Obama congratulates Biden, warns he'll face challenges 'no incoming president ever has'

Former President Barack Obama applauded his old right hand man, President-elect Joe Biden, on Saturday, after the former vice president was projected to defeat President Trump in the race for the White House, setting him up to become the 46th chief executive of the United States.

In a statement, Obama said he "couldn't be prouder to congratulate" Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, as well as Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff. He also made it clear the celebration wouldn't last long, since Biden will go on to "face a series of extraordinary challenges no incoming president ever has — a raging pandemic, an unequal economy and justice system, a democracy at risk, and a climate in peril." But, he added, "we're fortunate that Joe's got what it takes to be president and already carries himself that way." Tim O'Donnell

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.