Biden takes the helm as president: ‘Democracy prevailed’

WASHINGTON – Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States on Wednesday, declaring that “democracy prevailed” and invoking American resilience and unity to deal with the historic confluence of crises in the deeply divided nation.

Biden was sworn in at a U.S. Capitol that had been battered by an insurgent siege two weeks earlier. On a cold Washington morning dotted with snow showers, the quadrennial ceremony took place in a circle of security forces reminiscent of a war zone and devoid of crowds due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Instead, Biden looked at over 200,000 US flags planted on the National Mall to symbolize those who couldn’t attend in person.

“The will of the people has been heard and the will of the people has been heard. We have learned again that democracy is precious and that democracy is fragile. At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed, ”Biden said. “It’s America Day. It is the day of democracy. A day of history and hope, renewal and determination.

Biden never mentioned his predecessor, who defied tradition and left town before the ceremony, but his speech was an implicit rebuke from Donald Trump. The new president has denounced “lies for power and for profit” and has been frank about the challenges ahead.

At the center of them: the rise of the virus which has claimed more than 400,000 lives in the United States, as well as economic tensions and a national consideration of race.

“We have a lot to do in this perilous winter and great possibilities. A lot to fix, a lot to restore, a lot to heal, a lot to build and a lot to gain, ”Biden said. “Few people in our country’s history have been more challenged or found a more difficult or difficult time than the one we are in now.

Biden was eager to go sooner, with an ambitious first 100 days, including a push to speed up COVID-19 vaccine delivery to anxious Americans and adopt a $ 1.9 trillion economic relief package. On day one, he planned a series of executive actions to roll back the Trump administration’s initiatives and also planned to send an immigration proposal to Capitol Hill that would create an eight-year path to citizenship for immigrants living illegally in the country.

The absence of Biden’s predecessor from the inaugural ceremony underscored the national divide to be healed.

But a bipartisan trio of former presidents – Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama – were there to attend the transfer of power ceremony. Trump, awaiting his second impeachment trial, was at his Florida resort town at the time of the swearing-in.

Biden, in his third presidential race, relied less on a particular political ideology than on galvanizing a large coalition of voters around the idea that Trump posed an existential threat to American democracy. Four years after Trump’s “American carnage” speech painted a grim picture of national decay, Biden warned that the fabric of the country’s democracy was being torn apart, but expressed faith that it could be mended.

“I know that the forces that divide us are deep and real. But I also know that they are not new. Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we are all created equal and the harsh, ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear and demonization have long separated us, ”Biden said. “This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge, and unity is the way forward and we must face this moment as the United States of America.”

Taking an oath of hand over a five-inch-thick Bible that has been in his family for 128 years, Biden came to power with a well of empathy and determination born out of personal tragedy as well as a deep experience forged by more than four decades in Washington. At 78, he is the oldest inaugurated president.

More history was made by her side, as Kamala Harris became the first woman to be vice president. The former US senator from California is also the first black person and the first person of South Asian descent to be elected vice president and the highest woman to ever serve in government.

The two were sworn in at a groundbreaking ceremony with few parallels. Biden, like everyone present, wore a face mask except for speaking. And tens of thousands of National Guard troops were on the streets to provide security exactly two weeks after a violent mob of Trump supporters, incited by the Republican president, stormed the Capitol in an attempt to prevent certification of Biden’s victory.

“We are here, just days after an emotional crowd thought it could use violence to silence the will of the people,” Biden said. “To stop the work of our democracy. To drive us out of this sacred land. This does not happen. That will never happen. Not today, not tomorrow. Never. Never.”

The tense atmosphere brought to mind the inauguration in 1861 of Abraham Lincoln, who was secretly transported to Washington to avoid assassins on the eve of the Civil War, or the inauguration of Franklin Roosevelt in 1945, when he opted for a small, secure ceremony at the White House in the closing months of WWII.

But Washington, almost deserted downtown and its federal areas, was calm. And calm also reigned outside heavily fortified state Capitol buildings across the country after the FBI warned of the possibility of armed protests leading up to the inauguration.

The day began with a reach across the political aisle after four years of bitter partisan battles under Trump. At Biden’s invitation, Congressional leaders from both parties bowed their heads in prayer in the socially remote service a few blocks from the White House.

Biden was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts; Harris by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latin American member of the Supreme Court. Vice President Mike Pence, representing Trump, sat nearby as Lady Gaga, holding a gold microphone, sang the national anthem accompanied by the US Marine Corps band.

When Pence, in a final act of the outgoing administration, left the Capitol, he walked through a door with severely cracked glass from the riot two weeks ago. Later, Biden, Harris, and their spouses were joined by the former presidents in solemnly laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during the Arlington National Ceremony.

Biden was also due to join at the end of a lightened inaugural parade as he moved into the White House. Due to the pandemic, much of this year’s parade was to be a virtual affair with performances from across the country.

In the evening, instead of the traditional balls that welcome a new president to Washington, Biden was scheduled to take part in a televised concert that also marked the return of A-List celebrities to the orbit of the White House after largely avoiding Trump. Among those in the lineup: Bruce Springsteen, Justin Timberlake and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

It was not an inauguration for the crowds. But the Americans in the capital have nonetheless raised their hopes.

“I feel so hopeful, so grateful,” said Karen Jennings Crooms, a DC resident who was hoping to get a glimpse of the presidential motorcade on Pennsylvania Avenue with her husband. “It makes us sad that this is where we are at but hopefully democracy will prevail eventually. This is what I focus on. “

Trump was the first president in more than a century to skip the nomination of his successor. After a brief farewell celebration at Joint Base Andrews, he boarded Air Force One for the last time as chairman.

“I will always fight for you. I will watch. I will listen and I will tell you that the future of this country has never been better, ”Trump said. He wished the incoming administration good luck but never mentioned Biden’s name.

Just as Trump disappeared at the door of Air Force One, Biden emerged from Blair House, the traditional lodging of the waiting presidents, and in his procession for the short trip to the church.

Trump has followed a tradition and left a personal note for Biden in the Oval Office, according to the White House, which has not released its contents. And Trump, in his farewell remarks, hinted at a political comeback, saying “we’ll be back in some form or another.”

Without a doubt, he will follow the first days of his mandate.

Trump’s second impeachment trial could begin as early as this week. It will test the ability of the now Democratic-controlled Senate to balance the impeachment process with confirmation hearings and votes on Biden’s Cabinet choices.

The White House, sorry in Trump’s final days, came back to life on Wednesday afternoon, with the arrival of Biden staff and the installation of new COVID-19 security measures, like plastic shields on desks.

Biden has planned a 10-day flash of executive orders on issues that do not require congressional approval – a mix of substantive and symbolic steps to unwind the Trump years. Among the measures planned: the removal of travel restrictions for people from several Muslim-majority countries; join the Paris climate agreement; issue a mask warrant for those on federal property and order agencies to figure out how to reunite children separated from their families after crossing the border.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE INAUGURATION CEREMONY:

Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th President of the United States:

Kamala Harris was sworn in as the 49th Vice President of the United States:

Lady Gaga sings the national anthem at the inauguration ceremony:

J.Lo performs a patriotic medley:

Garth Brooks sings “Amazing Grace”:

Amanda Gorman delivers a powerful poem, “The Hill We Climb”: