The stakes are high for Biden’s inaugural address. Here’s what to expect.

As President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office in the face of more crises than any other president in modern American history, the stakes in his inaugural address could not be higher.

A transition official said Biden worked on the speech this weekend with family members and his senior advisor Mike Donilon and that the speech will focus on familiar themes from his campaign: unity, unity, healing and a vision for the many crises the country faces.

Advisors also said the speech would echo some of Biden’s recent speeches, which have doubled as opportunities to test the inaugural themes. As he unveiled his $ 1.9 trillion economic package last week, Biden said bipartisanship was essential to dealing with the economy and the Covid-19 pandemic: “Unity is not not a pie-in-the-sky dream – it’s a practical step to getting the things we need to get done as a country gets done together, ”he said.

Still, Americans shouldn’t expect Biden’s speech to be filled with flamboyant rhetoric. Biden believes he connects with people more effectively by taking a clear approach, say those around him.

A Democratic source said that while some of the most famous lines in American political history come from the inaugural speeches – Abraham Lincoln’s “wickedness to no one, charity to all,” “the only thing we have to fear is the fear itself ”by Franklin D. Roosevelt. F. Kennedy “don’t ask what your country can do for you” – most Americans probably don’t remember the outlines of most others.

There is pressure on speechwriters to “write for history”. But Biden’s allies say they believe the speech is an opportunity to continue to play the leadership role he has played throughout the transition – at a time of crisis, demonstrating to the much larger audience who will be listening that someone is firmly in charge. That’s why Biden’s speeches throughout the transition often included a single line: “Help is on the way,” according to this Democratic source.

“People just yearn for a little normalcy and someone who knows what they’re doing and has their hands on the wheel. He’s really good at it,” the Democratic source said. The speech “is going to be Joe Biden” because “the unit is part of who Joe Biden is”.

“That’s what he believes,” the source said.

Donilon is a chief architect because he has been Biden’s message not only in this campaign, but in most of his previous campaigns. He works alongside Vinay Reddy, Biden’s speech writing director, who worked for Biden when he was vice president.

Biden’s challenge will be to reach voters who still strongly support President Donald Trump. He told NBC News’ Kristen Welker during the last presidential debate that, if elected, he would use his speech to say, “I am the president of the United States. I represent all of you, whether you voted for me or against me, and I’ll make sure you’re represented. “

Aides said Biden would likely end on a similar note that he emphasized in almost every speech he has given in the past six months: There is nothing Americans cannot do despite the challenges though. the Americans do it together.

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In an ABC News “This Week” interview on Sunday, the new White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said the speech “would reflect much of what you’ve heard from her about the campaign trail, namely that he thinks we can bring this country together. “

“He thinks we need to bring this country together, that a united America is the only way for us to deal with the massive crises we are facing,” she said, adding:

“I think you can expect this to be a time when President-elect Biden will really work to try to turn the page on divisions and hatred over the past four years and really exhibit a positive and optimistic outlook. for the country and chart a course – chart a way forward that calls us all to work together. “