Joe Biden phones Trump to congratulate him on election victory

Washington: The White House reports that US President Joe Biden called President-elect Donald Trump to congratulate him on winning the election.

"President Biden expressed his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition and emphasised the importance of working to bring the country together," the White House said on Wednesday in a statement, noting that Biden will address the nation to discuss the election results and the transition on Thursday.

Biden also invited Trump to meet in the White House, the statement said, adding that the staff will coordinate a specific date in the near future, Xinhua news agency reported.

Biden also spoke by phone with Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, and congratulated her on her "historic campaign," the statement said.

Early Wednesday morning, Fox News first projected Trump would win more than 270 Electoral College votes, the threshold needed to clinch the presidency.

Speaking at his election headquarters in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump quickly declared victory in the 2024 US presidential election, calling it "a political victory that our country has never seen before".

The Associated Press, along with some other major US news outlets, projected Trump's victory a few hours later.

As votes continue to come in, Trump seems to have swept all the seven key swing states in this year's presidential election.

Results first became clear in North Carolina and Georgia around midnight on Election Day.

As of Wednesday afternoon, all the three "Blue Wall" states -- Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan -- flipped to Trump, as they did in 2016.

US media reported earlier on Wednesday that Harris called Trump to congratulate him on his election victory. She delivered a concession speech on Wednesday noon at Howard University, her alma mater in Washington, D.C.

With inputs from IANS