Joe Biden sworn in as the 46th President of the United States - 'This is democracy’s day' - Kamala Devi Harris was sworn in as Vice-President
The President called for an end to an 'uncivil war' after a tumultuous four years that tore at the fabric of American society
Biden recited the 35-word oath of office swearing to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution” in a ceremony administered by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr, completing the process at 11.49am, 11 minutes before the authority of the presidency formally changes hands.
The ritual transfer of power came shortly after Kamala Devi Harris was sworn in as Vice-President by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Harris’s ascension made her the highest-ranking woman in the history of the United States and the first Black American and first person of South Asian descent to hold the nation’s second-highest office.
Biden sought to emphasise the long arc of history. “Here we stand, looking out on the great Mall where Dr King spoke of his dream,” he said. “Here we stand, where 108 years ago at another inaugural, thousands of protesters tried to block brave women marching for the right to vote. And today we mark the swearing-in of the first woman in American history elected to national office, Vice-President Kamala Harris. Don’t tell me things can’t change.”
“This is America’s day,” Biden said as he began his inaugural address. “This is democracy’s day.”
After a deeply tumultuous transition, including the storming of the Capitol by supporters of now-former President Donald J. Trump, “democracy has prevailed”, Biden said in a speech that immediately laid out the contrast between himself and his predecessor.
“Few people in our nation’s history have been more challenged or found a time more challenging or difficult than the time we’re in now,” Biden said, before explicitly acknowledging the devastating toll of the coronavirus in a way Trump never did.
He went on: “To overcome these challenges, to restore the soul and secure the future of America, requires so much more than words and requires the most elusive of all things in a democracy: unity.”
Biden’s plea for the country to come together echoed a defining theme of his presidential campaign, a message that has only taken on greater urgency in recent weeks.
“We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal,” he said. “We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts.”
Four years after Trump spoke of “American carnage” in his inaugural address, Biden seemed to offer a direct rebuttal.
“Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire, destroying everything in its path,” he said. “Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war. And we must reject the culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured.”
In characteristic fashion, Trump once again defied tradition by leaving Washington hours before the swearing-in of his successor rather than face the reality of his own election defeat, although Mike Pence, his Vice-President, did attend.
“Recent weeks and months have taught us a painful lesson,” Biden said in his address. “There is truth and there are lies.”
New York Times News Service
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