Joe Biden’s inauguration took place in the shadow of a raging coronavirus pandemic
Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday with a call for unity, vowing to bridge deep divisions and defeat internal extremism two weeks after a mob attack tried to undo his election victory.
On a freezing but sunny day in the same Capitol building that was robbed on January 6, Biden was sworn in moments after Kamala Harris, who became America’s first female vice president, turned the page of the tumultuous four. years of Donald Trump.
“Democracy is precious, democracy is fragile, and at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed,” Biden said before a National Mall that was practically empty due to ultra-tight security and a raging Covid-19 pandemic that he promised. deal. immediately.
“We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal. We can do this if we open our souls rather than harden our hearts, if we show a little tolerance and humility and are willing to put yourself in the other person’s shoes “.
“Together we will write an American story of hope, not fear, of unity, not division, light, not darkness. A story of decency and dignity, love and healings and goodness.”
But Trump, who falsely said he was duped into a second term and incited his followers before his uproar on Capitol Hill, broke 152 years of tradition by refusing to attend his successor’s inauguration.
Biden appealed to Trump supporters, vowing to listen to all parties after four years of deep polarization in which Trump disparaged minority groups and tried to cast doubt on basic facts.
“I will be president of all Americans.”
But Biden faced head-on rising domestic extremism, as seen during Trump’s presidency in the Capitol Mafia, deadly attacks on synagogues and immigrants, and a violent march by neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The United States faces “an increase in political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront and will defeat,” Biden said.
“Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we are all created equal and the harsh reality that racism, nativism, fear and demonization have long torn us apart.”
Historic leadership
At 78, Biden is the oldest president in American history and only the second Roman Catholic president.
Harris, the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, became the highest-ranking woman in American history and the first person of color to be number two in the country.
She and her husband Doug Emhoff, America’s first “second gentleman,” were escorted to the inauguration by Eugene Goodman, a black Capitol police officer who lured the mostly white mob away from the Senate cameras in a video that went viral.
Downtown Washington took on the dystopian look of an armed camp, protected by some 25,000 National Guard troops tasked with preventing a repeat. The Supreme Court reported a bomb threat Wednesday morning.
With the general public essentially barred from attending due to the pandemic, Biden’s audience on the National Mall was instead 200,000 flags planted to represent the absent crowds.
However, Biden brought star power, absent four years ago with Trump. Lady Gaga, in a poofy red Valentine dress, sang the national anthem and Tom Hanks prepared for an evening televised appearance with the new president.
Jennifer Lopez sang a pop version of “This Land is Your Land,” which is often considered the unofficial US national anthem, and ended it with the words of the Pledge of Allegiance, a nation that promises “freedom and justice. for all “, in Spanish.
Immediate actions
Biden, who was Barack Obama’s vice president and first ran for president in 1987, plans to start his term with a flurry of 17 orders.
Officials said Biden will immediately join the Paris climate accord and stop the United States from leaving the World Health Organization and set new paths on immigration, the environment, Covid-19 and the economy.
Biden, who has promised a large escalation of Covid vaccination, warned of a “dark winter” still looming after the pandemic that has claimed more than 400,000 lives in the United States, more than in any other country.
“We are entering what may be the most difficult and deadly period for the virus,” Biden said.
“We must put politics aside and finally confront this pandemic as one nation,” he said, setting a new tone after Trump’s mockery of wearing masks and business closures meant to stop the virus.
Biden will also end Trump’s much-attacked ban on visitors from several Muslim-majority countries and halt construction of the wall that Trump ordered at the U.S.-Mexico border to stop illegal immigration, attendees said.
Many leaders abroad breathed a sigh of relief at the end of Trump’s harsh and autonomous presidency, with Biden’s team promising greater cooperation with the rest of the world.
With so many domestic challenges, Biden went into little depth in his inaugural foreign policy speech, a long-time passion for the former senator, but said, “We will mend our alliances and engage the world once again.”
Trump promises to be back
Trump left Washington before the inauguration, walking on a red carpet on the White House lawn with his wife Melania to the presidential Marine One helicopter, which flew near the Capitol ready for the inauguration before heading to the Force Base. Andrews Air outside Washington.
“These have been four incredible years,” Trump told several hundred supporters at a campaign-style event before flying for the last time on Air Force One on his way to his Florida resort.
“We will come back somehow,” promised Trump, who maintains control over much of the Republican Party despite being the first president to be indicted twice.
Trump did not address Biden by name but, in a rare touch of kindness, he wished the next administration “good luck and great success.”
A spokesperson said Trump maintained a tradition by leaving a letter for Biden, though the content was unknown.
Mike Pence, the outgoing vice president who stood up to Trump in his final days by acknowledging that he could not reverse the election, attended the inauguration and was seen laughing with Harris.
Also participating were former Presidents Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and their wives, including Hillary Clinton, for whom Biden’s victory was especially sweet four years after his narrow and surprise defeat to Trump.
In one of his last acts before leaving the White House, Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of 73 people among allies.
Among them was Steve Bannon, his influential former adviser and promoter of right-wing populism who was accused of defrauding donors who were asked to contribute to the construction of Trump’s promised wall on the border with Mexico.
Trump also ended at the last minute a ban on his administration officials from acting as lobbyists, an order he had issued with fanfare early in his presidency when he promised to “drain the swamp” of Washington.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
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