delivered her speech in a crisp, white suit — a likely nod to the suffragettes of the 20th century who worked to get women the right to vote.

•	What Vice President-elect Kamala Harris told the nation in her victory speech.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris delivers remarks.

Jim Watson, AFP via Getty Images

Quick facts about the POTUS-to-be

•	Biden will become the oldest president in American history, a title previously held by Ronald Reagan. President-elect Biden, who will turn 78 on Nov. 20, was born in 1942 during World War II.
•	The president-elect will become only the 15th vice president to make his way up to the position of the presidency. He is also only the sixth in history to be elected president, per the Senate website, as opposed to nine others succeeded into the presidency after the sitting president died or resigned.
•	First lady Jill Biden – a college English professor with four degrees, including a doctorate – is going to be a very busy FLOTUS. She intends to be the first FLOTUS in the role's 231-year history to pursue her career and keep a paying job while living in the White House and serving as first lady.
•	The White House has been without dogs for four years – that's changing with Biden. The president-elect will be ushering in two new first dogs when he makes his move to the White House: German shepherds Major and Champ.
•	Introducing the nation's first "second gentleman": Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff, will soon have a historic role of his own: "Second gentleman." Emhoff will be the first male spouse of any vice president or president.