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Following the official announcement that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris had won the 2020 presidential election, former First Lady Michelle Obama paid tribute to Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris's run. Obama shared a post of Harris and Biden on her Instagram, recognizing Harris's history-making run as the first Black and Indian woman to run as vice president on a major political party's ticket in the U.S.

"I'm beyond thrilled that my friend Joe Biden and our first Black and Indian-American woman Vice President, Kamala Harris, are headed to restore some dignity, competence, and heart at the White House. Our country sorely needs it. Thank you to all of you who poured every ounce of your hope and determination into this democracy over these past four years, registering voters, getting them to the polls, keeping folks informed. More votes were cast in this election than ever before. It's because of you. And after we celebrate and we should all take a moment to exhale after everything weve been throughlet's remember that this is just a beginning. Its a first step. Voting in one election isnt a magic wand, and neither is winning one. Let's remember that tens of millions of people voted for the status quo, even when it meant supporting lies, hate, chaos, and division. Weve got a lot of work to do to reach out to these folks in the years ahead and connect with them on what unites us. But we've also got to recognize that the path to progress will always be uphill. Well always have to scrape and crawl up toward that mountaintop. And two years from now, four years from now, there will once again be no margin for error. We see now the reality that we cant take even the tiniest part of our democracy for granted. Every single vote must count and every single one of us must vote. And as a country, we should be making it easier, not harder to cast a ballot. So it's up to us to stay engaged and informed, to keep speaking out and marching on. Weve got to vote in even greater numbers in the upcoming Senate runoffs in Georgia and every state and local election going forward. Weve got to promise each other that our focus in this election wont be an anomaly, but the rule. That's how we can not only feel this way right now, but in the months and years ahead. Its the only way well build a nation worthy of our children. My warmest congratulations again to Joe and Jill, Kamala and Doug and each of you who stepped up when your country needed you."

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Obama previously celebrated Harris being named Biden's VP pick on her Instagram in August. Obama wrote:

Change can be slow and frustrating, but signs of progress are all around us. This week Senator @KamalaHarris, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, became the first Black woman and first Asian-American woman on a major partys presidential ticket. Ive been thinking about all those girls growing up today who will be able to take it for granted that someone who looks like them can grow up to lead a nation like ours. Because @KamalaHarris may be the first, but she wont be the last.

I am here for it all. Let us embrace and celebrate this moment. Go get em girl.

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Former president Barack Obama celebrated his former vice president's win with the following post:

"I could not be prouder to congratulate our next President, Joe Biden, and our next First Lady, Jill Biden. I also couldnt be prouder to congratulate Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff for Kamalas groundbreaking election as our next Vice President. In this election, under circumstances never experienced, Americans turned out in numbers never seen. And once every vote is counted, President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris will have won a historic and decisive victory. Were fortunate that Joes got what it takes to be President and already carries himself that way. Because when he walks into the White House in January, hell face a series of extraordinary challenges no incoming President ever has a raging pandemic, an unequal economy and justice system, a democracy at risk, and a climate in peril. I know hell do the job with the best interests of every American at heart, whether or not he had their vote. So I encourage every American to give him a chance and lend him your support. The election results at every level show that the country remains deeply and bitterly divided. It will be up to not just Joe and Kamala, but each of us, to do our part to reach out beyond our comfort zone, to listen to others, to lower the temperature and find some common ground from which to move forward, all of us remembering that we are one nation, under God. Finally, I want to thank everyone who worked, organized, and volunteered for the Biden campaign, every American who got involved in their own way, and everybody who voted for the first time. Your efforts made a difference. Enjoy this moment. Then stay engaged. I know it can be exhausting. But for this democracy to endure, it requires our active citizenship and sustained focus on the issues not just in an election season, but all the days in between. Our democracy needs all of us more than ever. And Michelle and I look forward to supporting our next President and First Lady however we can."

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The bromance is back, people.

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Michelle Obama Pays Tribute to the 'First Black and Indian-American Woman Vice President, Kamala Harris' - ELLE.com

Joe Biden has defeated President Trump to become the next president of the United States. And hes gotten the most votes of anyone ever to run for the US presidency.

With more than 75 million votes so far, Biden broke the record previously set by President Barack Obama, who received about 69.5 million votes to win in 2008. The 75 million number puts Biden at more than 50 percent of the popular vote, with President Trump taking 48 percent. Trump has now also broken Obamas record, having passed the 70 million mark.

The 2020 election is on pace for a record turnout, with at least 159.8 million Americans voting, according to NBC. Thats the highest turnout rate among eligible voters since 1900. This has bolstered both candidates.

Both parties will surely parse the meaning of Tuesdays results in the days and weeks ahead, but one thing is clear: Even in the midst of a pandemic, American voters came out in unprecedented numbers to make their voices heard.

