Celebrations could be heard through many cities across the United States as President-Elect Joe Biden was declared the projected winner of the 2020 election.
This was especially true in New York, where crowds cheered, music played and car horns honked loudly moments after several U.S. media outlets, including The Associated Press, CNN and NBC declared Biden the projected winner.
Senator Chuck Schumer appeared to join in, and was videotaped dancing in the street holding a Biden-Harris sign in Brooklyn in a video posted to Twitter.
The U.S. election was a four-day ordeal with more than 140 million Americans casting their ballots in a heavily contested election between Biden and Republican President Donald Trump.
Saturday afternoon, The Associated Press projected Biden had won Pennsylvania with 49.6 per cent of the state’s vote, tipping overall projections in his favour as he secured 284 electoral college votes to Trump’s 214.
In Pennsylvania, videos of people dancing in the streets surfaced in parts of Philadelphia.
More cheering could be heard throughout Los Angeles, Atlanta, Maryland and in the District of Columbia (D.C.), where the words “HE’S GONE!” were heard amid the backdrop of cheers in Washington.
At around noon, Twitter users said a “full-blown impromptu parade” had broken out in downtown D.C. after projections favoured Biden to win.
“People are literally dancing in the streets to celebrate Trump’s defeat,” the tweet read.
Harris’ husband also tweeted a heartwarming picture of the two, captioning the photo “So proud of you.”
Shortly after Pennsylvania released its ballot count, Trump’s campaign team issued a statement stating “this election is far from over.”
“Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of any states, let alone any of the highly contested states headed for mandatory recounts,” the statement read.
“Beginning Monday, our campaign will start prosecuting our case in court to ensure election laws are fully upheld and the rightful winner is seated.”
Biden said he was both “honoured and humbled” by his election in an online statement, adding that “it’s time to put the anger and the harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation.”
“It’s time for America to unite. And to heal. We are the United States of America. And there’s nothing we can’t do, if we do it together,” he said.