Biden Urges Americans to 'Bring Down the Temperature Following Trump's Win

"Setbacks are unavoidable. Giving up is unforgivable," Biden said at the White House Rose Garden as he addressed staff who were disappointed in Vice President Kamala Harris' defeat. "A defeat does not mean we are defeated."

Biden said Tuesday's election had proven the integrity of the U.S. electoral system and said he would preside over an orderly transfer of power - an implicit rebuke of Trump, who sought to overturn his 2020 defeat to Biden and raised baseless claims of fraud this year as well, Reuters reported.

"We lost this battle. The America of your dreams is calling for you to get back up," he said.

Some Democrats have blamed Biden, 81, for Harris' defeat, saying he should not have sought reelection. Biden only dropped his reelection bid in July after a disastrous TV debate with Trump raised alarm bells about his mental fitness.

Trump's victory, surprisingly decisive after opinion polls that had shown a neck-and-neck contest, underscored how disenchanted Americans had become with the economy - in particular inflation - along with border security and the direction of the country and its culture.