The inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States took place on January 20, 2021, at the Capitol building in Washington marking the commencement of the four-year term of Joe Biden as President and Kamala Harris as Vice president. Inaugural celebrations were muted as the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 420,000 Americans as of Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University data, and recent violence at the Capitol, prevented crowds from attending. In a modern history first, the outgoing president, Donald Trump, did not attend the ceremony.
Kamala Harris made history as the first female, first Black and first South Asian vice president. In additional Vice President Kamala Harris broke the barrier Wednesday that has kept men at the top ranks of American power for more than two centuries when she took the oath to hold the nation’s second-highest office. Some 25,000 National Guards protected the ceremony, which missed the traditional hundreds of thousands of spectators because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Among those attending the ceremony were three of his predecessors: Barack Obama – under whom Mr Biden served for eight years as vice-president – Bill Clinton and George W Bush, as well as Mr Trump’s vice-president, Mike Pence.
The inauguration ceremony was filled with performances. Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez and Garth Brooks sang the national anthem and “This Land is Your Land.” Amanda Gorman, 22, the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, read her poem “The Hill We Climb.”
In his first speech as President, Biden said: “This is America’s day. This is democracy’s day. A day of history and hope.” Highlighting a message of unity after the turbulent Trump years, he promised to be a president “for all Americans” – including those who voted against him. Biden never mentioned his predecessor, who defied tradition and left town ahead of the ceremony, but his speech was an implicit rebuke of Donald Trump. The new president denounced “lies told for power and for profit” and was blunt about the challenges ahead. Central among them: the surging virus that has claimed more than 400,000 lives in the United States, as well as economic strains and a national reckoning over race. Joe Biden knows he has a hard job ahead of him. He offered only an overarching prescription for the nation’s ills. “Unity is the path forward,” he said. “And we must meet this moment as the United States of America.”
Standing on ground that was occupied two weeks ago by an angry mob supporting his predecessor, Mr Biden called for an end to what he termed an “uncivil war”. He outlined also the biggest challenges facing his presidency – a devastating pandemic, massive job losses, a threatened environment, urgent calls for racial justice and a resurgence of political extremism. Biden campaigned as a centrist capable of healing the nation’s wounds. In the months since his victory, the breadth of the divisions in the US has only become more apparent. With his party in control of Congress, he will have an opportunity to enact an ambitious presidential agenda. Keeping the nation united while doing so would be a significant accomplishment.
Looking to show immediate action, Mr. Biden arrived in the Oval Office late in the afternoon and began to sign executive orders as promised, including one rejoining the Paris climate accord and one ordering the wearing of masks on federal property. He also extended a pause on interest and principal payments for federal student loans, kept in place restrictions on evictions and foreclosures, and ended bans on travel from 13 Muslim-majority and African nations. “There’s no time to start like today,” said Mr. Biden, who wore a mask as he signed some of the orders. He has also 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, as well as seeking an immigration overhaul. The inauguration marked a shift to Democratic control in Washington, with the party holding the White House and narrow majorities in the House and the Senate. It signaled the end of Mr. Trump’s administration, one week after the House impeached him on the charge that he incited the mob of supporters who overran the Capitol. Mr. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
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By Alizé Utteryn 01/21/2021
Photos : Getty images
