Amid a devastating pandemic and the threat of domestic terrorism, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States shortly before noon on Wednesday, pledging to unite the country and calling on Americans to end the “uncivil war” that has fractured the nation.
In a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol that kept with tradition while being unlike any other inauguration in U.S. history, Biden took his oath of office before a small, socially distanced audience in a city that has been locked down because of the dual threats of Covid-19, which has killed over 400,000 people in the U.S., and worries over another attack just two weeks after the deadly riot at the Capitol.
In an impassioned address, Biden repeatedly stressed the need for unity, calling it the only “path forward.”
“I know speaking of unity can sound to some like a foolish fantasy these days, I know the forces that divide are deep and they are real,” he said. “Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we’re all created equal and the harsh ugly reality of racism, nativism, fear, demonization.”
“This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge — and unity is the path forward,” he said.
Biden calls for end to ‘uncivil war’ between Republicans and Democrats
“The answer is not to turn inward, to retreat into competing factions, distrusting those who don’t look like you or worship the way you do, or don’t get their news from the same sources you do,” the president added a moment later.
“We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal. We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts — if we show a little tolerance and humility, and if we’re willing to stand in the other person’s shoes,” he continued.
Biden vowed to move quickly to address the pandemic, the subsequent economic collapse, racial justice and climate change.
He also repudiated the mob that had attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 and promised he would be president for all Americans, including those who didn’t vote for him.
“With unity we can do great things, important things. We can right wrongs. We can put people to work in good jobs, we can teach our children in safe schools, we can overcome the deadly virus,” he said. “We can deliver racial justice and we can make America once again a leading force for good in the world.”
Kamala Harris is sworn in as Vice President
And he explicitly vowed to “confront” and “defeat” the “political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism” that were given oxygen to grow during the Trump years.
Temperatures were in the low 40s in the nation’s capital, with strong winds. Snow flurries dotted the air as Biden took to the lectern.
While Biden did not once mention Donald Trump by name, his 21-minute speech served as a powerful rebuttal of his predecessor.
Biden’s refutation of Trump was especially apparent when he, in the opening words of his speech, reflected on the fragility of democracy, and indirectly referred to how Trump’s efforts to subvert the results of the 2020 election nearly shattered the country.
“Today we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate, but of a cause, the cause of democracy,” he said.”We’ve learned again that democracy is precious. Democracy is fragile, and, at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.”
He also called on the nation to “reject the culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured” — an implicit criticism of a predecessor who frequently lied and relied on misinformation to advance his own political and personal agendas.
As is tradition, the chief justice of the United States, John Roberts, administered the oath of office to Biden just before the clock struck 12. Biden, only the second Catholic to be elected president, besides John F. Kennedy,took the oath with his hand on top of his 127-year-old, 5-inch-thick family Bible, which will be held by his wife, Jill Biden.
Moments earlier, Kamala Harris was sworn in as the first woman, the first Black American and the first South Asian American vice president by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina member of the Supreme Court.
At 78, Biden is the oldest president to take office. And with his inauguration coming just two weeks to the day after a violent mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, the stakes for his inaugural address couldn’t have been much higher.
His swearing-in cemented Democratic control of the White House and both chambers of Congress. That, however, isn’t likely to make Biden’s job any easier. Democrats hold a razor-thin majority in the House, and their control of the 50-50 Senate is only thanks to Harris’ ability to cast a tie-breaking vote as vice president.