Biden declares election a 'good day' for democracy and the nation

President Joe Biden reveled in his party’s success on Wednesday, declaring it a good day for democracy and “a good day for America.”

His comments came after Democrats defied expectations of a red wave washing across the country and exceeded their most optimistic predictions about the midterms.

“Our democracy has been tested in recent years, but with their votes, the American people have spoken and proven once again that democracy is who we are,” he said after walking into the State Dining Room to address reporters.

Biden aides and close allies were eager to remind naysayers that the president had been wrongly underestimated and counted out time after time before. As election results trickled in, the feeling inside the White House turned from encouragement to relief to an unmistakable sense of vindication, even as the practical realities of losing the House — albeit by far narrower margins than most believed — continued to settle in.