Category Archives: US elections 2020

Joe Biden’s move to net zero emissions will leave Australia in the (coal) dust | Bill Hare

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Australia will be increasingly isolated as the US joins the club of countries, including China, with ambitious mid-century goals

The election of Joe Biden to the White House is likely to see Australia increasingly isolated as the world heads to net zero emissions, with quite fundamental implications for our economy.

Let’s have a look at what has happened in the last two months.

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Who will fill Kamala Harris’s Senate seat in California?

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The state’s governor will appoint a replacement for Harris now she has been elected vice-president. Who’s in the frame?

With Kamala Harris officially headed to the White House, a fresh political battle in her home state of California looms: who will fill her US Senate seat?

Related: US election live: Joe Biden wins and says 'It’s time for America to unite'

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First, the world mocked the chaos, then the congratulations flowed in

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After the tortuous last few days, Joe Biden’s election has been welcomed by leaders keen to renew relations with the US

Fiji’s prime minister got in first, gambling on congratulating Joe Biden before the presidential election had been called, slipping in a plea for action on climate change.

But once the result was official, congratulations came pouring in from around the world. Donald Trump’s allies, critics and reluctant partners had all been following the vote counting, weighing up the impact of a radical change of direction expected from Washington under Biden.

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Biden’s win marks the end of Trump’s war on democracy and truth

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Americans across the country took to the streets to celebrate the end of Trump’s presidency while triumph likely to be welcomed by international allies

Joe Biden has been elected the 46th US president, signalling a return to political norms in America after four years of raucous populism and administrative turmoil under Donald Trump.

Related: Ever resilient, Joe Biden finally grasps his chance to lead America

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‘Don’t be ridiculous’: Rudy Giuliani learns about Biden win from reporters – video

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Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump's personal attorney, was holding a press conference baselessly disputing the legitimacy of the US presidential election when news filtered through that Joe Biden had been declared the winner. 

'Who was it called by?' Giuliani asked, referring to the broadcast news networks. 'All of them,' replied a reporter. The former New York City mayor insisted the result could not be called until the Trump campaign's legal challenges had gone to court.


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‘I can’t stop crying’: joyful celebrations erupt in US as Joe Biden beats Trump

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Expressions of joy and happiness break out across America after Pennsylvania went to Biden, handing him the presidency

As news broke that Joe Biden had defeated Donald Trump in the race for the White House, cities across the US saw wild celebrations from supporters of the Democratic nominee for president.

Related: US election live: Joe Biden wins and says 'It’s time for America to unite'

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The path to Joe Biden’s victory: five days in five minutes – video highlights

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President-elect Joe Biden has thanked the American people for their support after winning the US presidential election against Donald Trump. From razor-thin margins, record voter turnout and protests via false claims of victory and Joe and Kamala Harris's congratulatory call - here's the story of how the presidency was won

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CNN’s Van Jones weeps after Biden’s win: ‘It’s easier to be a parent this morning’

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TV pundit moved to tears by election result and says: ‘This is vindication for a lot of people who have really suffered’

One of the most emotive responses to the announcement of Joe Biden becoming the new US president came from CNN political correspondent Van Jones. CNN was the first of the TV networks to call the election for Biden and moments after they did so the anchor, Anderson Cooper, asked Jones for his thoughts.

Related: US election live: Joe Biden wins and says 'It’s time for America to unite'

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After Trump: first shots fired in battle for Republican party’s future

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Emboldened by the president’s election defeat, some Republican leaders are speaking out as others vie for the Trumpist mantle

For four years he commanded their unflinching loyalty. They protected him from impeachment, tacitly approved as children at the border were prised from their parents and placed in cages, and looked the other way as peacefully protesting Americans were gassed for a photo opportunity.

