President-Elect Joe Biden has come down with “a bit of a cold,” he announced late Monday after coughing through parts of a speech regarding the Electoral College.
Biden spoke after the college voted to officially certify him as the winner of the 2020 presidential election, putting an end to weeks of election challenges from President Donald Trump and his campaign. Biden coughed and cleared his throat repeatedly, and his voice was raspy throughout the speech. Biden confirmed on a call after the speech that he had come down with a cold, but not coronavirus, according to the New York Post.
President-elect Joe Biden addressed the country Monday night after the electoral college affirmed his victory. Biden said, “I will be a president for all Americans.” pic.twitter.com/iWOjXkQNb6
— WJZ | CBS Baltimore (@wjz) December 15, 2020
Like Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris receive routine testing for COVID-19. (RELATED: California Electors Push Joe Biden Over 270 Vote Threshold, Delivering Him The Presidency)
Biden aggressively criticized Trump and his supporters for their attempts to overturn or deny the result of the election, saying Trump’s legal challenges were a threat to democracy.
“Respecting the will of the people is at the heart of our democracy, even if we find those results hard to accept,” Biden stated. “That’s the duty owed to the people, to our constitution, to our history. You know, in this battle for the soul of America democracy prevailed. We the people voted. Faith in our institutions held. The integrity of our elections remains intact.”
Trump has yet to formally concede, but he authorized his administration to begin the transition process weeks ago. Trump also stated he would “certainly” leave the White House if the Electoral College declared Biden the winner, which it now has.
Trump and his campaign levied legal challenges in Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin and the Supreme Court, all of which have now been withdrawn or rejected.