Biden paid tribute to that fact in a speech to the American people on Wednesday. Yesterday once again proved that democracy is the heartbeat of this nation, he said. Here the people rule. Power cant be taken or asserted. It flows from the people, and it is their will that determines who will be the president of the United States and their will alone.

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Joe Biden broke Obamas total vote record in the 2020 election - Vox.com

When Joe Biden is sworn in as president on January 20th, 2021, the U.S. could be approaching 500,000 lives lost to COVID-19. As the rest of the world has already proven, these deaths were not inevitable, but the result of the science-denying Trump administration and GOP, which failed to control the pandemic.

Biden has acknowledged the need for immediate COVID-19 response. But theres a catch. While hes taken the presidency, Democrats may be unable to flip the Senate (Democrats have 46 seats, Republicans have 48 seats, and two seats may go to a runoff in January). So while Biden can propose bills, and the Democrat-controlled House is likely to pass them, they could still face the same, aggressive vetoing of Mitch McConnell and the rest of the Republicans in the Senate, which has ground policymaking to a halt.

What can Biden do in this situation to design and implement a response for curbing the spread of COVID-19? I asked Andy Slavitt, the former Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services appointed by President Obama, just this question. Slavitt made his name saving America from a previous healthcare crisis, when he was part of the team that repaired the fledgling Healthcare.gov website. And over the past year, hes been advocating for practical COVID strategies on his podcast, Twitter, television, and even directly to our government itself.

I asked Slavitt: Andy, you are Joe Biden. Its day one, and you dont have the Senate on your side. How do you design and implement COVID response without them?

Unfortunately, hes not positive about the possibilities. Theres nothing to be optimistic about right now. I will tell you, having someone in charge [Biden] who manages it, who wont sleep at night until the problem gets fixed, will be better, says Slavitt. [But] we have a scary winter coming up. Im nervous for the winter. Theres a lot of people who travel for Thanksgiving who are at risk.

That said, here are the steps Slavitt would take if he were in Bidens shoes.

The first step for Biden is to work with the tools you have, says Slavitt. Specifically, hes referring to executive power. Experts agree its probably not legal for a president to mandate a national quarantine. However, a president can enact the Defense Production Actand Biden has actually said that he will.

You probably heard about the Defense Production Act already this year, as many speculated that Trump could turn to the policy to produce ventilators and distribute supplies. Its a law that allows the president to command American companies to create necessary supplies in times of critical national defense, but Trump never used it. In this case, Slavitt would like to see American companies producing PPE. Gloves. Masks. Gowns. You name it.

While PPE shortages are rarely in the news these days, they continue to be a real problem for ICUs in the U.S. Outside hospitals, PPE is something well need in excess to reopen our country safely rather than haphazardly, experts agree.

The other thing we need more of are testing kits, and the Defense Production Act could spur that along, too. As of now, most of us view testing kits as something you get when you think you have COVID-19, and you go to a walk-up or drive-up facility to get swabbed in your car. But thats only a baseline of what we can do with the right support. Slavitt imagines more people testing themselves at home, and pretty much all the time before they enter public spaces. This would make gathering safer, since you can spread COVID-19 for nearly a week before symptoms show up.

There are all kinds of technologies, like [a COVID] breathalyzer, that could make entrance to school safe, says Slavitt. But they require significant production challenges. The technology is good, but you have to find the production capacity to develop those things.

The Defense Production Act would allow President Biden to mandate mass-production of the best safety technologies we already have, and make them available in numbers that could help drive down new infection rates.

One problem with controlling COVID-19 today is that people have to work to make money, and that means they have to leave the house. They also might be sick without a place to quarantine.

In April 2020, Slavitt, alongside Scott Gottlieb, a former FDA chief under Trump, proposed a plan for a $46 billion COVID-19 response. Of that gargantuan number, $30 billion was actually set aside for 18 months of financial assistance (or a $50/day stipend for people who voluntarily self-isolate), and $4.5 billion was set to convert motels and hotels to COVID self-quarantine centers. The remaining $12 billion was to hire a 180,000-person contact tracing team.

But to secure this money, you need the support of Congress, which requires the Senate. If youre Biden, you spend some political capital to work with McConnell to get that done, says Slavitt.

When I scoff, pointing out that this compromise seems impossible after more than a decade of the Senate shutting down the policies presented by Democrats, Slavitt doesnt budge. You do need Congress for these things, and its not an ideological issue as much as a public health issue, he says. Think about it. Around the world, the thing you measure the most if you want to slow down the virus is what percentage of people who have the virus pass it on to other people, and what percentagedont spread it. In countries with better safety nets, people can stay home and not lose income. Thats what you need here.

