Biden promises to deliver a peaceful transfer of power

Four years after Donald Trump refused to acknowledge losing the 2020 presidential election, US president Joe Biden said he would honour Mr Trump’s victory over vice-president Kamala Harris by facilitating a “peaceful and orderly transition” to the incoming Republican administration.

- ANDREW FEINBERG

In remarks delivered from the White House Rose Garden yesterday to an audience that included a large portion of Mr Biden's cabinet, plus his granddaughter, Finnegan Biden, the president called the American electoral system "the greatest experiment in self-government in the history of the world".

"The people vote and choose their own leaders, and they do it peacefully. And we're in a democracy - the will of the people always prevails," he said.

To that end, Mr Biden said he had held a congratulatory call with Mr Trump - his predecessor and now his successor - and promised that he would "direct [his] entire administration" to work with Mr Trump's team to pass the baton to the incoming president and his staff. "That's what the American people deserve," he added.