Palm Beach County reaction: Biden’s youngest brother describes emotional call with family: ‘This is Beau’s moment’ – Palm Beach Post

Among reactions from around the county, Biden's youngest brother Frank described a family call when they heard Joe Biden won. He said they talked about Biden's late son, Beau, who made his father promise that he would remain in public life before he died of brain cancer.

On Saturday, Joe Biden won the presidency over President Donald Trump and Palm Beach County and Florida reacted.This is a developing story. Check back for updates. Go here for the final electoral vote count.

The president-elect's youngest brother said Saturday that thelarge, extended Biden family was on a call when they learned Joe Biden had won the presidential race.

Frank Biden recalled the moment his sister, Valerie Biden Owens, broke the news."You could hear a pin drop."

But the younger Biden sibling, a Palm Beach County resident, said the family's initial reaction was not about politics. Instead, they thought ofBiden's late son, Beau, who made his father promise that he would remain in public life before he died of brain cancer.

"You could hear her tearing up," Biden said of his older sister. "And then we all realized that this is Beau's moment. This is Beau's moment. Beau is with us. Palpably with us."

More: Sole Republican on Palm Beach County Commission: Presidential race isn't over

Frank Biden also said he and the family were also overcome with emotion watching the street celebrations surge across the country.

"No one anticipated this. It's spontaneous," he said. "It's overwhelming. But it's overwhelmingly peaceful, overwhelmingly joyous. And this has got nothing to do with the unburdening of resentment. This is really good."

Biden said it was also reflective of a change in the national mood from polarization to an embrace of unity.

"It's a celebration of that spirit of we can believe again. This business of all of us being able to summon our better angels," he said. "It's got everything to go with the joy. And the possibilities again. God, can you conceive it?"

For Father Frank OLoughlin, the first thoughts of a Joe Biden presidency were the eventual release of immigrant children from cages.

We reclaimed our souls, said the director of the Guatemalan-Maya Center in Lake Worth Beach about Biden winning the presidency.

Under President Donald Trump, federal authorities separated children and infants from parents and guardians who had entered the United Statesillegally or were seeking asylum. The children have been kept in detention for the past three years while the Trump administration lost track ordeported parents of 545 of the minors.

OLoughlin said the election of Biden showed the country did not bend to the disposition of any president and noted that Trump from the start of his 2016 campaign targeted Hispanics. Biden has pledged to stop construction on Trump's border wall with Mexico.

For the complete story, go here.

State Sen.Bobby Powell of West Palm Beach celebrated Bidens win by going out for ice cream with his wife and daughter. He said a Biden presidency is not only important for his family and his constituents, but for future generations.

I have a 2-year-old that will now live in the United States of America, because her whole life shes lived in the Divided States of America, he said.

And for those Americans who have felt the sting of inequity and division, he said, a Biden presidency means even more.

It means that the American flag, that over the last few years has become a symbol of polarization, will once again become a symbol of unity in this country, he said.

Powells hopes for the Biden administration include tackling the economic gap between Black and white citizens and offering everyone affordable healthcare.

More: Minorities in Palm Beach County look for big changes under Biden presidency

I would like to see a country where people dont have to work three jobs to pay the rent," he said. Im looking forward to a system where it becomes more equitable and conversations are heard and people are talked to and not talked at.

Equally important, he said, is that Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has inspired a generation of Black people to get involved in the political process.

It means that there is an opportunity for our voices to be heard and opportunities to have a better chance of serving in higher positions and show our children that it can be done, he said.

Just like any neighborhood, opinions about Saturday'snews in Palm Beach varied from somber to joyful.

"I'm disappointed," said John Scarpa, a longtime friend of Trump. "As an American, I'm worried aboutour future."

Kevin Byrne's take was different.

"I have regained my faith in my fellow citizens," the island resident said. "It's like waking up from a nightmare, especially this past week."

For the complete story, go here.

Hal Valeche, the sole Republican Palm Beach County commissioner in President Donald Trumps home county, said the race is not over yet.

"I have heard some very disturbing things over the last few days and I think the president is going to use every potential legal resource to make sure that we get a fair count," Valeche said.

Specifically, Valeche pointed to what he viewed as troubling discrepancies in battleground states, mirroring talking points and lawsuits from the Trump campaign: the absentee ballots in Pennsylvania received after Election Day, which the state Supreme Court allowed due to mail delays; votes counted for Trump that were meant to be for Biden in a Michigan county, which turned out to be human error and not a software glitch; and allegations in another lawsuit that thousands of nonresidents castballots in Nevada.

For the complete story, go here.

Joe Budd, President of Club 45 USA, was in a meeting when the networks called the race. But he wasnt surprised, he said, because the votes were trending in Bidens direction.

Still, the national loss does not diminish the incredible work that the state party and Trump fan clubs did to bring Florida home for the president in a resounding fashion, he said.

