‘Keep the faith’: Joe Biden encourages supporters in brief Wilmington speech

Former Vice President Joe Biden spoke to several hundred supporters in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware. The crowd started gathering for a drive-in event around 10:30 p.m. on election night.

Biden stood on a massive stage adorned with many American flags and dramatic lighting for what could have been a victory speech or a concession speech. His comments early Wednesday morning were neither.

He exuded confidence in brief remarks that lasted little more than three minutes. “We’re feeling good about where we are,” he said, pointing to strong numbers in Arizona and a surprisingly close race in traditionally Republican Georgia. “And by the way, it’s going to take time to count the votes, but we’re going to win Pennsylvania,” he said to the sound of lots of car horns of support.

“Keep the faith, guys,” he said. “We’re going to have to be patient until the hard work of tallying votes is finished. And it ain’t over until every vote is counted, every ballot is counted.”

Even though the result of the election is still up in the air, U.S. Sen. from Delaware Chris Coons, who has been a big surrogate for Biden, was happy with the huge turnout numbers in Delaware and around the country.

“I’m cautiously optimistic that that massive early turnout actually shows a record number of young people voting, people who sat out 2016 voting, and people who are inspired by Joe Biden’s vision of getting us out of this current mess by bringing us together,” Coons said.

Earlier in the day, Joe Biden made his last few campaign stops in the Philadelphia area while final preparations were put in place for his appearance in Wilmington.

The stage was set at the Wilmington riverfront between the Blue Rocks minor league baseball stadium and the Chase Center, a conference facility where Biden was celebrated by hundreds at a ceremony four years ago marking the end of his two terms as vice president. It’s the same spot Biden and Kamala Harris stood together on the final night of the Democratic National Convention.

Supporters were expected to celebrate Biden again as Election Day came to an end, regardless of whether the outcome of the election is known. Several rows of red, white and blue Jeeps and Ford trucks were positioned in front of the stage for this socially distant, car-based event.