WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden yesterday introduced a slate of veteran diplomats and policy-makers who will make up his national security and foreign policy team, saying: “America is back, ready to lead the world.”
Biden, 78, presented his picks for secretary of state, national security advisor, homeland security secretary, intelligence chief, United Nations ambassador and climate change envoy.
“These public servants will restore America’s global leadership and moral leadership,” Biden said as the six men and women stood behind him wearing face-masks.
Biden said that after he is inaugurated on January 20 and Donald Trump leaves the White House, the United States will “once again sit at the head of the table, ready to confront our adversaries and not reject our allies”.
“It is a team that reflects the fact that America is back, ready to lead the world, not retreat from it,” he said in a jab at President Trump's go-it-alone “America First” policies.
Biden’s remarks came after Trump suffered further setbacks in his efforts to overturn the results of the election with unsubstantiated claims of fraud.
Pennsylvania and Nevada certified the November 3 election results Tuesday, a day after the state of Michigan did so, a move which triggered the General Services Administration (GSA) to launch the transition process.
As more members of his Republican Party came out demanding an end to the impasse, Trump signed off on the GSA move, effectively admitting defeat.
But the president on Tuesday tweeted a picture of himself in the Oval Office with the caption “I concede NOTHING!!!!!”
The 74-year-old Trump later attended a traditional Thanksgiving turkey-pardoning event at the White House.
He appeared to indirectly address the election, saying: “I say America First – shouldn't go away from that.” – AFP, November 25, 2020
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