Biden Said He’d Wait For Election Results To Be Certified To Declare Victory — He Didn’t

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden was swiftly declared by major news outlets as the winner of the 2020 presidential election four days after Election Day.

CNN, NBC News, CBS, The Associated Press and Fox News called the presidential race in favor of Biden last Saturday — even before the final ballot counts were out in key battleground areas and pending the result of legal actions launched by the campaign of President Donald Trump over reports of voting irregularities.

On the same day, the camp of the former vice president asserted his victory.

“Folks, the people of this nation have spoken. They’ve delivered us a clear victory, a convincing victory, a victory for we the people. We’ve won with the most votes ever cast for a presidential ticket in the history of the nation, 74 million,” the former vice president spoke from Wilmington, Delaware that time.

“I must admit it surprised me. Tonight, we’ve seen all over this nation, all cities in all parts of the country, indeed across the world, an outpouring of joy, of hope, renewed faith, and tomorrow bring a better day. I’m humbled by the trust and confidence you’ve placed in me,” he added, pledging to be a president “who seeks not to divide but unify.”

Flip-flopping decision on declaring victory

Critics slammed Biden, however, for flip-flopping on his debate stance last October 29 about declaring victory too soon.

During his first debate with incumbent Republican President Trump, after all, Biden told Chris Wallace that he would wait until the election results were independently certified before proclaiming his win — but he hasn’t.

“Vice President Biden, final question for you. Will you urge your supporters to stay calm while the vote is counted? And will you pledge not to declare victory until the election is independently certified?” Wallace, who moderate the first debate said.

Biden replied: “Yes. And here’s the deal. We count the ballots, as you pointed out. Some of these ballots in some states can’t even be opened until Election day. And if there’s thousands of ballots, it’s going to take time to do it.”

President Trump has refused to concede the election yet pending the outcome of several lawsuits his campaign filed in key battleground states over claims of voting irregularities and fraud — which could mean that ballots could still be counted and recounted.

In his speech following Biden’s declaration of his victory, the incumbent Republican President reiterated that the “election is far from over.”

Trump: Election far from over

“We all know why Joe Biden is rushing to falsely pose as the winner, and why his media allies are trying so hard to help him: they don’t want the truth to be exposed. The simple fact is this election is far from over. Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of any states, let alone any of the highly contested states headed for mandatory recounts, or states where our campaign has valid and legitimate legal challenges that could determine the ultimate victor,” President Trump said.

“Legal votes decide who is president, not the news media,” he added. “The American People are entitled to an honest election: that means counting all legal ballots, and not counting any illegal ballots. This is the only way to ensure the public has full confidence in our election.”

President Trump also called out the Biden camp for “refusing to agree with this basic principle and wants ballots counted even if they are fraudulent, manufactured, or cast by ineligible or deceased voters.”

“What is Biden hiding? I will not rest until the American People have the honest vote count they deserve and that Democracy demands,” President Trump said.

Electoral College to vote Dec. 14

Meanwhile, for the election results to be independently certified, the General Services Administration (GSA) must declare a winner — and they have yet to do so.

The Electoral College has also yet not voted despite the proclamations of the media declaring the 2020 presidential election results.

The 538-member Electoral College will formally select the next US President on December 14.

The House and Senate will hold a joint session on January 6 to count the electoral votes and the new president takes oath of office on January 20.

Steeve Strange

Steeve is the CEO & Co-Founder of The Scoop.