joe has spoken about it before and in an earliertime, has spoken about it before and in an earlier time, this would bea in an earlier time, this would be a fairly traditional speech for a politician to give, talking about unity, the power and potential of the american people but when you put it in contrast to what has come over the past four years with donald trump's presidency, talking about carnage, division into this country, then it was something different and something different and something that will be well received by the american people and particularly by the democrats for whom this was a very cathartic moment. democrats for whom this was a very cathartic momentli democrats for whom this was a very cathartic moment. i was at what was supposed to be the hillary clinton party and taking away the confetti canon when it was clear hillary clinton and loss, it was like a

funeral, it was so despondent. if you listen to kamala harris's speech sheet of a lot about the historic nature of election as the first woman vice president, afterfour yea rs vice president, afterfour years ago the first woman president was denied, i feel democrats may feel some small measure of redemption so at least in this way the glass ceiling that hillary clinton tried to shatter has been broken at least at the vice presidential level. he does not have the ability to deliver a speech in the way barack obama did, who was a consummate speaker, but some of the lies reminded me of barack obama. some of what he wants to get done may not be done but i am pretty sure i heard barack obama using some of the same

words. there is not a red america or a blue america but one america. he is drawing on barack obama and his rhetoric. clearly. he is that in the primary campaign to connect himself to what democrats identify as a successful president and it helped him in the primaries stop it helped him win the nomination and excite and win the base where he positioned himself as the legacy of barack obama, harkening back to a time when, at least for democrats, those we re at least for democrats, those were the good old days and he could bring them back again. were the good old days and he could bring them back againm is not a clock on the east coast of the us. you're watching the celebrations in wilmington, delaware, of the

joe biden— kamala harris campaign. they have delivered their speeches. thanking their supporters and the people who voted for them. joe biden will ta ke voted for them. joe biden will take over as president, the old est take over as president, the oldest in american history. third time is a charm. that is the biden family with him. he is very much a family man. he has had lost, he lost his first wife and daughter in a car crash when he was just in his late 20s and that he is now surrounded with all his family, his new wife, jill, their children and grandchildren as well. his most president—elect, kamala harris and her husband douglas emhoff onto the stage as well. watching this, it makes me think, the democrats we re makes me think, the democrats were deprived of this opportunity, really, to have a big celebratory democratic national convention and this is the first time we have seen

them be able to get out on the stage, to have the firebox, the ticket tab, the dancing and music. this has been a very unconventional campaign all the way across, at least for the democrats. donald trump had plenty of campaign rallies with cheering and adoring crowds. i went to a few in the past weeks and each rally had a more enthusiastic crowd and bigger crowd, charging, we love you, to donald trump. joe biden has not had that. he has had smaller crowds, more restraint. he is putting that aside, having a celebratory event, whether he now feels more co mforta ble whether he now feels more comfortable now having a big crowd because it does not have to follow the same coronavirus guidelines, probably less

social distancing going on and there may be concerned about that message they were hitting donald trump with again and again but, at least on this night, they feel they can ease up night, they feel they can ease upa night, they feel they can ease up a little bit because this is such a big moment for democrats and the campaign. there is a glass screen on the front of the stage. it reminds me of the perspex panels during the debates. i do not know whether it is because of coronavirus but there's definitely a screen. they had perspex screens during the presidential debates. it sounded, i guess, having had four years of the donald trump presidency and the reefs we have heard from donald trump —— reefs, the way donald

trump —— reefs, the way donald trump speaks, it sounded so different hearing joe biden speak. certainly not low—energy but certainly a different tone and manner. not talking about american carnage but talking about the country's better angels. that's right. i was at angels. that's right. i was at a joe biden event in michigan towards the end of the campaign la st towards the end of the campaign last week. very similar set up. that message was very clear, that he has a recycled some of the words. phrases like, time for better angels to prevail, good, honest, victory speech stuff but also empty vessels in a sense stop they have to be filled with meaning and the meaning comes from the actions that follow and that is what he will be judged on, of course. every politician, apart from donald trump, would make a