Biden would also need the Senates support to shunt critical funds to individual states if they are to distribute an eventual COVID-19 vaccine, which both Slavitt and state health officials are saying is necessary to roll out vaccines effectively. Right now, those costs are set to fall on states themselves. But a recent audit found that the 50 states already had debts of $1.4 trillion in 2019, a figure that has only grown during COVID-19. States need government funding to optimize vaccine delivery. Slavitt recommends that Biden check in with scientists to understand how to best administer and distribute vaccines en masse. Then states will need funds to implement the plan.

As for implementing contact tracing, thats necessary but a back burner issue, relatively speaking. Its useful. Its not going to solve the problem by itself, says Slavittlargely because contact tracing isnt effective when we have the infection rates that we do in the United States. Once we get cases down and we want containment, contact tracking will be very important.

The last suggestion Slavitt offers is something Biden could start right now, before hes even sworn in. Its the most difficult challenge in front of Biden of them all, Slavitt says.

The hardest step is the bully pulpit, you need to start that immediately, communicate with people in a way that brings the temperature down on the issues. And that will be the most challenging thing, says Slavitt. Its a divisive election. Theres a lot of healing that has to go on.

Since March, the GOP and its constituents have framed COVID-19 as a partisan issue, when in reality, its a public health issue. Viruses do not care who weve voted for or what we believe about medicine or media bias; they attack the population indiscriminately. And we have 230,000 Americans who have died in terrible proof of this point already.

Biden is addressing our country divide already, having urged unity and the need for a rapid COVID response in his address Saturday night.

This is a sociological problem, not a technological problem, Slavitt concludes. Africa has 1.3 billion people. They only have 35,000 deaths. This is not about a high tech silver bullet. Its a harder challenge. We know the answer, dont breathe near one another or get to crowded spacesthats what we have to face, and that requires society to come together.

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Biden has won. But does he have the power to stop COVID-19? - Fast Company

The two events Obama headlined in predominantly Black cities -- first in Flint, Michigan, and later in Detroit -- looked to drive home the point that Democrats can't take this election for granted after depressed turnout four years earlier doomed Hillary Clinton in the state. Obama used both events, the first time the duo has been on stage together with either one of them on a presidential ticket since 2012, to focus on Biden's character, using it to draw a stark contrast to Trump.

Obama's remarks included blistering rebukes of Trump -- including mocking his focus on crowd sizes and belittling his economic achievements -- but the events stood out from earlier Obama appearances because of the way the former President touted Biden's character.

"Joe Biden is my brother. I love Joe Biden. And he will be a great president," Obama said in Flint, noting that while he didn't know Biden well when he selected him to be his running mate, he learned quickly that Biden treated everyone with "dignity and with respect."

"That sense of decency and empathy, the belief in hard work and family and faith, the belief that everyone counts, that is who Joe is and that is who he will be as president," Obama said, adding that Biden "made me a better president."

"He has got the character and the experience to make us a better country," Obama added. "And he and Kamala (Harris) are going to be in the fight, not for themselves, but for every single one of us. And we sure can't say that about the President we have got right now."

"Now he is accusing doctors of profiting off this pandemic. Think about that," Obama said incredulously. "He cannot fathom, he does not understand the notion that somebody would risk his life to save others without trying to make a buck."

In Detroit, Obama even provided a call back to his reelection bid, citing his oft used talking point that Republicans wanted to let "Detroit go bankrupt" during the economic downturn in 2009.

"You remember when Republicans were saying, 'Let Detroit go bankrupt?' You remember that," Obama asked. "Now they might as well just be saying, 'Let America get Covid. It is not our problem. You are exaggerating it.' That is what they are literally saying every day."

Obama also got personal when questioning why Trump was so fixated on the size of the crowds at his events.

"Does he have nothing better to worry about? Did no one come to his birthday party when he was a kid? Was he traumatized," Obama asked. "What is with crowds?"

Those mocking lines were central to Obama's argument against Trump and for Biden.

"You know when a country is going through a pandemic that's not what you're supposed to be worrying about," Obama said in Flint. "And that's the difference between Joe Biden and Trump right there. Trump cares about feeding his ego. Joe cares about keeping you and your family safe. And he's less interested in feeding his ego with having big crowds than he is making sure he's not going around making more and more people sick. That's what you should expect from a president."

The location of their first joint appearance underscored the central question looming for Democrats: Will the voters who did not turn out for Hillary Clinton cast a ballot for Biden?

Crowds of people waved signs and cheered along the roadside on a sunny Saturday afternoon as Obama and Biden arrived at their drive-in rally in Flint, which is in Genesee County. Four years ago, Hillary Clinton received 26,000 fewer votes there than Obama and Biden did in 2012.

The second rally on Saturday for Obama and Biden in Detroit is part of Wayne County, where the falloff among voters was even more dramatic. Clinton received 75,000 fewer votes there than the Democratic ticket did in 2012.

