02/02/2023

US president-elect Joe Biden has listed four priorities for his forthcoming presidency. These include Covid-19, economic recovery, racial equity and climate change.

US President Donald Trump has continued to shun the media over the US election results as his successor Joe Biden pushes forward with his White House plans.
Mr Trump is yet to concede defeat in the presidential race despite broadcasters calling the result in favour of Mr Biden and Kamala Harris on Saturday.
The White House said Mr Trump had no public events scheduled for today, four days on from an Election Night where he told the nation: “If you count the legal votes I easily won. If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us.”
Mr Trump has yet to offer any proof the election was stolen.
Meanwhile, former vice president and now president-elect Joe Biden is starting work today ahead of his inauguration on 20 January, 2021.
The Biden transition website – buildbackbetter.com – has listed four priorities for his forthcoming presidency. These include Covid-19, economic recovery, racial equity and climate change.
“A Biden-Harris administration, propelled by the foundation laid by the transition, will lead a just and equitable recovery that rebuilds a strong, inclusive middle class and builds an economy for the future,” the website declares.
He is reported to be considering a series of orders to reverse controversial decisions by Mr Trump.
The Financial Times said Mr Biden will seek to rejoin the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization, and end the travel ban on citizens of seven – largely Muslim – countries through executive orders which do not need congressional approval.
Mr Biden is also expected to work on his coronavirus task force, as pledged in a victory speech given in Wilmington, Delaware, in the early hours of yesterday after projected victory in Pennsylvania saw him over the threshold of 270 electoral college votes.
In the speech, he called on Americans to “lower the temperature” and “listen to each other again” after a divisive campaign.
Former deputy prime minister of Britain, Nick Clegg, said the UK could “struggle for relevance” under a Biden presidency.
Speaking to BBC’s Westminster Hour, he warned Boris Johnson about the way Brexit would be viewed through an Irish lens in future in the Oval Office.
“Joe Biden is immensely proud of his Irish roots – he did it publicly in his speech (after being announced president-elect), he does it privately as well, quotes Seamus Heaney at the drop of a hat,” he said.
Meanwhile Mr Trump has continued to protest at the way the election was handled, taking aim at how state-by-state results are declared by news outlets in the US.
“Since when does the Lamestream Media call who our next president will be? We have all learned a lot in the last two weeks!” he tweeted on Sunday.
First Lady Melania took to Twitter to show her support, stating: “The American people deserve fair elections. Every legal – not illegal – vote should be counted. We must protect our democracy with complete transparency.”
But former president George W Bush, who issued a statement congratulating Mr Biden, said the election was “fundamentally fair”.
The Republican, who served two terms in the White House, said: “Though we have political differences, I know Joe Biden to be a good man, who has won his opportunity to lead and unify our country.”