Though he hasn't declared victory, Joe Biden remains comfortably optimistic about the final results.
The Democratic nominee anticipated a win during a Wednesday speech from his home state of Delaware. Biden, who was joined by his running mate Kamala Harris, told viewers it was important that every count be voted to ensure the integrity of our election system. His speech came just hours after President Donald Trump filed lawsuits to halt the ballot count in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Michigan; the former of which has already been declared Biden.
"After a long night of counting, it's clear that we're winning enough states to reach 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency," the former vice president said. "I'm not here to declare that we've won, but I am here to report when the count is finished, we believe we will be the winners."
At the time of the speech, Biden held a 253-213 lead in the Electoral College, putting him well within reach of a victory. Biden's total has since increased to 264 while Trump's grew to just 214, according to The Associated Press. Biden then called on Americans to reunite and "to stop treating our opponents as enemies." He acknowledged he and Harris had campaigned as Democrats, but reassured the nation he would work for all people once he's in office—even those who didn't support him.
"I will govern as an American president. The presidency itself is not a partisan institution," he said. "It’s the one office in this nation that represents everyone and it demands a duty of care for all Americans. That is precisely what I will do. I will work as hard for those who didn’t vote for me as I will for those who did vote for me."
He continued: "Now, every vote must be counted. No one’s going to take our democracy away from us, not now, not ever. America’s come too far. America’s fought too many battles. America’s endured too much to ever let that happen.
"We the people will not be silenced. We the people will not be bullied. We the people will not surrender. My friends, I’m confident we’ll emerge victorious. But this will not be my victory alone or our victory alone. It’ll be a victory for the American people, for our democracy, for America. And there will be no blue states and red states when we win, just the United States of America."
You can watch Biden's full speech above.