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Donald Trump refuses to concede defeat as recriminations begin

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  • Biden declared winner but president says: ‘This is far from over’
  • Legal challenges threatened but experts doubt they will succeed
  • Joe Biden wins – live updates

Donald Trump refused to formally concede the US election on Saturday, even as senior Republicans began to distance themselves from him, and as recriminations were reported among aides to a man doomed to go down as an impeached, one-term president.

Before the race was called, Trump continued to tweet his defiance and to attract censure for making baseless claims about voter fraud and his supposed victory. He also went to his course in Virginia to play golf. While he played, a defiant statement was issued in his name.

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‘We did it, Joe!’: Kamala Harris calls president-elect Biden to celebrate election victory – video

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Kamala Harris shared a video of her calling to congratulate Joe Biden after the US presidential election was called for the Democratic candidate. 'We did it Joe,' Harris says, while apparently out on a walk with her husband. 'You're going to be the next president of the United States.'

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The moment Fox News projected Joe Biden will win 2020 presidential election – video

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Fox News announced Joe Biden would surpass the 270 electoral college votes needed to become president after calling the states of Nevada and Pennsylvania for the Democratic candidate. 


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CNN’s Van Jones brought to tears as Joe Biden wins US election – video

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Political commentator Van Jones cried as CNN called the US election for Joe Biden. Jones said: 'It's easier to be a parent this morning ... to tell your kids character matters'.

Joe Biden won the presidency by clinching Pennsylvania and its 20 electoral votes. With Biden’s victory, Kamala Harris becomes the first woman and the first person of color to become the vice-president

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What will President Biden’s United States look like to the rest of the world? | Timothy Garton Ash

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The future of a diminished superpower now lies in being part of a wider network of democracies

What is the best the world can now hope for from the United States under President Joe Biden, now that the election has been called for him? My answer: that the US will be a leading country in a post-hegemonic network of democracies.

Yes, that’s a, not the leading country. Quite a contrast to the beginning of this century, when the “hyperpower” US seemed to bestride the globe like a colossus. The downsizing has two causes: the US’s decline, and others’ rise. Even if Biden had won a landslide victory and the Democrats controlled the Senate, the United States’ power in the world would be much diminished. President Donald Trump has done untold damage to its international reputation. His disastrous record on handling Covid confirmed a widespread sense of a society with deep structural problems, from healthcare, race and infrastructure to media-fuelled hyper-polarisation and a dysfunctional political system.

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Biden styled himself as the antithesis to bare-knuckled Trumpism – and won

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The veteran Democrat ran a slow and steady campaign in stark contrast to the sitting president

Joe Biden had characterized his campaign for the White House as a “battle for the soul of the nation” against Donald Trump, a president he said threatened the very foundation of American democracy.

Related: Joe Biden beats Donald Trump to win 2020 US election – live updates

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Ever resilient, Joe Biden finally grasps his chance to lead America

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After a career pocked by adversity, the next challenge for the ‘scrappy kid from Scranton’ is to heal a fractured nation

At a moment of extraordinary tumult and pain, America has elected a man haunted by grief, with a seemingly boundless capacity for resilience, to be the country’s next president.

Joe Biden sought the presidency twice before serving as vice-president for eight years in the Obama administration, a role that might have been the capstone of his decades in public life.

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Kamala Harris makes history as first woman of color elected US vice-president

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California senator, who is of Indian and Jamaican heritage, will be first elected woman in White House

Kamala Harris has become vice-president-elect of the US, the first time in history that a woman, and a woman of color, has been elected to such a position in the White House.

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Biden: ‘We’re going to win this race’ as election count puts him on the cusp of victory – video

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Presidential hopeful Joe Biden has said 'we're going to win this race' as crucial states trend in his favour as vote counting in the US election continues. Biden, who stands on the cusp of victory, said late on Friday he was on track to claim 300 electoral votes. The former vice-president has already urged unity during the count after Donald Trump moved to sow doubt about the election process without presenting any evidence. 'We may be opponents, but we're not enemies,' Biden said. 'We're Americans'

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