The tribute marked the presumed end of a long public life that put Biden in the orbit of the Oval Office for 45 years — yet, through a combination of family and personal tragedy, his own political missteps and sheer bad timing, had never allowed him to sit behind the Resolute Desk himself. It turns out the pinnacle would not elude Biden after all. His moment just hadn’t yet arrived. Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., 77, was elected Saturday as the 46th president of the United States, defeating President Donald Trump in an election that played out against the backdrop of a pandemi

US President-elect Joe Biden says it’s time for America to “unite” and to “heal.”