Washington: President-elect Joe Biden said yesterday the US will be “ready to lead” again on the global stage, turning the page on President Donald Trump’s unilateralist policies as he pledged to work together with America’s allies.
Introducing his new foreign policy and national security team, the Democratic former vice-president signalled he intends after taking office on January 20 to steer the US away from the “America First” nationalism pursued by Trump.
Biden said his team, which includes trusted aide Antony Blinken as his nominee for US secretary of state, would shed what the president-elect described as “old thinking and unchanged habits” in its approach to foreign relations.
“It’s a team that reflects the fact that America is back, ready to lead the world, not retreat from it, once again sit at the head of the table, ready to confront our adversaries and not reject our allies, ready to stand up for our values,” Biden said at the event in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.
Biden has moved swiftly to assemble his team and make cabinet choices after defeating Trump in the election.
Trump has waged a flailing legal battle to try to overturn the results, falsely claiming the election was stolen from him through widespread voting fraud.
Trump has said he will never concede the election but after weeks of limbo his administration on Monday finally gave the green light for the formal transfer of power to begin. That process had been held up despite Biden emerging as the clear winner and world leaders recognising him as the next president.
In another sign that Trump had all but accepted his election loss, the White House gave the go-ahead for Biden to start receiving the president’s daily intelligence briefing.
Pennsylvania became the latest pivotal state yesterday to certify that Biden had won. The Nevada Supreme Court also confirmed Biden had won the state, sending the results to Nevada’s Democratic governor for final certification.