speech like that tonight but you are right, the contras is extraordinary and you just wonder, just two blocks down the road from where i am, was donald trump watching that? ——in the contrast was extraordinary. this defiant donald trump has been tweeting about and talking about, will the fight go out of him at this stage having seen something like that? the presumption by the democrats that we won, we would forward and in january we are in the white house.|j watching fox news on one screen and fox news did carry the whole of the event. we know the president likes to watch a lot of television... there isjoe biden. at one debate, joe biden did not leave the stage, taking

questions from people in the audience. joe biden knows almost all the people in this parking lot, he knows people in delaware, in wilmington, he is a regularjoe, that is what he is known as. he is enjoying his moment of victory, as he should. he has tried to become president twice before and he has finally made it. at the age of 77. the family have all gone. he has a security around him. he will be followed with security for the rest of his life. former president of security for the rest of their lives. the stage is cleared, the families have gone. what you were saying, gary, about wondering what president trump isa wondering what president trump is a thinking, assuming he has been watching this, i spoke to a democratic specialist who said, there is this significant

moment today, when you see these people celebrating around these people celebrating around the country and he was reminded of 2000 and how important it is, ina of 2000 and how important it is, in a sense, for what people see, the fight against the result there is very powerful, it changes the momentum, when you see people across the country celebrating a victory andi country celebrating a victory and i guess that is to what you are saying, when you seejoe biden go up there on stage and celebrate the victory and proclaim himself the president—elect and kamala harris device president—elect, it changes the narrative fundamentally. i think that's right, and don't forget, donald trump is the president of the united states but he is also somewhat to understand the power of the image, the power of television, the power that the picture, the narrative of the picture, the narrative of the picture, the narrative of the picture can create. he prides himself on understanding

the grammarof prides himself on understanding the grammar of that sort of thing so he will, if nothing else, be struck by the power of what he has seen around the country, this omentum, this inevitability, if you like, and even he will not be able to ignore that and that must have some kind of impact on the way he is thinking. we are speculating, of course we are, we do not know what is going on inside his head but, to see that going on, it is something he will understand at a lower level than just as the politician. he will understand that instinctively, as someone who has spent a lot of time working his way through the sort of maze that his fame and fortune over the years and he understands the power of this kind of publicity. you are right, gary, we are speculating about what he might be thinking but we had a statement coming out from the white house about

how the president will accept the results of fair elections. much more of a low—key statement than some of the things we have heard from donald trump earlier. barbara plett usher, you were in the crowd, what was the atmosphere and what is happening now?|j and what is happening now?” agree with the comment that this was the party that the democrats did not have four yea rs democrats did not have four years ago and they were having it now. some of the things i was thinking was, four years ago, the focus was so much on hillary clinton and the first woman president and breaking the glass ceiling and that was sort of the declaration of the victory party that was supposed to ta ke victory party that was supposed to take place and now there is actually a woman taking a top job at the top of the ticket and she made something of it at the way she came in, under the radar because it was joe

the way she came in, under the radar because it wasjoe biden and the improbable victory that has been the focus, he being the anti— trump, the counter trump and his campaign was the exact opposite of donald trump's campaign. that has overshadowed a little bit the fa ct overshadowed a little bit the fact that there has been this achievement, this glass ceiling that has been broken. i have added speeches she has made before, but worth remembering that sheet name checks the women in her life, that she's standing on the shoulders of women who have gone before, especially women and immigrants, she had an immigrants, she had an immigrant mother, and all those things are important to remember today in this celebration which is the combination of the two is going to be the face of the coming administration but also the face of the democratic party wa nts to face of the democratic party wants to project. she sat at one point, i may be the first

but i will not be the last, referring to other women. it is interesting, you are right, there has been some travel surrounding this election, surrounding this election, surrounding the campaign itself and whetherjoe biden could finally win, whether donald trump could be a one term president, but has not been emphasis on the fact that after 100 years women got the vote, white women at least, there was the woman who was going to become the most powerful woman everin become the most powerful woman ever in american politics and quite potentially, the woman we saw up quite potentially, the woman we saw up on quite potentially, the woman we saw up on the stage deny, if joe biden decides to serve only one term, it will become the de fa cto one term, it will become the de facto democrat runner. that's right and you mention the women getting voting rights 100 years ago, white women, she also referred to the voting rights act of the 19605 which it did give black women the right to vote so this combination of