I think youll see that Florida is going to be observed by Republicans as a whole as to how we did what we did, he said. We kept great enthusiasm up for a long, long time. It wasnt just last minute, get-out-the vote efforts it built for three years. It was built and ready to go.

While Trump has his negatives, Budd said, he still will have a lot of influence in helping other Republicans get elected in Florida for years to come.

Like in 2018 when he backed Ron DeSantis over [GOP primary rival Adam]Putnam and instantly changed that race when he stepped in, Budd said.

Budd said Trump can also teach other politicians a thing or two about keeping their words.

Id like to see him play a role going forward where he holds politicians to keep the promises that they make," he said. "Thats something the president did extremely well.

More than anything, Budd said, he is thrilled with the number of Florida Republicans who attended rallies and turned out the vote for the president.

More: Trump bet big on winning the Hispanic vote in Miami and Florida ... and it paid off

Im extremely proud of the work locally, he said. The enthusiasm was off the charts and they brought it home here in Florida. We did our job in Palm Beach County, and obviously, Cuban-Americans did their job in Miami-Dade.

State Senator Lori Berman, D-Boynton Beach, said shecould barely contain her excitement at the news of Bidens win.

I'm just so elated, Im so happy, and Ive been crying tears of joy, she said.

Even the loss of two congressional seats and Trump's resounding victory in Florida could not put a damper on Bidens win, she said.

After we didnt win Florida, and we didnt have the victory and gains that I thought we would have on the state and Senate level, I still thought that, if Biden won, it would negate my disappointment, she said. It did, and I truly do feel that way.

Berman said the Florida Democratic Party could take a cue from Georgia activist Stacy Abrams and focus on registering more voters, she said.

They increased their registration and we didn't have a commensurate increase, she said of the Republicans. Theres a lot more work beyond that, but I think thats a starting place.

More: On the island of Palm Beach, reactions to Biden win range from gloom to elation

And while Trump may be leaving the White House, his influence will undoubtedly persist in Florida after he returns home to Palm Beach, Berman said and not in a good way.

I think Trumps legacy in Florida is Gov.Ron DeSantis, she said. And I think thats unfortunate. We still have the COVID crisis, which has been poorly mismanaged on the federal level and similarly poorly mismanaged on the state level."

As the congresswoman representing her most famous constituent, President Donald Trump, Lois Frankel called Bidens win a relief and a joyful day of celebration.

Its been a long, pretty dreadful four years, she said. Nothing is going to overshadow today. We have a decent, compassionate man to be our president. We've elected the first woman of color to a national office.

When the celebrations subside, Frankel said, it will be time for the Democratic Party to take a good look at where it went wrong in Florida, where Trump took home a resounding, consolation win.

We know things went awry in (Miami-Dade) County, thats a given, she said. But that wasn't the only part of the state that was disappointing.

Despite the economic devastation, the loss of lives and the pervasiveness of the coronavirus pandemic, voters still came out in large numbers for Trump, she said. And thats something Democrats can learn from.

We have in Donald Trump an extraordinary character, and I dont mean that in a good way," she said. "It was a cult of personality.

Despite the legacy of division, corruption, and incompetence that Trump will leave in his wake, Frankel said, she believes that Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are the right people to unite the country.

And while Frankel cant ever really get away from Trump because he lives only a stones throw from her house, she said shes made her peace with it, all things considered.

Id rather have him on the golf course than in the White House, she said.

Anne Marie Delgado, president of the Trump Team 2020 club, said she rejected projections that Biden would win the hard-fought campaign.

"We've got thousands and thousands going out," vowed Delgado, saying that the members of her statewide network of clubs would be out to make the case that the election would be settled in the courts.

Delgado said she and the club's members insist only "legal ballots" should be counted. That means ballots that arrived after the Nov. 3 deadline must not be counted if an extension is not part of that state'selections law.

She said the final word on the 2020 presidential race would be from court orders stopping what she alleged was the counting of illegal ballots.

"Stop thesteal," said Delgado. "This is so unusual the way this particular election, nationwide, has been run."

On the campaign trail, Trump had warned that a Biden win would lead to a crash in stock markets. But on Saturday,Bankrate.comsenior economic analyst Mark Hamrick said the capital markets and investing isn't necessarily guided by who wins the White House.

"Stock markets perform well under all kinds of administrations, including Democratic ones," said Hamrick. "Ultimately what's most important for financial markets is an economy that is conducive to generating corporate profits in a low-interest rate environment or at least an environment that does not see burgeoning inflation or any other significant issue associated with economic distress."

Hamricklauded what he said were some actions by Trump that boosted investor and business bullishness. But he cautioned that Trump also pursued policies that created instability in the markets, including a trade war.

He said after four tumultuous Trump years in office the markets may embrace stability from Biden.

"Business leaders will, I think, be at least more comfortable with the predictability of a Biden presidency," he said.

As for some Biden promises, such as abrogating the 2017 tax cuts, Hamrick said a lot depends on what happens with control of the U.S. Senate.

