Biden Calls Out Trump's 'Unprecedented Assault On Democracy'

WILMINGTON, DE — In the strongest terms yet, President-elect Joe Biden on Monday denounced six weeks of unprecedented efforts by President Donald Trump to change the outcome of a 2020 presidential election he lost by about 7 million votes.

Speaking to the nation from his longtime Wilmington, Delaware, home, Biden said "democracy prevailed" as electors nationwide cast votes affirming his victory, acknowledging the country's governing principles were "pushed, tested and threatened" but did not crumble.

Calling out the 17 Republican state attorneys general and 126 Republican representatives who joined a Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn election results in other states, Biden said they had taken "a position so extreme we've never seen it before" and "refused to respect the will of the people, refused to respect the rule of law and refused to respect our Constitution.”

“If anyone didn’t know it before, we know it now," Biden said. "What beats deep in the hearts of the American people is this: Democracy.”

Trump, who so far has refused to accept his defeat, has pushed forward with baseless legal challenges.

Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris garnered more than 81 million popular votes, a record, and 306 electoral votes — the same number Trump and Vice President Mike Pence received when they won the 2016 presidential election and which Trump declared "a landslide."

"By his own standards, these numbers represented a clear victory then and I respectfully suggest they do so now," Biden said.

Biden remains on the offensive as he prepares to take office on Jan. 20 and as Trump continues to threaten core democratic norms.

"In America, when questions are raised about the legitimacy of elections, those questions are resolved through the legal processes," Trump said. "And that's precisely what happened here ... all the counts were confirmed ... none of this has stopped baseless claims."

He pointed out U.S. Supreme Court justices — who include three conservatives appointed by Trump — sent a unanimous signal to the president "that they would be no part of an unprecedented assault on our democracy."

Respecting the will of the people is at the heart of the U.S. democracy, he said.

“In America, politicians don’t take power — the people grant it to them,” Biden said. “The flame of democracy was lit in this nation a long time ago. And we now know that nothing — not even a pandemic — or an abuse of power — can extinguish that flame.”

Biden also repeated his promises to be “a president for all Americans” who will “work just as hard for those of you who didn’t vote for me, as I will for those who did.”

“There is urgent work in front of all of us. Getting the pandemic under control to getting the nation vaccinated against this virus,” Biden will say. “Delivering immediate economic help so badly needed by so many Americans who are hurting today — and then building our economy back better than ever.”

Whether his message of unity will have any effect remains to be seen. Republicans have mostly continued to back Trump and his unsubstantiated claims of a rigged election and, even once Biden takes power, are unlikely to give him any of the traditional honeymoon period.

Biden faces a narrowly divided Senate — next month's runoff elections in Georgia will decide which party controls the chamber — and a thinned Democratic majority in the House as the GOP picked up seats even as Trump lost.

But aides are pointing to the president-elect's strong approval numbers and an electorate worn by the pandemic in their attempt to nudge Republicans to cooperate. Mike Donilon, a senior adviser to Biden, said Americans are looking for Democrats and Republicans to get in sync.

“The agenda that the president-elect is putting forward is very much at the forefront of what people want in their lives,” Donilon said. “So, I think the case is going to be that it’s going to be in the interest of the country, it’s going to be in their own self-interest to get on board and not to get in the way.”

In making the case for a mandate, Biden’s team points to the president-elect retaking Rust Belt states that helped spring Trump to the White House four years ago as well as wins in Arizona and Georgia — firsts for a Democratic presidential candidate since the 1990s. Biden also won the popular vote by more than 7 million people, powered by strong showings with women, people of color and independents.

“We have won so many times, at this point, in so many different ways. We’re just excited to keep on winning,” said Jen O’Malley Dillon, Biden's deputy chief of staff, shrugging off Trump’s challenges. “(Monday) obviously is a big day as it takes on a little bit more import than maybe traditionally it does.”

Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani is expected to file five more lawsuits this week at the state level. Dozens of legal challenges to the election results have been thrown out by state and federal judges across the political spectrum.

Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin is set to hold a hearing Wednesday on election “irregularities.” Johnson has questioned why Congress wasn’t informed that the taxes of Biden’s son Hunter were under federal investigation during Trump’s impeachment trial last year.

The president was acquitted in a Senate trial that centered on Trump’s dealings with Ukraine’s president and on whether he abused his office by seeking an investigation into the Bidens. Hunter Biden served on the board of directors of a Ukrainian energy company.

The younger Biden said in a statement last week that he just recently learned that he was under investigation. He also said he committed no wrongdoing.

O’Malley Dillon downplayed the notion that the investigation could hamper Biden’s ability to pursue his agenda.

“The president-elect himself has said this is not about his family or Donald Trump’s family,” she said. “It is about the American people’s families. And I think we’re going to continue to stay focused on the issues that are impacting their daily lives.”

Watch the address below:

Reporting by The Associated Press