Joe Biden prepares for bumpy transition as Donald Trump's presidency comes to an end

Donald Trump's presidency was brought down withan electorally fateful blow coming from voters in the so-called city of brotherly love.

A tally of mail-in ballots from Philadelphia delivered the decisive shot Saturdayin a closer-than-expected U.S. electionwhose outcomeremained uncertain for over fourdays.

Pennsylvania padded an electoral college advantagefor Democrat Joe Biden,who was also leadingin Georgia and Arizona and appeared to haveachievedhis longstanding aspiration of becoming president after a half-century political career shadowed by personal tragedy.

Biden promised to work with, and for, all Americans, in an effort to turn the page on a bitter era in U.S. politics.

"To all those of you who voted for President Trump, I understand the disappointment tonight," he said from Wilmington, Del., Saturday night in his first address as president-elect.

"I've lost a couple of times myself. But now, let's give each other a chance."

"It's time to put away the harsh rhetoric. Lower the temperature.... We have to stop treating our opponents like enemies. They are not our enemies. They are Americans.... Let this grim era of demonization end here and now."

In his first policy announcement, he said he would name a team of advisers Monday to begin preparing policies to fight COVID-19that would take effect on Jan. 20, his first day in office.

But a rocky transition seems likely.

The election call triggered an eruption ofcelebration in U.S. cities where Trump is deeply unpopular. Within minutes,carhorns started blaring in Washington and people cheered ondowntown streets.

WATCH | Americansreact to Biden win:

A few blocks from where Trump's daughter Ivanka lives in Washington, one woman walked out of an apartment building and shouted to someneighbours passing by, "Best day ever." Nearby, pedestrianswaved a U.S. flag and someone else blared the song Hail To the Chief.

The next commander-in-chief, Biden, faces imminent challenges.

One of the most unusual campaigns in American history has concluded withTrumpcrying foul and threatening lawsuits, while his supporters in several cities have staged noisy protests at vote-counting sites.

Court challenges unlikely to change outcome

Some recounts are certain and looming battles threaten to overshadow the normally smoothtransitionbetween American presidents.

Yet Trump faces a stark reality.

Hecan complain, he can challenge, he can allege fraud without evidence, and his team couldeven find and strike down improperly cast ballots.

WATCH | How he got here: Joe Biden's life and political career:

The tragedies and triumphs of Joe Biden

4 years ago

Duration 3:03

President-elect Joe Biden started out in Scranton, Pa., and has experienced tragedies and triumphs in his long journey to the White House.

But none of it changes theunambiguous emerging conclusion: He haslost the election. And 11 weeks from now, Trumpwill no longer be the president of the United States.

The reason?Biden has pulled ahead in too many places to make a reversal realistic.

The Democrat has leads in several states that would deliver an electoral college win ranging from the bare-minimum 270 votes to 306 votes, and in Pennsylvania, the biggest ofthose states, his leadisexpanding.

Closer than polls predicted

The result isfar closer than projected in some polls.

It laid bare the unshakeable bedrock of support the president has retained through four years of controversy, an impeachment and a virus that has killed more than 230,000 Americans.

Trumpalso maintained an energetic public schedule, deemed by some to be irresponsible during a pandemic with his numerous rallies where wearing face masks wasn't required.

He stoked a level of grassroots passion that saw his total number of votes increase by about seven millionfrom 2016and prompted some Democrats to mutter that the Biden campaign should have spent less time indoors.

WATCH | Trump supprters in Arizona react to Biden win:

Trump supporters in Arizona in disbelief over Biden win

4 years ago

Duration 2:12

In spite of widespread projections for a Joe Biden win, Donald Trump supporters at a pre-planned gathering site in Phoenix, Ariz., Saturday insisted Biden is not the next president and repeated Trump's unproven allegations of voter fraud.

Trump's supporters are fuming over the results.Michael Brietenbachattended a protest in Philadelphia on Friday, insisting the vote count was being conducted unfairly.

"We will drag this fight on until our president concedes," he said.

"When our president concedes, his people will concede. Because that's how we are. We follow him. And that's what it is."

Trump has shown no indicationhe's about to do that.

Yet Biden racked up a farlarger vote haul, the biggestin U.S. history at more than 74 million votes. Hetook approximately 10 million morevotes than Hillary Clinton in 2016 and won a biggershare of the popular vote.

Biden has signalled his desire to move forward from the contentious vote and has launched a rudimentary website dedicated to histransition.

WATCH | Biden supporters in Wahsington., D.C. celebrate win:

Americans celebrate Biden win in Black Lives Matter Plaza

4 years ago

Duration 3:03

Supporters of U.S. president-elect Joe Biden have gathered in Washington's Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House to celebrate his win.

Consequences at home and abroad

Indeed, his victorywillleave a trail of effects.

Most obviously, it willremove Trump from office, and in doing so, will leave him in the small group of American presidents defeated after a single term.

