(NewsNation Now) — Democrat Joe Biden has defeated President Donald Trump to become the 46th president of the United States, according to the Associated Press.

President-elect Biden addressed the nation from Wilmington, Delaware with Dr. Jill Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff.

Biden said Saturday that becoming the president-elect is the honor of his life.

“Tonight we’re seeing all over this nation an outpouring of joy, faith, and a renewed hope in tomorrow,” Biden said.

The President-elect said now is the time to heal in America. Biden said he hopes to unite the nation and “make America respected around the world again.”

He pledged his support to all American people and vowed to always work in their best interests.

Biden said his work begins with getting COVID-19 under control.

“On Monday, I will name a group of leading scientists and experts as Transition Advisors to help take the Biden-Harris COVID plan and convert it into an action blueprint that starts on January 20th, 2021. That plan will be built on a bedrock of science. It will be constructed out of compassion, empathy, and concern.”

pRESident-ELECT jOE bIDEN

Vice President-elect Harris echoed the president-elect’s sentiments on uniting the country and forging a brighter future.

“You chose hope, unity, decency, science, and, yes, truth,” Harris said. “No matter who you voted for, I will strive to be the Vice President that Joe was to President Obama — loyal, honest, and prepared, waking up every day thinking of you and your families.”

Harris addressed her historic election, as the first woman, first Black woman, and Asian American woman to become vice president, and promised it won’t be the last.

“But while I may be the first woman in this office, I won’t be the last. Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities,” Harris said.

In her speech, she thanked her family and honored her mother and all the women who “paved the way for this moment.”

Biden won Pennsylvania, securing the necessary Electoral College votes to clinch the presidency, according to the Associated Press who called the Keystone State for Biden on Saturday.

The Associated Press also called Nevada for Biden Saturday. The Silver State offers 6 electoral votes.

With Nevada and Pennsylvania, Biden has 290 electoral votes to President Donald Trump’s 214 electoral votes as of AP’s latest race call.

As of 1:40 p.m. EST, Biden had a lead of .51% over Trump. In Pennsylvania, a recount is automatic if the margin of victory is less than or equal to 0.5 percentage point. 

The battleground state’s decision to greatly expand mail-in voting caused the delay in ballot-counting.

Trump, who held a 675,000-vote lead in the Keystone State early Wednesday, prematurely declared victory.

“We’re winning Pennsylvania by a tremendous amount. We’re up 690,000 votes in Pennsylvania. These aren’t even close. It’s not like, ‘Oh, it’s close,’” Trump said during an appearance at the White House.

By Wednesday afternoon, Trump’s lead had slipped down to 326,000. And by Thursday morning, his lead was down to 136,000. By 10:45 p.m. Thursday, the lead shrunk to 26,132 as mail in ballots from across the state continued to be counted. The late counted ballots were overwhelmingly in Biden’s favor, allowing the former vice president to take the lead Friday morning well before the AP called the state for Biden.

One reason: Under state law, elections officials are not allowed to process mail-in ballots until Election Day. It’s a form of voting that has skewed heavily in Biden’s favor after Trump spent months claiming — without proof — that voting by mail would lead to widespread voter fraud.

Trump’s campaign and Republicans are already mounting legal challenges in several states, although most are small-scale lawsuits that do not appear to affect many votes.

Judges in Georgia and Michigan quickly dismissed Trump campaign lawsuits there on Thursday.

President Donald Trump’s campaign has already called for a recount in Wisconsin, but several closely contested states in the presidential election may re-tally their votes if totals fall within a certain margin.

NewsNation’s television broadcast and digital properties rely on the AP for all vote counting and race calls. NewsNation chose to rely on the AP because they call races based on the facts.