Biden coughs his way through first speech since being confirmed as president-elect: ‘Hand him a glass of water!’

m president-elect was overshadowed by persistent bouts of coughing and throat-clearing, as he mounted a scathing attack on President Donald Trump for his efforts to undermine the election.

“It should be celebrated, not attacked,” Mr Biden said, as he acknowledged his victory in the presidential race. “More than 81 million of those votes were cast for me and Vice President-elect Harris. That too is a record, more than any ticket has received in the history of America. It represented a winning margin of more than seven million votes over the number of votes cast for my opponent.”

Mr Biden sounded hoarse and stopped several times to clear his throat during his speech on Monday night, prompting reactions from social media users.

"Jeez! Somebody hand him a glass of water!" tweeted filmmaker and activist Michael Moore.

Jeez! Somebody hand him a glass of water!

— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) December 15, 2020

"Joe Biden had a hard time delivering his speech with a throat problem," tweeted conservative journalist Bill O'Reilly. "He would have been wise to say he will look into election fraud allegations to reassure angry voters. He did not. Lost opportunity."

Joe Biden had a hard time delivering his speech with a throat problem. He would have been wise to say he will look into election fraud allegations to reassure angry voters. He did not. Lost opportunity. Best news analysis on https://t.co/rryWmyXe7C.

— Bill O'Reilly (@BillOReilly) December 15, 2020

In a live stream after his speech, Mr Biden insisted a minor cold was to blame saying: 'Thank you, I have a little bit of a cold, I'm sorry, but look, you know, you did it, you did it, not a joke.'
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