Taken together, the two counties alone represented 100,000 fewer votes in 2016 for Democrats. Trump carried Michigan by 10,704 votes.

"We can't afford to be complacent," Obama said. "Not this time. Not in this election. We got a little complacent in the last election."

Horns honked loudly in the parking lot as Obama implored Michigan voters to "turn out here like never before." He asked people to "imagine if 60% of us voted, if 70% of us voted?"

The coronavirus pandemic has dramatically upended the presidential race, with Democrats turning their campaign into a virtual one. Democratic officials don't question the decision, but say they do worry whether the lack of a traditional field program could fail to turn out Biden votes in the margins that they may need.

When Biden took the stage, he nodded to the fact that just hearing the former president speak could be cathartic for Democrats.

"Kind of reminds you how good it can be listening to him, doesn't it," Biden quipped.

The former vice president went on to echo Obama's remarks, especially when he slammed Trump in stark terms for falsely suggesting doctors make more money when coronavirus numbers are higher.

"He suggested falsely that they're inflating the number of Covid deaths to make more money," Biden said. "What in the hell is wrong with this man? Excuse my language, but think about it. It's perverted."

Biden added, "He may believe it because he doesn't do anything other than for money. The people of this nation have suffered and sacrificed for nine months, none more so than the doctors on the front lines and health care workers, and this president is questioning their character? Their integrity? Their commitment to their fellow Americans? It's more than offensive, it's a disgrace."

Obama's most pointed critiques of Trump this month have focused on the coronavirus and that continued on Saturday in Michigan.

"What's his closing argument? That people are too focused on Covid. He said this at one of his rallies. Covid, Covid, Covid, he's complaining," Obama said in Florida this week. "He's jealous of Covid's media coverage. If he had been focused on Covid from the beginning, cases wouldn't be reaching new record highs across the country this week."

On Saturday, Obama cast the election as critical for the future of the country. The former President noted that his speech was happening during the Michigan-Michigan State Football game, a heated rivalry where the Paul Bunyan Trophy was "on the line."

"But this Tuesday," Obama said. "Everything is on the line."

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

Excerpt from:
Obama: Trump cares about his ego, Biden cares about 'keeping your family safe' - CNN

Former President Barack ObamaBarack Hussein ObamaBerlin's Madame Tussauds places wax Trump in a dumpster ahead of election New poll shows Biden leading Trump by 6 points in North Carolina Who is 'Anonymous' author Miles Taylor? MORE went viral on Saturday after shooting a three-pointer while on the campaign trail for Democratic presidential nominee Joe BidenJoe BidenBiden leads Trump by 8 points nationally: poll Ivanka Trump raises million in a week for father's campaign On The Money: McConnell says Congress will take up stimulus package at start of 2021 | Lawmakers see better prospects for COVID deal after election MORE.

Obama made the shot just before leaving a gymnasium in Flint, Mich. While he walks out the door, he appears to tell campaign staff Thats what I do!

Shoot your shot. https://t.co/XdZz4dh82T pic.twitter.com/elpBmzu6hV

so this was absolutely insane pic.twitter.com/W4JL6LQZxq

Celebrities and social media users quickly shared the clip, with some hoping that the shot it a "good omen" for the former vice president ahead of the Tuesday election.

NBA star Lebron James, who has previously partnered with Obama and former first lady Michelle ObamaMichelle LeVaughn Robinson ObamaMichelle Obama releases her voting playlist Obama to young voters: Create 'a new normal in America' by voting for Biden Obama hits trail to help Biden, protect legacy MORE on voter initiatives, tweeted Now you just showing out now my friend!! Thats what you do huh??

Now you just showing out now my friend!! Thats what you do huh?? Ok ok I see. All cash! https://t.co/8pZzXLJIJj

My. Forever. President. https://t.co/F4hyPNthZx

A real president. https://t.co/Iq2Ct64UC9

Now let's make this Tuesday a #SwishNoBackboard!#VOTE https://t.co/HZl7JQyT65

SIR YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO GO THIS HARD https://t.co/NKUwm5sl7M

The clip was taken in the gymnasium of Flints Northwestern High School, Yahoo! Sports reported. Obama and Biden campaign together in Flint on Saturday at a drive-in rally, where the former president blasted President TrumpDonald John TrumpStephen Miller: Trump to further crackdown on illegal immigration if he wins US records 97,000 new COVID-19 cases, shattering daily record Biden leads Trump by 8 points nationally: poll MOREs reality show style of politics.

He hasnt shown any interest in doing the work or helping anybody but himself or his friends or treating the presidency as anything more than a reality show to give him the attention that he craves, Obama said. But unfortunately, the rest of us have to live with the consequences.

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Obama shooting three pointer while campaigning for Biden goes viral | TheHill - The Hill