'You can't love your country only when you win,' Biden says after Trump victory

Democrat anger at Harris defeat begins to form around President Biden

Joe Biden begins to bring the curtain down his presidency with remarks on the election results in Washington on November 7. Reuters

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President Joe Biden on Thursday said he would ensure a smooth transition of power to president-elect Donald Trump, something that did not happen when Mr Trump lost the 2020 election.

In his first public comments since Vice President Kamala Harris lost her bid for the White House, Mr Biden said he hoped Tuesday's election showed that the voting system, which Mr Trump undermines unless he is winning, is “fair” and “transparent”.

“'You can't love your country only when you win,” he said. “The American experiment endures. We're going to be OK, but we need to stay engaged.”

He praised Ms Harris for her campaign efforts, saying she gave her “whole heart”.

After Mr Biden beat Mr Trump in 2020, the Republican refused to concede and, to this day, still claims he won that vote. He was on course to contest this year's election result, too, and had an army of lawyers on standby. He began to claim there was widespread cheating in Pennsylvania on Tuesday night, but he dropped his bogus claim when it became clear he was winning.

Mr Biden said he had assured Mr Trump that “my entire administration [would] work with his team to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition”, a routine and functional courtesy that before the Trump era would not even have to be stated.

During the transitional period after Mr Trump's defeat in 2020, his administration smashed norms by failing to co-operate with incoming Biden officials in many instances.

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During his address from the Rose Garden on Tuesday, Mr Biden also sought to define his presidency, which included a massive infrastructure spending bill, moves to reduce student loan debt and foreign policy debacles such as the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

He told supporters and staff that his term was “historic … not because I'm President, but because of what we've done, what you've done, a presidency for all Americans,” he said. “Much of the work we've done is already being felt by the American people.”

The President, who is now 82, entered the White House in 2021 and promised to close the door on Trumpism. Instead, four years later, he has ushered in a new and emboldened Trump era that has the backing of millions more voters than in 2016.

The Democratic fallout out from Tuesday's humiliating defeat is forming around Mr Biden perhaps more than Ms Harris. When he was elected, Mr Biden promised to be a transitional President who would make way for a younger candidate.

Instead, he clung on and insisted that he alone could beat Mr Trump, only stepping aside in July after his struggles with mental acuity were laid bare during a debate.

Underscoring Mr Biden's desire for a smooth transitional period, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told troops in a memo released on Thursday that the Pentagon was committed to an orderly transition, and that the military would not get involved in politics and was ready to carry out "all lawful orders".

"The US military will also continue to stand apart from the political arena; to stand guard over our republic with principle and professionalism; and to stand together with the valued allies and partners who deepen our security," Mr Austin's memo states.

During his campaign, Mr Trump talked about facing an "enemy from within" and suggested the US military could be used to deal with them.

When asked what it says about the state of America that the Department of Defence needed to assure that it would ensure a smooth transition, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said it was "something that we felt the need to reiterate".

"I think you've seen in the past, there have been transitions that haven't been seamless, that haven't gone, you know, as peacefully," Ms Singh told reporters.