Hindustan Times (Delhi)

It’s official: Biden will take on Trump in November election

- Yashwant Raj letters@hindustant­imes.com

nWASHINGTO­N: Former US vicepresid­ent Joe Biden has secured enough delegates to clinch the Democratic presidenti­al nomination at the party convention in Milwaukee in August.

Late results from the June 2 primaries took Biden to 1,995 delegates, past the threshold of 1,991 needed to clinch the nomination, clearing the path for his race against President Donald Trump in November.

“Folks, tonight we secured the 1,991 delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination,” Biden tweeted late on Friday. “I’m going to spend every day fighting to earn your vote so that, together, we can win the battle for the soul of this nation.”

“This is a difficult time in America’s history. And Donald Trump’s angry, divisive politics is no answer,” he said in a separate statement. “The country is crying out for leadership. Leadership that can unite us. Leadership that can bring us together. We need an economy that works for everyone, now. We need jobs that bring dignity, now. We need equal justice and equal opportunit­ies - for every American now. We need a president who cares about helping us heal , now.”

Biden has been the presumptiv­e Democratic nominee for weeks now, after Senator Bernie Sanders, the last of his rivals, quit the race and endorsed him.

Biden had fallen marginally short of the delegate threshold on the night of June 2 primaries in seven states and Washington, DC. That deficit was met by late results coming in on Friday.

Biden hit the campaign trail earlier this week after weeks of virtual town halls and meetings conducted from home in Delaware, forced by social distancing guidelines related to Covid-19.

 ?? AP/FILE ?? Joe Biden (left) and US President Donald Trump n
AP/FILE Joe Biden (left) and US President Donald Trump n

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