Let's give each other a chance, Joe Biden tells Donald Trump voters

US President-elect Joe Biden (right) and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris (second left) react as confetti falls, with Jill Biden (right) and Douglas Emhoff in Wilmington, Delaware, on Saturday evening. Pic/AFP

Joe Biden used his first national address as president-elect to vow to heal a deeply divided nation, declaring it was time to "let this grim era of demonisation in America begin to end" and reaching out to the millions of people who voted against him to say, "Let's give each other a chance."

His calls for reconciliation at a Saturday victory celebration came even as President Donald Trump continued to argue that the election had been stolen from him, an indication that the divisive politics that have gripped the US over the past four years are far from over.

It also suggested that even as Biden seeks to build out a government during his transition to the presidency, the president has little interest in helping him do so. "For all those of you who voted for President Trump, I understand the disappointment," Biden said during a drive-in event in Wilmington, Delaware.

Biden headed into his first full day as president-elect on Sunday with key staffing decisions to make as COVID-19 rages. The always-frenzied 10-week transition period before Inauguration Day on January 20 already has been shortened by the extra time it took to determine the winner of election.

His top priority in the transition is expected to be quickly naming a chief of staff. Biden suggested during the campaign that his first call after being elected would be to Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, but his advisers have not said whether the two have spoken yet.

Meanwhile, Black leaders warned that a tough road lies ahead to address America's persistent inequalities and the racial division that Trump fuelled. "Biden's been willing to commit not only to plans, but he's been willing to take responsibility for how those plans get lived out. I want to see proper access to opportunity and I think fundamentally that is the wish, that is the hope, and that is the deserved right of every Black person in this country," said Stacey Abrams, a voting rights activist.

US citizenship to over 5 lakh Indians

President-elect Joe Biden will work towards providing a roadmap to American citizenship for nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants, including over 5 lakh from India, and will also establish a minimum admission number of 95,000 refugees annually. It also plans to support family-based immigration, satted Biden campaign's policy document.

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