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  • Joe Biden has won the American presidential election.

  • The BBC projects that he has reached 270 Electoral College votes, meaning that he will become the president in January pending the outcome off any legal challenges.

  • The reason why we can say that Joe Biden has won the election is because we are projecting that he has won the key state of Pennsylvania taking the 20 electoral votes from that state.

  • This means that he has 273 electoral votes, taking him across the 270 mark.

  • So that is it.

  • Joe Biden becomes the 46th president of the United States.

  • He will be 78 years old on Election Day, after a career off half a century, the oldest president ever to take office.

  • James, we are still saying it is a projection.

  • This is the BBC's projection.

  • But indeed, that is where we are right now.

  • I think we should cross to the BBC's Yalda Hakim, who is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

  • Yalda, this is a This is a moment of history.

  • What is the reaction there in Pennsylvania?

  • Okay, well, it is, as you say, a historic moment.

  • Suddenly there's been a lot of movement, hardly anyone here in the streets.

  • The National Guard is just around the corner here to help the Philadelphia police.

  • Obviously, they're preparing for a moment like this.

  • They're being demonstrations, the pro trump camp as well as anti Trump demonstrators around the corner from here.

  • So there has been some movement.

  • The press are just standing behind me, and there is a lot of movement inside as well.

  • They've seen continuing to count.

  • They've been doing it meticulously.

  • But just in the last few minutes, the BBC has said this is a projection.

  • CNN and some of the other American networks have called it.

  • They said that they would.

  • Our CBS partners yesterday said they would once, uh, the margin between them reached between 20,000 and 30,000 votes.

  • It's now closer to 30,000 votes, more votes.

  • The numbers were released earlier just a few moments ago, so I suppose that put them in a position to call this and mathematically say that once it goes beyond that sort of margin, that 0.5% that they would call it so.

  • This really is a historic moment and for it to come down, really, to Pennsylvania with its 20 Electoral college votes.

  • The boy from Scranton, the the young Joe Biden who was born here in this state and who began his campaign here who ended his campaign here.

  • He visited Pennsylvania 19 times throughout this campaign period.

  • It was an incredibly important state for him.

  • He put his headquarters here in Philadelphia.

  • So really gives you a sense of just how important Pennsylvania is in really.

  • Pennsylvania is the birthplace off America.

  • It's where the a declaration of independence happened in 17 76 where the Constitutional Convention was held in 17 87.

  • So quite a significant moment for it to be coming down here to Pennsylvania and for this state Thio push the next president over the well.

  • We're still projecting it, but as CNN said, they've they've called it, and they've described him as the 46th president off the United States, making him the oldest president at 78.

  • Don't forget, he was also one of the youngest senators in this country, and he'd make that journey from Delaware to Washington D.

  • C daily.

  • He, uh, to go to the Senate.

  • He's got a quite a tragic story which really, uh, you know, captured the hearts of so many Americans here when his wife tragically was killed in a car accident and so was his young daughter.

  • He raised his two young boys in Delaware, so and now described as the 46th president of the United States by, uh, CNN and some other American networks.

  • Yalda.

  • This really is a moment of history, Aziz, you say so many firsts in this election on extraordinary election.

  • Andi, Now the BBC projecting that Joe Biden has won the race to the White House, the BBC projecting it.

  • But as you say, other networks are calling this a zwelling.

  • American Networks PPA the press association Also giving the race to Joe Biden.

  • We are expecting some kind of reaction from President Trump's lawyers.

  • Where you are eyes there, anything they can do at this point toe overturn this result.

  • There are army of lawyers descending here on Pennsylvania, and they have been here.

  • His lawyers are holding a press conference here in Philadelphia to talk about what legal avenues that they can take.

  • We've spoken to some lawyers on both sides.

  • Some say the president has a leg to stand on and he will pursue, uh, the various cases.

  • Others are saying that the kind of mailing votes they're talking about discounting just a handful and not enough thio really put any kind of change or change anything.

  • Change the outcome here.

  • Just in the last few minutes, uh, the city officials released MAWR votes and that really put Joe Biden in the lead by about 30,000 votes.

  • And that's really where the U.

  • S.

  • Networks were waiting before they called it so that it would reach over 30,000.

  • That gap would be so wide that it couldn't be disputed.

  • But of course, uh, Donald Trump's lawyers say they will pursue this.

  • They will take it on that he's not willing to concede on DSO Way will have to wait and see what his lawyers do here.

  • Yeah, yeah, that came from Philadelphia.

  • They're reporting on the results in in Pennsylvania because that is the reason that we are now calling Joe Biden president elect.

  • He has projected to win in Pennsylvania, which means that multiple news agencies are now giving him the presidency.

  • Let's stay in Washington, speak to our correspondent Gary O'Donoghue, who is in Washington itself.

  • Gary thinking back to earlier this year when Joe Biden was almost down and out after those two first primaries, Iowa and New Hampshire.

  • And now it's come to this.

  • It is an extraordinary comeback in many ways for the former vice president and the third time he's run for president.

  • Don't forget.

  • And here he is at this age, making the White House finally really feet, fighting off a huge democratic field.

  • Many people thought he was too old to do it.

  • Many people thought he was too old fashioned to do it too much of the center to do it.

  • And here he is, practically with his hands on the keys to the White House.

  • Uh, the maths we know are pretty clear.

  • Now he's over that 270 mark.

  • If the president wins ALS, the remaining states, which is looks like he's not going to do, he still doesn't have enough.

  • Of course, we have all those legal challenges outstanding.

  • We have some recounts outstanding, perfectly legitimate recounts.

  • But it does become increasingly impossible for the president toe turn.

  • This result around, we understand that the president himself is no longer that the White House.

  • We're told that he's traveled to one of his golf courses in Virginia.

  • He may or may not beyond the course now getting that news, But this will be a huge moment for the White House, obviously a huge moment for the White House.

  • But again, a particularly huge moment moment in terms of how they respond politically to this Rubicon that has now been crossed.

  • What do they say to their lawyers?

  • Tell them they have any chance in terms of these challenges.

  • Will the other states that start to come in make the mass pretty impossible, even if you have success in one particularly legal challenge?

  • Aled, these calculations will be going on now on the person at some point who has to go to the president, presumably in the last few minutes and say, Excuse me, Mr President, you've lost.

Joe Biden has won the American presidential election.

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