Biden promises to be ‘a president for all Americans’

“Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire destroying everything in its path,” Biden said, calling on Americans to come together. “We have to be different than this. America has to be better than this.”

“I will be a president for all Americans,” Biden said speaking directly to those who did not support him in the November election. “I will fight as hard for those who did not support me as those who did.”

After a tumultuous year that began a new chapter of the civil rights movement as Americans took to the streets to protest against racial injustice and police brutality after the death of George Floyd, the swearing in was a remarkable achievement for a country that has often struggled to live up to its ideals of equality for all.

Kamala Harris is sworn in as vice president as her husband, Doug Emhoff, holds the Bible.

Biden noted the historic nature of Harris’ swearing in during his speech.

“Here we stand looking out on the great Mall, where Dr. (Martin Luther) King (Jr.) spoke of his dream. Here we stand where 108 years ago, at another inaugural, thousands of protesters tried to block brave women marching for the right to vote. Today, we mark the swearing-in of the first woman in American history elected to national office, Vice President Kamala Harris,” Biden said.

Harris was sworn in on two Bibles — one that belonged to former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, one of her heroes who inspired her to pursue a career in the law, and that of Regina Shelton, a neighbor who cared for Harris and her sister Maya when they were growing up and attended church with her.

In soaring tones before a bipartisan audience — that symbolized a moment of democracy restored after the turmoil of recent weeks — Lady Gaga performed the National Anthem and Jennifer Lopez sang a medley of American musical selections including “This Land is your Land” and “America the Beautiful.”

Lady Gaga sings the National Anthem as former Vice President Mike Pence looks on.

Trump, who was the first president in more than 150 years to refuse to attend his successor’s swearing-in ceremony, arrived in Florida before Biden was sworn in. In Washington, more than 25,000 National Guard troops were in place to ensure that the nation’s transfer of power took place peacefully.

Unlike the former president, former Vice President Mike Pence, who was in the Capitol when it was stormed by Trump’s supporters earlier this month and presided over the certification of the election results, and former second lady Karen Pence attended the inauguration — walking out onto the inaugural stands to bipartisan applause. The incoming vice president and outgoing vice president and their spouses shared a laugh shortly before the Pences departed for private life.

“Somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed a nation that isn’t broken, but simply unfinished,” Gorman said in the poem she read after Biden’s speech. “We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it. Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy. And this effort very nearly succeeded. But while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated.”

American poet Amanda Gorman reads a poem during the inauguration.

Biden speech

Biden reflected on that dark moment for the nation several times during his speech, noting that the world is watching after its entire system of government came under attack.

“Here is my message to those beyond our borders: America has been tested and we’ve come out stronger for it. We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again. Not to meet yesterday’s challenges, but today’s and tomorrow’s challenges,” Biden said.

The new President also said the nation’s success in getting through this moment will hinge on whether Americans can come together and set aside their differences to defeat the pandemic that has ravaged the nation, costing more than 400,000 lives. He highlighted some of the previous challenges the nation has confronted, including the Great Depression, two world wars and the September 11 attacks.

“I know speaking of unity can sound to some like a foolish fantasy these days; I know the forces that divide us are deep and are real, but I also know they are not new,” Biden said in his speech, calling on Americans to forge a new way forward. “We can see each other not as adversaries, but as neighbors —speaking to each other with dignity and respect. We can join forces, stop the shouting and lower the temperature. Without unity there is no peace, only bitterness and fury; no progress, only exhausting outrage; no nation, only a state of chaos.”

He asked his audience to unite to meet the moment as one nation: “If we do that, I guarantee you, we will not fail.”

“At this time, in this place, let’s start afresh,” Biden said.

President Joe Biden delivers his inaugural address.

Trump leaves Washington

Biden’s tone could not have been more different than the bitter, divisive one adopted by Trump throughout his presidency as he slashed his political opponents and anyone who dared to criticize him on Twitter and during his ranting campaign speeches, threaded with lies and threats to whip up his crowds.

On his way out of the Washington area, Trump — who was not wearing a mask — again used the racist term “China virus” to describe the coronavirus, describing it in the past tense, and touted his administration’s work on developing a vaccine.

He thanked his staff and family and wished the next administration “great success” but did not mention his successor by name.

“We love you, this has been an incredible four years,” Trump said in unscripted remarks at Joint Base Andrews shortly before leaving for Florida. “We’ve accomplished so much.”

“I will always fight for you. I will be watching. I will be listening.”

Biden and Harris attended a service at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in DC ahead of the inaugural ceremonies with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, in a show of unity and Biden’s intent to work with leaders from both parties.

Honoring the victims of Covid-19

On the eve of the inauguration, Harris and Biden and their spouses attended a memorial for the Americans lost to Covid-19.

Biden largely ignored Trump’s final slights against the democratic process in the final hours before the inauguration as he demonstrated what a different president he will be.

Moments before 400 columns of light were illuminated on the edges of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to honor the lives lost, Biden invited Americans to mourn as he grieved alongside them — a moment that was extraordinary because there had been nothing like it during the Trump administration.

The President has long been defined by his innate ability to comfort strangers he has met throughout his journey in politics, because of his experience working through tragedies in his own life — from the loss of his first wife and his infant daughter in a 1972 car accident to the death of Beau Biden in 2015.

He encapsulated the lessons of those personal experiences in his tribute to Covid-19 victims on the eve of taking the oath of office: “It’s hard sometimes to remember, but that’s how we heal,” he said at the memorial. “It’s important to do that as a nation.”

Biden is immediately turning his focus to his plans to unite the country, to broker compromise with political opponents, and turn the Trump administration’s overly politicized response to the pandemic into a functional operation that can accelerate the delivery of vaccines to Americans and right the flagging US economy.

Inauguration Day looks different this year

Guests and spectators attend the 59th Presidential Inauguration for President Joe Biden.

Plans for the inauguration itself have been reshaped not only by the pandemic, but also by the stunning security breach at the US Capitol on January 6. There will be no crowds in the streets or on the National Mall as the city remains in lockdown.

Biden plans to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, joined by former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, along with their spouses.

But in an empty and heavily guarded city, the rest of the traditional inaugural festivities will be geared toward an audience that will be livestreaming at home.

The parade will be hosted by “Scandal” actor Tony Goldwyn and will feature comedian Jon Stewart, New Radicals and DJ Cassidy’s “Pass the Mic” with performances by Earth Wind & Fire, Nile Rodgers, Kathy Sledge, The Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, The Washington Chorus and The Triumph Baptist Church Choir.

Several Americans who sought to lift spirits of their neighbors in the midst of the pandemic will also take part, including Dr. Jason Campbell — a Portland, Oregon, doctor who became known as the “TikToc Doc” with his uplifting dance performances in scrubs from the hospital — and Jason Zgonc, a 12-year-old trumpeter from Atlanta who played during hospital workers’ break times throughout the summer.