Wave Wire Services
LOS ANGELES — Thousands of revelers descended on downtown Los Angeles and other Southland communities Nov. 7 to celebrate the victory of former Vice President Joe Biden over President Donald Trump.
Spontaneous and peaceful celebrations were also held on Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake and in Venice and West Hollywood, with hundreds of revelers lining the streets, dancing to music and cars bearing American flags driving through beeping their horns.
The downtown gathering — which began as a planned protest against Trump — turned into a victory celebration after multiple media outlets reported that Biden won Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes, putting the Democratic ticket of Biden and California Sen. Kamala Harris over the 270 needed to win the presidency.
“Biden’s victory strengthens our resolve to uphold the will of the people and stop Trump’s threat to delegitimize the votes of Black and brown people. Justice is on our side,” UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz told the cheering downtown crowd. “You showed us what democracy looks like when we come together with a single mission of voting Trump out of office. Trump has stated he will not concede the presidency. At what point do we stand up and fight for what is right? And I would say right now. Right now y’all! We intend to defend democracy and demand Trump concede.”
A phalanx of riot-clad Los Angeles police officers lined Spring Street outside the LAPD headquarters and the former Los Angeles Times building as throngs of happy demonstrators waving American, Mexican and Armenian flags marched past and began to congregate around the new federal courts building on First Street.
No arrests were made and there were no reports of injuries, LAPD Officer Tony Im told City News Service.
A coalition of labor unions and advocacy groups originally planned the protest march against what they called Trump’s premature declaration of victory on Election Day and said the confirmation of Biden’s election only strengthened their resolve to press Trump to accept the results of the voting and concede defeat.
“I think it’s important to show that if you really believe in America that you can make your voice heard,” Marissa Lee told ABC7. “My first presidential election, Trump won. And now my second one, Kamala — an opposite — and Joe. And it just represents that it’s not too late for America to change. To make it better for me, at 24 years old, and make it better for the kids coming behind us to know that they can be the vice president, they can be the president. Anything is possible.”
The election results are still unofficial, and Trump has promised legal challenges in numerous states where mail-in votes were still being counted and where Biden had overtaken his lead.
Supporters of the president held their own rally in Beverly Hills, as they have for the past several weekends although Beverly Hills police later declared the gathering “unlawful” and dispersed the crowd without further incident.
Biden issued a statement declaring victory.
“I am honored and humbled by the trust the American people have placed in me and in Vice President-elect Harris,” he said. “In the face of unprecedented obstacles, a record number of Americans voted. Proving once again, that democracy beats deep in the heart of America.
“With the campaign over, 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.”
Biden and Harris later addressed the nation during a victory celebration from Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware.
Harris also acknowledged the moment, tweeting: “This election is about so much more than @JoeBiden or me. It’s about the soul of America and our willingness to fight for it. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Let’s get started.”
She tweeted a video moments later showing her on phone call with Biden, saying through laughter, “We did it, we did it, Joe. You’re going to be the next president of the United States.”
An hour before Biden was declared the winner, Trump issued an all-caps tweet that said, “I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!”
That followed an earlier tweet from the president that “Tens of thousands of votes were illegally received after 8 P.M. on Tuesday, Election Day, totally and easily changing the results in Pennsylvania and certain other razor thin states. As a separate matter, hundreds of thousands of votes were illegally not allowed to be OBSERVED.”
Trump himself issued the following statement, according to NBC News:
“The simple fact is 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, or states where our campaign has valid and legitimate legal challenges that could determine the ultimate victor.
“Beginning Monday, our campaign will start prosecuting our case in court to ensure election laws are fully upheld and the rightful winner is seated.”
