'Stay calm’: Biden calls for patience with election results and vows to steer U.S. out of ‘terrible’ pandemic

Joe Biden vowed Thursday to bring the U.S. back from the “terrible” depths of the coronavirus pandemic, looking past the election as he continued to inch closer toward defeating President Trump.

Speaking near his home in Wilmington, Del., Biden said he had participated in a briefing on COVID-19 on the heels of the U.S. registering more than 100,000 infections in a single day for the first time Wednesday.

“We’re reminded, again, of the severity of this pandemic,” the former vice president said, standing alongside running mate Kamala Harris. “Our hearts go out to each and every family who’s lost a loved one to this terrible disease.”

Pivoting from the pandemic, Biden called for patience from the American people as ballots continued to be counted in a handful of key outstanding battleground states.

"Each ballot must be counted, and that’s what we’re going through now, and that’s how it should be,” Biden said. “We have no doubt that when the count is finished Sen. Harris and I will be declared the winners. So I ask everyone to stay calm -- all people to stay calm.”

Biden is confident he’ll ultimately prevail in the election. He has already picked up Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona, all of which were carried by Trump in the 2016 election.

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