I don't think it's time to assume any of that will be flying through Congress. And we've seen stock markets perform just fine when tax brackets were higher.

Hamrick also said the markets might cheer policies to address climate change that could open investment opportunities.

In addition, Biden's focus on bringing the coronavirus pandemic under control may also be applauded on Wall Street: as might approval of a renewed economic stimulus by a lame-duck Congress.

His one concern: The mushrooming national debt.

The Trump administration didn't do future taxpayers any favors in the sense of presiding over policies that grew the national debt significantly. And those are chickens that will come home to roost. It's just a question of when and what's done over time to address them."

Michael Barnett, Chairman of the Republican Party of Palm Beach County, said he has faith Trump will still prevail. Barnett sent the following statement to the Palm Beach Post:

"This election is far from over. The Republican Party of Palm Beach County stands strongly behind President Trump and the Trump campaign's effort to challenge voter fraud in the courts. We delivered Florida handily for President Trump, including over 323,000 votes in Palm Beach County alone ...The news media do not certify elections. Nothing official has been decided. When the dust settles, and the illegal votes have been separated from the legal votes, President Trump will be declared the winner."

Florida Democratic Party Chair Terrie Rizzo released the following statement:

Congratulationsto President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris. Today we celebrate the start of a new chapter for our country. We saw record-breaking vote totals with Joe Biden winning more votes than any President in history. Todays win was a victory for America and a victory for the millions of volunteers who gave their time, their heart and their soul to secure this outcome, and we thank them for their commitment to elect leadership that will build America back better.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will work tirelessly to improve the lives of every single American. Their inclusive, clear-eyed leadership is precisely what we need to restore the soul of this nation. The Biden-Harris administration will also make history, as the brilliant Kamala Harris will be both the first woman and the first Black and Southeast Asian Vice President.

We have much work to do, as a nation and as a state, but Joe Biden has never given up when things are difficult, and neither will we. Along with all Florida Democrats, I cannot wait for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to be sworn in as the next President and Vice President of the United States."

Stephen Gaskill, president of the Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus, issued this statement:"Once again, we will have a president who understands and cherishes the role of US leadership throughout the world, defends our civil rights, respects our laws, believes in science, and recognizes the principle that we are one united citizenry working toward our common goals..."

"In President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris, the United States has the most progressive and the most pro-LGBTQ leadership agenda in history."

Trump's record on LGBTQ+ issues fell way short of his boasting, Gaskill said.

"Despite his sometimes effusive praise for things he says he has done for LGBTQ community, he really was horrific for us, especially for the trans community," he said, citing Trump's efforts to ban transgender people from the military, allow homeless shelters to discriminate against transgender people,and rolling back Obama-era regulations that prohibited health care providers and insurance companies from discriminating against transgender individuals. "It is just appalling and really shows his disdain for the breadth of the LGBTQ community."

Gaskill said the LGBTQ community is hopeful that among Biden's first actions is passing the Equality Act, which would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, public accommodations, public education, federal funding, credit, and the jury system.

"The Equality Act guarantees civil rights protections for everyday life," said Gaskill. "Passing that will be as monumental as the marriage ruling."

Americahas rid itself of the worst president in our history," said Rick Wilson, a founder of The Lincoln Project, a group of Republicans and former party members who worked to defeat Trump. "Ithas been sweeping repudiation of the kind of malevolent character that permeated the White House.

Winning both the electoral college and the popular vote was very much a referendum of Donald Trump, Wilson said.

What about GOPand Trump charges of socialists and radical leftists who will control the Biden administration?

Trumps victory in Florida tarnishes swing-state image

Dont say the word socialism in South Florida," he added. "Its a bad thing. It did not help their cause at all. It did not help the reality on the ground politically. Trump found one of the bright spots and took advantage of it. It was never going to come out any other way with the Cubans.

Wilson said he did not expect Biden to win Florida, so they focused their energies on other states. But he said the role the Lincoln Project played was pivotal.

"The Democratic Party of Florida cannot organize a two-car motorcade," Wilson said. "They are terrible at this work nothing personal against any one person. The Florida GOP is the best-run Republican Party in the country. I cant tell you how many times I said you have to push back on this right away, you have to assertively knock this down today. But they couldnt and wouldnt do it because they were afraid of making the Bernie bros upset."

The one consolation for Trump in the election's resultswas the president's overwhelming victory in his adopted state, Florida.

Trump "whitewashed" Biden in the state, as one pollster noted, saying that given Florida's history of razor-thin results, the president's 3.4% margin of victory equaled a landslide.

Trump's coattails extended to flipping two Miami congressional seats from blue to red and retaining a vacant seatin Naples.What Republican state officials called a "red tsunami" also resoundingly thwarted the spending of millions by Democratic and progressive coalitions to flip the Florida House or at leasteven the partisan ranks in Tallahassee.

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Palm Beach County reaction: Biden's youngest brother describes emotional call with family: 'This is Beau's moment' - Palm Beach Post