Harris and Emhoff followed shortly after, also walking the abbreviated route wearing masks, accompanied by their extended family.
states, leading the first couple to the main entrance under the North Portico. The Bidens, wearing masks, walked an abbreviated part of the parade route, and then through a military cordon lining the White House driveway with the flags of U.S. president.Ī slimmed-down version of the traditional parade down Pennsylvania Avenue did take place in the end. In addition to his wife Jill, whom he married in 1977, their son Hunter, daughter Ashley and several grandchildren were on hand to watch him become the next U.S. President Joe Biden, wife Jill Biden, vice-president Kamala Harris, and Harris's husband Doug Emhoff prepare to descend the Capitol steps as part of the inauguration ceremony. WATCH | Biden says we have learned that 'democracy is precious. president, saying he hoped Biden's decisions would be guided by justice, freedom and respect for the rights and dignity of every person, especially the poor, the vulnerable and those with no voice. Pope Francis sent a message to the second Catholic U.S. The couples were then joined by the three former presidents and their wives at Arlington National Cemetery for the playing of the Star Spangled Banner by a brass band and a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.Īs Biden was ushered in, congratulations poured in from around the world, including statements from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Several groupings passed by the steps, with military members saluting the new president and musicians playing traditional patriotic tunes such as Yankee Doodle Dandy. Capitol while leaving to observe the procession of ceremonial military regiments.
Silvester Beaman of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Wilmington, Del.īiden, Harris and their spouses paused on the steps of the U.S. Amanda Gorman, the first national youth poet laureate, gave a riveting address, while the benediction was given by a Biden family friend, Rev. Leo O'Donovan, a former Georgetown University president, and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Andrea Hall, a firefighter from Georgia. Capitol, added lines to her poem, saying, 'While democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated.'Īn invocation was given by the Rev.
"We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts."ĭuration 2:43 Inaugural poet Amanda Gorman, in a reference to the Jan. "We must end this uncivil war that pits red versus blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal," he said. "Those 400,000 fellow Americans - moms, dads, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, friends, neighbours and co-workers - we'll honour them by becoming the people and nation we know we can and should be," he said, before asking for a silent prayer on their behalf.īiden called on Americans to overcome divisions, declaring that "without unity, there is no peace." Biden looked out over a capital city dotted with empty storefronts that attest to the pandemic's deep economic toll and where summer protests laid bare the nation's renewed reckoning on racial injustice. "Today we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate but of a cause: the cause of democracy."īiden pivoted to the challenges ahead, acknowledging the surging virus that has claimed more than 400,000 lives in the United States and become a polarized issue unlike in most other countries. "Through a crucible for the ages, America has been tested anew, and America has risen to the challenge," Biden said early in his address. The ceremonies were scaled back due to the coronavirus pandemic, with heightened security measures arising from the Capitol riot exactly two weeks ago. ET, used a 21-minute inaugural address to call for unity and offer an optimistic message that Americans can get through dark moments by working together. Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, declaring that "democracy has prevailed" as he took the helm of a deeply divided nation and inherited a confluence of crises arguably greater than any faced by his predecessors.īiden, sworn in at 11:49 a.m.
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