WASHINGTON (AP) – Joe Biden has been sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, declaring that “democracy has prevailed” and called on American resilience and unity to confront the deeply divided nation’s historic confluence of crises.
Biden, who denounced a national “civil war”, took the oath during an American Capitol that had been hit by a siege of the uprising just two weeks earlier. Taking his place in the Oval Office of the White House, he falls into a stack of executive actions that begin to undo the heart of his polarizing predecessor. agenda on issues from the deadly pandemic to climate change.
At the Capitol, with the tradition of America that peaceful transfers of power never seem fragile again, the ceremony took place within a circle of security forces that was a war zone and without crowds due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Instead, on a cold Washington morning with snow fans, Biden watched to see more than 200,000 U.S. flags planted at the National Mall to symbolize those who could not attend in person.
“The will of the people is heard, and the will of the people is obeyed. We have learned again that democracy is precious and democracy is fragile. At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed, “Biden said in his speech.. “This is America’s day. This is the day of democracy. A day of history and hope, of renewal and determination. ”
History was made on its side as Kamala Harris became the first woman to be vice president. The former California senator is also the first black person and the first person of South Asian descent to be elected to the vice presidency and the highest-ranking woman ever to serve in the U.S. government.
Biden never mentioned his predecessor, who defied tradition and left the city before the ceremony, but his speech was an implicit rebuke from Donald Trump. The new president told ‘lies for power and profit’, and was blunt about the challenges ahead.
The most important among them: the growing virus that has claimed more than 400,000 lives in the United States, as well as economic tensions and a national settlement over race.
‘We have a lot to do this winter of danger and important possibilities. Lots to repair, lots to repair, lots to heal, lots to build and lots to earn, ”Biden said. “Few people in the history of our country have been more challenged or found a more difficult time than the time we are in now.”
Biden was eager to grow up early, with an ambitious first 100 days, including a push to accelerate the spread of COVID-19 vaccinations to anxious Americans and pass an $ 1.9 billion economic relief package. It contains a flash of executive orders on matters that do not require congressional approval – a mixture of essential and symbolic steps to wind down the Trump years. His actions included joining the Paris Climate Agreement and a mandate to wear masks on federal property.
“There’s no time to start like today,” said a masked Biden. in the Oval Office. Then he swore to hundreds of assistants – virtually – to tell them, “You are my possibilities.”
The absence of Biden’s predecessor during the first ceremony highlighted the national fracture that needed to be healed.
But a dual trio of former presidents – Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama – were there to witness the transfer of power. Trump, pending his second indictment, was in his resort in Florida by the time the swearing-in took place.
In his third presidential election, Biden placed his candidate less on any distinctive political ideology than weakening a broad coalition of voters with the idea that Trump poses an existential threat to American democracy. Four years after Trump’s ‘American Carnage’ speech painted a bleak portrait of national decay, Biden warned that the structure of the country’s democracy was being torn apart, but that it could be restored.
“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 equal and the harsh, ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear, demonization have torn us apart for a long time, ‘Biden said. “This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge, and unity is the way forward and we must meet this moment as the United States of America.”
Biden took the oath with his hand on a five-centimeter-thick Bible that has been in his family for 128 years, and Biden took office with a pit of empathy and determination born of personal tragedy, as well as a in-depth experience dating back more than four decades in Washington. At age 78, he is the oldest president to be inaugurated.
Both he, Harris and their spouses walked the last short section of the route to the White House after a shortened parade. Biden then walked into the Oval Office for the first time as Commander-in-Chief, a room he knew well as vice president.
At the Capitol earlier, Biden, like all the attendees, wore a face mask except when speaking. Tens of thousands of National Guard troops were on the streets to provide security exactly two weeks after a violent crowd of Trump supporters, incited by the Republican president, stormed the building in an effort to prevent the certification of Biden’s victory.
“Here we stand, a few days after a riotous crowd thought they could use force to silence the will of the people,” Biden said. “To stop the work of our democracy. To drive us away from this sacred ground. That did not happen. It will never happen. Not today, not tomorrow. Not ever. Not ever. “
The tense atmosphere evokes the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln in 1861, who was secretly transported to Washington to avoid assassins on the eve of the Civil War, or Franklin Roosevelt’s inauguration in 1945, when he opted for a small, safe ceremony. in the White House in the waning months of World War II.
But Washington, anything but deserted downtown and in its federal territories, was quiet. And calm also reigned outside heavily fortified Capitol buildings across the country after the FBI warned of the possibility of armed demonstrations leading up to the inauguration.
The day began with a reach across the political path after four years of bitter partisan fighting under Trump. At Biden’s invitation, congressional leaders from both parties bowed their heads in prayer in the socially distant service a few blocks from the White House.
Biden was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts; Harris by Judge Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina member of the Supreme Court. Vice President Mike Pence, who stood for Trump, sat near Lady Gaga, holding a gold microphone and singing the National Anthem, accompanied by the U.S. Marine Corps Orchestra.
When Pence, in a last act of the outgoing government, left the Capitol, he walked through a door with severely cracked glass from the riot two weeks ago. Later, the former presidents joined Biden, Harris, and their wives to lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier at the Arlington National Ceremony.
By noon, an abandoned White House had come alive again in Trump’s languishing days, with Biden staff members moving in and new COVID-19 security measures, such as plastic screens on desks, in place.
In the evening, instead of the traditional balls welcoming a new president in Washington, Biden and Harris appeared separately at the Lincoln Memorial to attend a television concert that also marks the return of the celebrities of the A list to the job in the White House means they largely evaded Trump. Among the group: Bruce Springsteen, Justin Timberlake and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
The Bidens ended their evening watching fireworks from a White House balcony.
It was not an inauguration for the crowd. But Americans in the capital have nonetheless brought their hopes to the moment.
“I feel so hopeful, so grateful,” said Karen Jennings Crooms, a resident of DC, who was hoping to see a glimpse of the presidential garage in Pennsylvania Avenue. ‘It makes us sad that it’s here, but we hope that democracy will finally win. This is what I focus on. ”
Trump was the first president in more than a century to skip the inauguration of his successor. After a brief farewell celebration at nearby Andrews Andrews, he climbed into Air Force One for the last time as president.
“I will always fight for you. I’ll look. “I will listen and I will tell you that the future of this country has never been better,” Trump said. He wishes the incoming government well, but never mentions Biden’s name.
Trump did stick to one tradition and left a personal note for Biden in the Oval Office. Biden would only tell reporters that it was “a very generous letter”.
Trump hinted at a political return in his farewell video remarks, saying “we will come back in some form.” Without a doubt, he will overshadow Biden’s first days in office.
Trump’s second indictment could begin as early as this week. It will test the Senate’s ability, which is now under Democratic control, to balance indictments with confirmation hearings and votes on Biden’s cabinet choices.
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Associated Press authors Jill Colvin and Darlene Superville in Washington and Michelle L. Price in Las Vegas contributed to this report.
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