As President-elect Joe Biden prepares to face more crises than any other president in modern American history, the stakes for his inaugural address may not be higher.
A transition official said Biden worked with family members and his senior adviser Mike Donilon over the weekend and that the address would highlight familiar themes from his campaign: unity, healing and a vision for the many crises the country is in. facing.
Advisors also said the address would reflect some of Biden’s recent speeches, which had the opportunity to test entry-level methods. When he unveiled his $ 1.9 billion economic package last week, Biden said duality was essential to address the economy and the Covid-19 pandemic. must end up like a country being done together, ‘he said.
After all, Americans should not expect Biden’s speech to be filled with rising rhetoric. Biden believes he communicates more effectively with people by following a simple approach, say those around him.
A Democratic source said that while some of the most famous lines in American political history are from inaugural speeches – Abraham Lincoln’s’ malice towards no one, charity towards everyone ‘, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s’ only thing we need to fear is fear yourself ‘, John F. Kennedy’s’ do not ask what your country can do for you’ – most Americans probably could not remember the main lines of the rest.
There is pressure on speech writers to ‘write for history’. But Biden’s allies say they believe the speech is an opportunity to continue in the leadership role he played during the transition – in a moment of crisis, showing the much wider audience focused on it. that someone has the firm leadership. Therefore, Biden’s speeches during the transition often included a simple rule: ‘Help is on the way’, according to this Democratic source.
“People just crave a little bit of normalcy and someone who knows what they’re doing and has their hand in the steering wheel. He’s really good at it,” the Democratic source said. The speech is going to be “Joe Biden,” because “unity is part of who Joe Biden is.”
“That’s what he believes,” the source said.
Donilon is a chief architect because he was not only in this campaign of Biden’s message, but also in most of his previous campaigns. He works with Vinay Reddy, Biden’s director of speechwriting, who worked for Biden when he was vice president.
Biden’s challenge will be to reach the voters who still stand strongly behind Donald Trump. During the last presidential debate, he told Kristen Welker, NBC News, that if elected, he would use his address to say, ‘I am an American president. I represent you all, whether you voted for me or against me, and I will see to it that you are represented. ‘
Aides said Biden is likely to end up on a similar note he highlighted in almost every speech he has given over the past six months: there is nothing Americans can do, despite the challenges Americans face doing it together.
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In an interview Sunday on ABC News’ ‘This Week’, the incoming director of the White House, Kate Bedingfield, said that the speech would be a reflection of much of what you heard from him on the campaign track, that is that he believes we can bring this country together. ‘
“He believes that we need to bring this country together, that a united America is the only way we can tackle the massive crises we are facing,” she said, adding:
‘I think you can expect that this will be a moment where President-elect Biden will really work to try to turn the tide and the hatred of the past four years and a positive, optimistic vision for the country and pave the way – lay a path forward that really calls us all to work together. ‘
