Joe Biden has dramatically announced plans to have a ‘bedrock science’ plan to get coronavirus under control by the time he takes office next January.
Speaking for the first time as President-elect on Saturday night, Biden said: ‘Our work begins with getting Covid under control. We cannot repair the economy, restore our vitality, or relish or life’s most precious moments- hugging our grandchildren, children, until we get it under control.
‘On Monday, I will name a group of leading scientists and experts as transition advisers to to help take the Biden-Harris Covid plan and convert it into an action blueprint that will start on January 20 2021.
‘That plan will be built on bedrock science. It will be constructed with compassion, empathy and concern. I will spare no effort, none, or any commitment to turn around this pandemic.’ Coronavirus has so-far infected close to 10 million Americans, and killed more than 237,000.
President Trump’s ever-changing attitude to the virus, and attacks on his own government scientists, are widely believed to have shattered his chances of re-election.
Biden also promised to ‘restore the soul’ of America in his first speech as President-elect of the United States. Speaking in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden said: ‘I sought this office to restore the soul of America, to rebuild the backbone of the nation, the middle class, and to make America respected around the world again, and to unite us at home.
‘It is the honor of my lifetime that so many Americans have voted for that vision.’
Biden sought to heal divides between his Democrat party and President Trump’s Republicans after a vicious election campaign, saying he knew people who voted for his rival would be ‘disappointed,’ before adding: ‘We have to stop treating our opponents as our enemies. they are Americans.’
He continued: ‘I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide but unify..who doesn’t see red states and blue states, only sees the United States, and work with all my heart to win the confidence of all you.
‘That is what I believe America is about. it’s about people, and that’s what our administration will be all about.
‘I sought this office to restore the soul of america, to rebuild the backbone of the nation, the middle class, and to make america respected around the world again, and to unite us at home. its the honor of my lifetime that so many Americans have voted for that vision.’
Biden, who was introduced by his new Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, also said he would prioritize tackling systemic racism, economic injustice and climate change.
He said: ‘America has called upon us to marshal the forces of fairness, decency, science and hope in the great battles of our time.
‘The battle to control the virus, build prosperity, secure your family’s healthcare, achieve racial justice and root out systemic racism, and the battle to save our planet and get climate chance under control…restore decency…and give everyone a fair shot.’