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WASHINGTON (AP) – Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, declaring that “democracy has prevailed” and invoking American resilience and unity to address the nation’s historic confluence of crises deeply divided.
Denouncing a national “uncivil war”, Biden was sworn in on Wednesday in a U.S. capitol that had been battered by an insurgent siege two weeks earlier. Then, taking his place in the Oval Office of the White House, he immersed himself in a pile of executive actions that began to unravel the heart of his polarizing predecessor. deadly climate change pandemic agenda.
On Capitol Hill, with the American tradition of peaceful transfers of power never seeming more fragile, the 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 watched a cold, snow-strewn Washington morning to see more than 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 in his speech. “It’s America Day. It is the day of democracy. A day of history and hope, renewal and resolution.
History was made by her side, as Kamala Harris became the first woman to be vice president. The former U.S. 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 the U.S. government.
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 outbreak of the virus that killed more than 400,000 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. It included a flash of executive orders on issues that don’t require congressional approval – a mix of substantive and symbolic steps to unroll the Trump years. His actions included re-entry into the Paris climate accords and a mandate for the wearing of masks on federal property.
“There’s no time to start like today,” a masked Biden said. in the Oval Office. Then he swore to hundreds of assistants – virtually – telling them, “You are my possibilities.”
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 witness the transfer of power. Trump, pending his second impeachment trial, was at his Florida resort 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 portrait of national decay, Biden warned that the fabric of national democracy was being torn but 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.
He, Harris and their spouses walked the last short part of the ride to the White House after an abbreviated parade. Biden then entered the Oval Office, a room he was familiar with as Vice President, for the first time as Commander-in-Chief.
At the Capitol earlier, Biden, like everyone else in attendance, wore a face mask except when speaking. Tens of thousands of National Guard troops were on the streets providing security exactly two weeks after a violent mob of Trump supporters, incited by the Republican president, stormed the building 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 to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during the Arlington National Ceremony.
In the afternoon, a desolate White House in Trump’s final days came back to life, with Biden staff moving in and new COVID-19 security measures, like plastic shields on desks, in place.
In the evening, instead of the traditional balls that welcome a new president to Washington, Biden and Harris appeared separately at the Lincoln Memorial to take part in a televised concert that also marked the return of A-List celebrities to orbit. the White House after they largely avoided Trump. Among those in the lineup: Bruce Springsteen, Justin Timberlake and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
The Biden ended their evening watching fireworks from a balcony in the White House.
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.
Trump followed a tradition and left a personal note for Biden in the Oval Office. Biden only told reporters that it was “a very generous letter.”
Trump, in his farewell video remarks, hinted at a political comeback, saying “we’ll come 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. This will test the ability of the Senate, now under Democratic control, balance the impeachment process with confirmation hearings and votes on Biden’s Cabinet choices.
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Associated Press editors Jill Colvin and Darlene Superville in Washington and Michelle L. Price in Las Vegas contributed to this report.
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Follow Lemire on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@JonLemire.
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