remembering the achievement for women but also the achievement for women of colour and people of colour which she brings together in such a powerful way and, yes, there has been at the back of everyone's mind, when joe biden cho5e back of everyone's mind, when joe biden chose a vice president, that he chose quite a young one and the oldest president that america has ever had that she could conceivably step into those even into the next four years and even if she doe5 next four years and even if she does not need to do that, she i5 well—positioned for 2024 if mr biden 5tays only one term to be the top front runner for somebody to replace him so it i5 somebody to replace him so it is that make there is a fair bit more to be a president in this circumstance than otherwise. and talking about doctorjill biden, and educator, and i'm reading here that jill educator, and i'm reading here thatjill biden is going to be,

plans to continue working full—time a5 a teacher when she becomes fir5t full—time a5 a teacher when she becomes first lady. we are looking at a lot of first this evening, because joe biden looking at a lot of first this evening, becau5ejoe biden is only the second catholic president america has ever elected, then there is, lia harri5, well, jill biden will make history as the first fir5t lady with a full—time job and a full—time teaching job when she retu rns full—time teaching job when she returns to washington, move5 from the vice presidents mentioned that they have lived in and now into the white house. anthony, when the challenge facing joe biden, we have talked about it before in term5 have talked about it before in terms of the unity, that he wa nts to terms of the unity, that he wants to bring some sense of unity to the country but he also faces this absolutely ma55ive challenge of the coronavirus, and his inbox when he arrives they won in the white house, in the oval office injanuary white house, in the oval office in january is going white house, in the oval office injanuary is going to be

enormous. he has been there before, the obama biden presidency started, of course, in the middle of a massive financial crisis stopping now he has a massive economic crisis and a global pandemic as well. how does he prepare himself over the next three months to try to turn around the pandemic and to try to turn the pandemic and to try to turn the economy around as well?m isa the economy around as well?m is a daunting series of obstacles facing him, and we talk about the lofty rhetoric that was in his speech that he gave, his victory speech just then. the policy stuffy talked about, was about the coronavirus pandemic. he said he was going to present a plan built on bedrock science, construct it out of compassion, empathy and concern, so he is focusing on, he realises that thatis focusing on, he realises that that is the first obstacle that he has to overcome and he already is putting together a task force, he has had meetings including with former obama error surgeon general, and former head of the fda, he's

going to bring these people together and he wants to have a plan that he is to implement from the beginning of his administration. this is what he said he would be good at. this is where he attacked donald trump and focused his campaign on against donald trump. when he wasn't talking about changing the tenor of partisanship here in washington, he wasn't talking about ending the trump years, he was talking about how he could do better, he could handle differently the pandemic, so that is going to be the first proving ground for him as well as the economy, which, goes hand—in—hand. you cannot fix the economy without first addressing the pandemic because the economy will never because the economy will never be able to fully recover while parts of the nation are in lockdown, while people are afraid to go out, afraid to travel. people still don't have jobs, can't take care of their children, send them back to school, all of these things are obstacles that a re school, all of these things are obstacles that are tied into the pandemic and the crisis that that has created. tonight, the democrats are celebrating,

we are watching scenes on our screens of big party there in delaware, but make no mistake, joe biden is taking office as the 46th president of the united states in an extremely difficult time for this country, and he will need to summon all of his governing resources in order to try to turn this endemic around and in order to try to get the millions of americans who have lost theirjobs back into work. gary o'donoghue, do you think he is up to the task, are the things he can do that donald trump has not done or did not wa nt to trump has not done or did not want to do that can make progress on the pandemic? we have seen around the world how incredibly difficult it is for leaders with the best well in the world, in germany, to conquer this virus and to get the economies open again. and of course the nature of the united states, and many powers devolved out to the individual states makes it quite hard for the federal government to make

things happen in that same way as it might happen in some european countries, for example, but there is a sense in which the federal government can set the tone, can set the framework, can send out the guidelines which then puts pressure at least on the states to follow suit. of course he did announce on that speech that he was setting up a covid-19 task that he was setting up a covid—i9 task force of his own as of monday, it will be intriguing, i think, as of monday, it will be intriguing, ithink, to as of monday, it will be intriguing, i think, to see who is co—opted onto that and how that will operate. will it be talking publicly, for example ? will it be giving press conferences? how will it feed into the formal task force that is already in place with the current administration. all those kinds of issues. and of course, joe biden has really set a bit of an example in terms of his rallies and the way he has conducted himself around the pandemic, but you are right. it is very hard and many countries have struggled

to keep things under control with the best will in the world and america is going through another huge spike. well over 100,000 cases a day. well over 230 odd thousand people having died. approaching 10 million cases now, so this is a huge problem that he faces, but in some ways, of course, they had a similar problem back in the obama administration. not as severe in any sense but as they came into power they had the financial crash to deal with so in some ways you could say he is used to inheriting power in the middle of a crisis and maybe that is something that the voters took note of. yeah. anthony, he said at one point during the campaign that if the scientists recommended it, he would try to push for a national lockdown in the way that european countries are

going through at the moment. we've got another three months until he takes over. i'm not sure the president even has the power to do that, it has to be done by governors around the states, but could you see him trying to be much more aggressive in terms of restrictions when it comes to the coronavirus? more in line with what our friends in europe are going through? are you are right, that is not something thatis right, that is not something that is within power of the president although the president although the president can put a lot of pressure on the states, pressure on the states, pressure that donald trump did not put on the states to reinstate lockdowns. it is a question of, you could use funding, you could use the pulpit of the presidency, all those sorts of things, soft power in order to convince them to enact their own policies. i think another thing, if there is something concretejoe biden can do very early on in his presidency that would be viewed asa presidency that would be viewed as a success where there has been failure in the past as, for months now, congress and

the president have been trying to negotiate a new stimulus package and has been u nsuccessful package and has been unsuccessful stopping the democrats of the house and steve mnuchin have tried negotiating to no avail, the states are having this budget shortfall is that they need funding to take care of. unemployment insurance is running out for many americans, these things could conceivably be solved in negotiations, perhaps with joe biden be solved in negotiations, perhaps withjoe biden reaching across to republicans in the senate and coming up with a compromise. ifjoe biden is the great compromiser, wrap your arm around him, sit down at the table, work at all out, that would be one place where he could really hit it from the very beginning and show that this is different from the trump residency. i guess the one very big question there, anthony, is whether mitch mcconnell, the leader of the republicans in the senate wants to co—operate in any way at all with joe to co—operate in any way at all withjoe biden to co—operate in any way at all with joe biden or to co—operate in any way at all withjoe biden or if he will see it as his goal to try to

makejoe see it as his goal to try to make joe biden a see it as his goal to try to makejoe biden a failed president so the republicans can take back the white house and four years' time. and that was something that mitch mcconnell said publicly in 2009 with the obama administration, that his goal was to make barack obama a one term president. he was unsuccessful that although he certainly succeeded in bringing the republicans back to power, first in the house of representatives and then the senate. in the senate, there are going to be some open seats in swing states in 2022 that the republicans are going to have to defend, in places like pennsylvania and north carolina, where they are going to have to find a way to sell to have to find a way to sell to the american public that they should maintain control of they should maintain control of the senate, assuming they keep control of the senate. it's not totally decided yet. perhaps he will be in a negotiating mood. i don't think we're going to have the big type of bailout package that we would have had if democrats had controlled all of congress but there might be

grounds for agreement on things like infrastructure spending, marginal improvements and government healthcare programmes. he might be in a negotiating mood and he has certainly worked with joe negotiating mood and he has certainly worked withjoe biden in the past. they were senate collea g u es in the past. they were senate colleagues for decades. gary o'donoghue, the area that a president who faces divided government and a senate of the opposition party can do things and is the area of foreign policy, they don't need the senate nearly as much to enact things on the foreign—policy front. we know from tone that he will be very different, the style will be very different. this will not be a president that talks about america first. he isa that talks about america first. he is a much more traditional american president in the way that he might reach out to allies. but in terms of substance, when it comes to european allies, how different will a biden presidency be from a trump residency? obviously there is a very realistic view

