Former Vice-President Joe Biden was officially declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election, making him the 46th President of the United States upon his swearing-in in January.
The Democratic president-elect will be joined by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) as his vice-president, making history as the nation’s first woman of African American and South Asian heritage to serve in the position. A Howard University graduate and member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. she will also be the first HBCU graduate and member of the Divine Nine to serve as vice president.
And even as the rest of the country erupted into celebrations from coast to coast at the announcement of the Biden victory, the Republican-controlled Michigan Legislature, taking its cues from the Trump Administration held a bizarre meeting on Saturday to issue subpoenas seeking records from the state on alleged irregularities on vote counts in Michigan- without any evidence of wrongdoing.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson issued a lengthy rejoinder to the allegations emphasizing Michigan’s elections were conducted fairly, effectively, and transparently and are an accurate reflection of the will of Michigan voters.
Biden’s defeat of Trump marks only the third time in U.S. history where an incumbent president was ousted by a challenger after one term in office. The turnout of nearly 160 million voters, with Biden garnering a record of more than 75 million votes, marked a massive repudiation of the Trump presidency.
Bishop Edgar Vann of Second Ebenezer Church said given the chaos, divisiveness, and toxicity of the Trump Administration, he believes the election of President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris is a transformational moment in the nation’s history.
“America has been in a malaise the past four years and certainly 2020 has been a tremendously challenging year for everyone,” he said.” “ As we wrap this year up, to come to this historical moment; this pivotal moment, I think is a reason for all of us to rejoice and celebrate the first female African American and South Asian woman to be the vice president of the U.S. is a particular signature point for African Americans and the country at large.”
Bishop Vann said he was especially hopeful that the incoming president will restore the dignity to the Office of the President which he said had been badly undermined by Trump.
Pointing out President Trump’s cruel, indifferent, reaction to the devastating impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the Black community as well as the brutal murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others at the hands of the police, he stressed that Biden must also focus on helping to empower the African American community by advocating for racial justice for the communities.
“It showed every flaw he had and every vitriol and base reaction he could ever muster,” Vann said. “Bringing further indignity to that office.”
Other Michigan leaders offered their congratulations to Biden and Harris, echoing Bishop Vann’s call for a return to dignity and unity of purpose.
Former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer who had worked on the Biden campaign expressed his joy with the outcome of the election. “I’m elated and very delighted at the outcome and very pleased with the choice of Sen. Harris as the new vice-president,” he said. “It starts a new era and will make an outstanding team to lead America into the future.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a co-chair of Biden’s national campaign and widely believed to be a leading contender for a role in the Biden Administration, issued a statement saying “I look forward to working with both President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris as we continue to fight the spread of COVID-19, work to rebuild our economy, and save lives.”
After narrowly beating back a challenge to his seat in the Senate, U.S. Senator Gary Peters released a statement emphasizing he was looking forward to working closely with the incoming administration in healing and rebuilding back our nation.
“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris made history today and I’m proud to join them as we work to unite our country and build a more prosperous future for all Americans. Together, we can defeat coronavirus, ensure health care protections for people with pre-existing conditions, put working families before special interests, and boost Michigan manufacturing. It is clear we need to heal our country from the politics of division and hyper-partisanship and that will be our mandate as we look ahead and start to build back better.”
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan expressed similar sentiments in a statement released to the press Saturday.
“The historic election of Joe Biden as our next president will have a tremendous positive impact on America, on Michigan, and on the City of Detroit,” he said. “President-elect Biden was a friend to Detroit when we were down, helping save our auto industry and helping our city to recover from bankruptcy. We look forward to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris uniting our country and building a much brighter future.”
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