Biden's election likely means an assortment of renewed partnerships frayed during the Trump era with the U.S. role having become diminished in institutions such asthe World Health Organization, the World Trade Organization and NATO.

Biden has also promised to restore U.S. participation in the Paris Climate Accord and has threatened to stop Canada's Keystone XL oil pipeline.

Don't count on U.S. relations with the world reverting comfortably to apre-Trump norm, however. In the past few years, American allies havereceived a crash course in how easily global agreements with the U.S. can beundone, depending on which party holds office.

WATCH | What a Biden presidency could mean for Canada:

What a Biden presidency could mean for Canada

4 years ago

Duration 6:42

If Joe Biden wins the U.S. presidential election, Canadians could feel the impact in areas like energy, trade and defence.

As well, the polarization of American politics has spilled into the global arena, with new debates over U.S. nationalism and the country's role in the world.

"There will be concerns about the credibility and reliability of U.S. commitments," said Jonathan Wood, lead North American analyst for Control Risks, an international political and economic risk-consulting firm.

"One thing that is abundantly clear, when you raise the question in Canadaor Europe or elsewhere, is that some of the things that have been let out of the bag the last four years can't easily be put back."

Challenges for his agenda

Another challenge for Biden: the U.S. Senate.

His party's hopes of regaining control of that chamber are dimming, and any hope of Democratic control likely requires twoupset winsin runoff elections in Georgia in January.

That holds drastic implications for Biden's agenda.

Failure to win the Senate would seriously imperil Democratic hopes of expanding public health care; reforming political financing; spending hundreds of billions on a transition to a green economy; offering statehood to Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico; and appointing their preferred judges.

It could get worse for Biden: an unfriendly Senate would almost certainly spend time conducting investigations into him and his administration.

• Get all the latest Senateresults

"He's going to be the pilot of a plane that can't fly," CNN political commentator Van Jones, a Democrat, said of a Biden presidency without Senate control.

In that scenario, any legislation would require a deal with the conservative leadership of the Senate, likely nudging Biden's agenda rightward.

President's powers considerable even with Republican Senate

The positive reaction of stock markets to Wednesday's post-election aftermath illustrates the confidence on Wall Street that policies promised by Biden,such as corporate tax hikes, are not imminent.

Even so, Biden would still have considerable presidential powers to conduct foreign relationsand introduce executive orders, for instance.

WATCH | Biden and Trump supporters react on streets of Atlanta:

Pro-Trump, anti-Trump protesters converge in Atlanta

4 years ago

Duration 5:41

Pro-Trump and anti-Trump protesters are gathering and, at times, jeering each other on an Atlanta street in the open-carry state amid projections for a Joe Biden presidency from major networks.

Immigration is a prime example. Based on his campaign rhetoric, Biden's electionlikely means a curtailment of Trump's crackdownson refugees, onundocumented young immigrantswho lacklegal status, and on various types of work visas.

Biden also said he would stop construction of the border wall with Mexico.

A shift in immigration policies likely means morecompetition from the U.S. for skilled talent from around the world, after Canada attracted a record number of foreign students and economic migrants.

Reflecting on Trump's legacy

Speaking of shifts the Republican Party has some major dilemmas ahead.A few involve Trump.

The president will remain a hero to working-class Republican voters, and he will continue to command a major stage presence. There are even hints from allies he might attempt another presidential run in four years.

That means Washington Republicans face a politically fraught choice: keep embracing Trump as their party leaderor ignore him, his policiesand his various controversies.

WATCH | With Biden wins comes historic climb to second-highest office for Kamala Harris:

'I will not be the last': Kamala Harris on being the first female VP-elect

4 years ago

Duration 2:41

In her first address to Americans Saturday, Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris paid tribute to generations of diverse women who paved the way for her and said while she may be the first, she will not be the last woman elected to the White House.

Trump's departure inevitably spells a debate about which of his policies to keep. That includes a discussion about whether Trump's brand of nationalism is the way of the future for Republicans.

The Republican leader of the Senate sounded eager to make some changes after this election.

"I am disturbed by [Republicans'] loss of support in the suburbs," said Mitch McConnell, who won re-election in his own state of Kentucky.

"I think we need to win back the suburbs. We need to do better with college-educated voters than we are doing lately, and we need to do better with women."

McConnell credited Trump with running a strong campaign, but he also showed flashes of irritation with him recentlyfor example, by stating that he'dbeen avoidingstepping inside the White House out of concern over its lack of coronavirus-related hygiene.

The pandemic is still here, with infections continuing to surgein the U.S. Meanwhile, Washington will be distracted by a difficult presidential handover.

Indeed, early signs point to a toxic transition ahead, culminating on Jan. 20 with Biden taking the oath of office.

What do you want to know about the U.S. election? Email us atAsk@cbc.ca.