Biden: Democracy has prevailed in US
JOE BIDEN declared that “democracy has prevailed” after he was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States.
Mr Biden’s inauguration came at a time of national tumult and uncertainty at a US Capitol battered by an insurrectionist siege just two weeks ago.
He said: “The will of the people has been heard, and the will of the people has been heeded. We’ve learned again that democracy is precious and democracy is fragile. At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.
“This is America’s day. This is democracy’s day. A day in history and hope, of renewal and resolve.”
The president then turned to challenges ahead, acknowledging the surging coronavirus virus that has claimed more than 400,000 lives in the United States.
Flouting tradition, Donald Trump departed Washington yesterday morning ahead of the inauguration rather than accompany his successor
to the Capitol. Three other former presidents – Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama – did gather to watch the ceremonial transfer of power.
More history was made at Mr Biden’s side, as Kamala Harris became the first woman to be vice president.
The former US senator from California is also the first black person and the first person of South Asian descent elected to the vice presidency and will become the highestranking woman ever to serve in government.
Mr Biden, in his third run for the presidency, staked his candidacy less on any distinctive political ideology than on galvanising a broad coalition of voters around the notion that Mr Trump posed an existential threat to US democracy.
Mr Biden did not mention Mr Trump by name in the early moments of his inaugural address but alluded to the rifts his predecessor had helped create.
“I know the forces that divide us are deep and they are real,” he said.
“But I also know they are not new. Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we all are created equal and the harsh, ugly reality of racism, nativism, fear, demonisation that have long torn us apart. This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge, and unity is the path forward and we must meet this moment as the United States of America.”
Tens of thousands of troops were on the streets of Washington to provide security after violent supporters of Mr Trump, incited by the Republican president, stormed the Capitol in an attempt to prevent the certification of Mr Biden’s victory.
The tense atmosphere evoked the 1861 inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, who was secretly transported to Washington to avoid assassins on the eve of the Civil War.