WASHINGTON-
Joe Biden
was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States on Wednesday, addressing a nation afflicted by a pandemic and violent storm on the US Capitol with a call for unity, saying, « We must end this civil war in which Red against blue. »
At a lunchtime ceremony on a day when the usual pomp and circumstance did not prevail due to health and safety concerns, Mr. Biden was sworn in by the Chief Justice
John Roberts,
Repeating the oath by hand on a family Bible on the west steps of the Capitol. The inauguration was attended by a relatively small, detached crowd, a contrast to the crowds that typically line the National Mall to celebrate a new administration.
« Today we are celebrating the triumph not of a candidate but of a cause, the cause of democracy, » said Biden. « At this hour, my friends, democracy prevailed. »
Kamala Harris
was sworn in by the Supreme Court
Sonia Sotomayor,
make history as the first female vice president. As the first black woman and the first of Indian descent to be nominated on a ticket to a major party, she will become the highest-ranking woman ever to succeed the president.
With his inaugural address, Mr. Biden asked a deeply divided country about Looking over their differences and trying to contrast the former president
Trump card,
who pursued a combative approach to politics in his four years in office and spent the months since election day questioning the election results.
« Let’s all start over. Let’s start listening to each other again, » said Biden. Without naming Mr. Trump, he added, « Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire that destroys everything in its path. » After the controversial presidential election, Mr Biden asked those who opposed his candidacy to give him a chance and promised to become president for “all Americans.” He spoke directly to Americans who were worried about health and the economy Consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and said, « I see. »
Mr. Biden noted that the pandemic « claimed as many lives in one year as America lost in the whole of World War II. » He promised to fight the divisions in the country, pointing to « the rise of political extremism, white domination and domestic terrorism that we must face and defeat » and stressed the challenges ahead , including the pandemic, racial inequalities, climate change and instability on the world stage.
The day began with one final split screen involving the President’s two rivals. When President Trump boarded Air Force One for his final trip to Florida as President, there were Mr Biden and his wife
Jill Biden,
left Blair House where they spent the night going to mass with congressional officials to project unity in his early days in office.
Mr Trump, who has chosen not to attend his successor’s inauguration, left the White House shortly after 8 a.m. en route to Joint Base Andrews, where he attended a brief farewell ceremony before flying to his private club in Florida. After banning him on social media platforms like Twitter, he had a subdued presence in his final days in office, but spent hours apologizing to allies and celebrities before leaving.
Before family and friends gathered in Andrews, Mr. Trump said it had been « an incredible four years. » He listed some of his political achievements, offered his respect to the people who had suffered from the pandemic, and said it was his « greatest honor and privilege to have been your president ».
« I wish the new administration the best of luck and success, » he said, without naming Mr Biden before adding, « We will be back in some form. »
He left Air Force One just before 9 a.m. and landed in Florida just before 11 a.m.
Mr. Trump is the first President to skip his successor’s inauguration since becoming President
Andrew Johnson
refused to attend the swearing-in ceremony
Ulysses Grant
After losing the presidential race, Mr Trump refused to accept the results for months, insisting he fell victim to fraud despite his former attorney general
William Barr,
and other federal law enforcement officers said there was no evidence of fraud that could alter the election results.
When Mr. Trump left Washington, Mr. Biden and Dr. Biden to the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, where they attended Mass in Washington with four Congress leaders: the Speaker of the House of Representatives
Nancy Pelosi,
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, and the House Minority Leader
Kevin McCarthy.
Mr. Biden will be the second Catholic to serve as President after President Kennedy.
The event was also presented
Lady Gaga
Singing the national anthem and other musical performances.
The inauguration also marks a shift to democratic control in Washington, with the party holding the White House and the narrow majorities in the House and Senate. It will end Mr Trump’s administration a week after the House indicted him on charges of inciting the crowd of supporters who overran the Capitol on Jan. 6. Mr Trump has denied wrongdoing, calling the effort a continuation of what he did as the Democratic witch hunt.
Washington was nervous in the days leading up to the inauguration. Participants who attended a housewarming rehearsal on the Western Front of the Capitol on Monday were evacuated by security officials after a fire at a nearby location. Security has also been increased in the country’s state capitals.
Amid mounting tensions, plans for the inauguration were aimed at calming feelings. Mr. Biden and Dr. Biden appeared Monday at a food bank in Philadelphia as part of the National Day of Service for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. On Tuesday evening, Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris spoke at a Lincoln Memorial ceremony in honor of those who lost their lives to Covid-19.
After the dedication, Mr. Biden, Ms. Harris and their spouses will visit Arlington National Cemetery, to lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier. They are joined by former US Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and
Barack Obama.
Former president
Jimmy Carter,
The 96-year-old cancer survivor did not attend the inauguration.
Mr Biden plans to take several executive measures on his first day, including extending interest and principal payments on federal student loans through late September, maintaining restrictions for evictions and foreclosures, as well as wearing federal property face masks, and for interstate travel on airlines, trains and transit systems.
Mr Biden will also reverse some of Mr Trump’s steps, such as re-joining the Paris Climate Agreement and travel bans from 13 majority Muslim and African nations ended. The new president will kick off a 10-day phase of signing dozens of mandates to add momentum to his agenda.
During his four-year tenure as president, Mr. Trump signed a major tax cut that put conservative judges in federal courts one, including three Supreme Court justices, and brokered deals between Israel and some Gulf states to normalize diplomatic relations. He failed to deliver on a number of key campaign promises such as a health care overhaul, unsettled some world leaders by withdrawing from international agreements, and was widely criticized for his management of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Mr. Trump is the only president in US history to have been charged twice – once on charges of promoting the Capitol insurrection and once on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress after calling on Ukrainian President to investigate Mr Biden in 2019. On a farewell video, Mr Trump said, « This week we are opening a new administration and praying for its success, America safe and prosperous After the attack on the Capitol, security related to the inauguration was tightened, with at least 20,000 National Guard troops in Washington, a massive perimeter around the Capitol, and asking local officials to stay away. While around 200,000 people typically attend the Capitol ceremonies, only a few thousand are expected this year.
Mr Biden takes office when the coronavirus pandemic has ravaged the country. In the US, more than 400,000 deaths and jobless claims recently rose to their highest level since last March’s pandemic. He has proposed a $ 1.9 trillion plan to help Americans weather the economic shock of the pandemic and pump more money into testing and vaccine distribution. Advisors say he will soon propose a second package that will focus on economic recovery.
At 78, Mr. Biden will be the oldest privy president. The former Vice President, who served under Obama for eight years, relied heavily on longtime aides and political allies in his selection for posts in the White House and Cabinet.
Mr. Biden, who also has decades of Senate experience and previously twice ran unsuccessfully for president, campaigned for the promise to be a consensus-builder. Mr Biden is expected to reach out to Republicans and Democrats to advance his agenda, although he is likely to face opposition from Republicans and pressure from his party’s liberal wing.
Ref: https://www.wsj.com
