Highlights:
- On Wednesday, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US President Joe Biden was sworn in by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts
- Kamala Devi Harris, the first Afro-American and Indian-American woman to become the U.S. Vice President was sworn in by Justice Sonia Sotomayor of the Supreme Court
- As the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden was sworn in and Kamala Harris makes history and becomes the first woman Vice President to take the oath
Joe Biden, along with his Vice President, Kamala Harris, was sworn in on Wednesday as the 46th President of the United States.
Harris became the first woman Vice President of United States. She is also the first woman of color to hold this prestigious office and the first woman of South Asian descent. At a scaled-back ceremony in Washington, Biden, meanwhile, took over as the oldest US president in history, which was effectively stripped of its normal pomp due to the coronavirus pandemic and security issues following the storming of the US Capitol on January 6 by supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump.
Biden, who took the oath of office from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, ensured Americans in his first presidential address that, under his leadership as president, he would provide the world with a positive example.
Joe Biden in his speech said, “This is the day of America… this is the day of freedom…. A day of history and of hope.” The President further added, “We are celebrating the victory not of a candidate, but of the cause of democracy today. Democracy is precious…fragile…democracy has prevailed at this hour.”
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The newly sworn president also spoke at the US Capitol about the violence. Joe Biden in his inauguration ceremony said, “This is where we stand, just days after a riotous mob thought they could use violence to silence people’s will, to stop our democratic work, to drive us out of this sacred ground.” Biden further in his speech added, “It has not occurred; it will never happen. Not now, not tomorrow, not ever.”
He also thanked his predecessors for the participation of both parties at the ceremony. He thanked them wholeheartedly in his speech and said, “From the bottom of my heart I thank them and I know our Constitution’s resilience and strength, the strength of our nation.”
He asked Americans who did not vote for him to give him an opportunity to be their president, too. While addressing them Biden said, “It takes so much more than words to overcome these challenges to restore the soul and secure the future of America.” The newly sworn President of United States said, “In a democracy, it needs the most elusive of all things: unity. This uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural against urban, conservative against liberal, must be ended. We can do this if, instead of hardening our minds, we unlock our souls.
It’s a new day in America.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 20, 2021
Today, we begin anew. Tune in for #Inauguration2021. https://t.co/HxfU8q5riA
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 20, 2021
NBC News in their reporting quoted, “Biden has apparently done away with the usual inaugural balls due to the coronavirus pandemic, and will instead take part in a television event called “Celebrating America.”
The proceedings began with an invocation by Reverend Leo J O’Donovan, a close associate of the family of the President of the United States. The national anthem was sung by singer Lady Gaga, who campaigned for Biden during the US presidential election in 2020.
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Earlier in the day, as President of the United States, Donald Trump departed the White House for the last time, skipping Biden’s official inauguration ceremony. Trump told reporters after he left the White House that it was a “great honor” to serve as the 45th president. The former President Trump said it was the “honor of a lifetime” and he “just wanted to go over there and say goodbye.”
Following Biden’s swearing-in, he was congratulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India who tweeted, “My warmest congratulations to Joe Biden on taking office as President of the United States of America.” “I look forward to working with him to improve the strategic partnership between India and the US. As we stand united and resilient in resolving shared challenges and promoting global peace and security, my best wishes for a good term in leading the US.”
Modi also spoke about the relations between the two nations, “based on shared values.” He tweeted, “We have a substantial and multifaceted bilateral agenda, growing economic engagement, and vibrant people to people linkages. Committed to working with President Joe Biden to take the partnership between India and the United States to even greater heights.”