of the united states and europe, and that is america pursues its national interest as it should. every country does that, but there will be a huge difference. for example, we are expecting joe biden, in the early days of his presidency to rejoin the paris climate change accord. he will possibly undo those executive orders surrounding things like the muslim travel ban, so these will send very strong messages to america's traditional allies, a more conciliatory tone on trade talks, the belligerence that has characterised trade talks not just with china but the european union as well, don't forget, has really scarred the relationship. we have already seen the secretary general of nato welcoming joe biden's victory in the election stopping nato and the relationships with the nato

countries, huge damage and distrust has been sown in that relationship over the past four years, so there are a whole bunch of different axes which, people among america's allies will be breathing a sigh of relief, quite honestly, because they really didn't know how to deal with the united states. is a reality it was still the most powerful country in the world and it had a leader who seemed not to value its allies. ok, gary o'donoghue there in washington thank you very much. let's speak to chris goons in delaware. have we just heard the tone of the biden presidency? yes we have, and i am so excited after this evening to see kamala

harris and joe biden on this stage here on this stage and to be in stage here on this stage and to beina stage here on this stage and to be in a crowd of people cheering for the idea of coming together as a nation, relying on science, advancing decency, civility and kindness towards each other and reimagining our place in the world. it was a thrilling night. you serve in the us senate, you know that it is not a place of great unity at the moment. do you think there are republican colleagues of yours, perhaps that was an understatement! are there republican colleagues of yours who are willing to reach across the aisle and co—operate with joe biden? there ought to be. there have to be. in reality, our nation is at a turning point here. if we cannot show that our democracy works, that we are able to compromise, that we are able to compromise, that we are able to compromise, that we are actually able to solve the problems of average americans, then frankly, we are headed in a very dark and

difficult direction. and i think at the end of the day, the american people who overwhelmingly voted forjoe biden. the states that turned from donald trump tojoe biden and the underlying commitment to the structure of democracy thatis to the structure of democracy that is at the heart of our nation all leans in the direction of ourfinding a new moment of compromise, of comity, and they know it is a tall order but frankly we have no other choice. do you think mitch mcconnell will treatjoe biden the same way that he treated barack biden the same way that he treated ba rack obama ? biden the same way that he treated barack obama? will he go into this new presidency with his aim being to defeat everything joe biden tries to do? as he said publicly he tried to do with barack obama? if mitch mcconnell does that and if his majority, his caucus supports him in doing that, it will lead to the inevitable failure of this presidency and it will deeply harm our nation, and it is my hope thatjoe

biden and his long—standing working relationship with mitch mcconnell will prevent that from happening. iwill mcconnell will prevent that from happening. i will remind you, there are still four senate seats where the races are not yet called. to that will not be decided until january in georgia. so there is a moment here in which the president—elect, the current senate majority leader, the outgoing president, have an opportunity to show the american people that we are able and willing to come together. i will remind you, six months ago, the senate of the united date past, unanimously, a $2.3 trillion covid-19 unanimously, a $2.3 trillion covid—19 relief package, the single most sweeping and largest piece of legislation passed in decades. we know how to do it. wejust passed in decades. we know how to do it. we just have to want to do it. we just have to want to do it and joe biden is the person who can lead us into that moment of compromise and progress. have you had any conversation with mitch mcconnell that his approach to

a biden presidency might be different? i have spoken to republican senators but not mitch mcconnell but i frankly did not want to get out of my lane. i think that is more appropriate for the caucus leaderfor the appropriate for the caucus leader for the democrats and that president—elect. leader for the democrats and that president-elect. a lot of people around the world have been watching this and it is no secret that a lot of america's allies have found donald trump difficult to deal with. can the world look and america and think, we're back to a return to normalcy in relation to america's allies? katty, as you know, the world has changed in four years and we have a lot of work to do to build back better the alliances which were really the alliances which were really the underpinning of american security and prosperity for 70 yea rs. security and prosperity for 70

years. it is in the