Trinity Clark
Editor-In-Chief
On January 20th, 2021 President-Elect Joseph R. Biden took the presidential oath and was sworn into office. While the world is in the middle of a pandemic and there remains to be extreme political tension between the two parties, many watched closely to see how Biden would handle his transition into power.
This Inauguration Day did not look like those from previous years. The U.S. Capitol was closed off to the public and guarded on all sides by the National Guard due to fear of violence from rioters and caution for COVID-19. Many other state capitol buildings saw tightened security on this day and even in the week prior. Furthermore, previous President Donald J. Trump did not attend the ceremony, which has been a tradition for many years, but Presidents John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and Andrew Johnson also did not attend their successor’s inaugurations according to Thomas Balcerski with cnn.com.
Those there to pay respects to the new president included Barack Obama, whom President Biden served as Vice President, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Mr. Trump’s Vice President Mike Pence as stated by BBC News. Also, there was a variety of celebrities including Lady Gaga who sang the National Anthem, as well as Jennifer Lopez and Garth Brooks. Later that evening, stars such as Bruce Springsteen, John Legend, Jon Bon Jovi, Justin Timberlake, and Demi Lovato gave a performance by the Lincoln Memorial. This year’s attendance was limited to about a 1,000 people all of whom were expected to wear masks and required to be tested so as to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Of course, this does not include some 25,000 National Guard and officers that protected the Capitol as further stated by BBC News.
Despite these unusual circumstances, President Biden became the 46th President of the United States this past Wednesday. He was sworn in by Chief Justice Roberts along with Kamala Harris, who is the first ever black, female Vice President. As recorded by whitehouse.gov, President Biden started off his inauguration speech by saying, “This is America’s day. This is democracy’s day. A day of history and hope.” President Biden also went on to say that he would be a President “for all Americans”, even those aligned with the opposing party.
After the ceremony Joe Biden and Kamala Harris went to the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia to pay their respect to those who had died during the Civil War. President said in his speech that he would be pushing unity within the country for the duration of his presidency. Finally, President Biden and his wife moved into the White House that evening.
Image Credit: Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash
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