Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Sworn-In as President and Vice-President
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2021
Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were officially sworn-in as the 46th President and the 59th Vice-President of the United States of America on Wednesday, January 20, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Kamala Harris was first sworn-in by the first Latina on the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and placed her hand on a bible owned by the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall as she recited her Oath of Office as Vice-President of the United States.
Harris became the first female Vice-President as well as the first Black American and the first with Indian heritage to hold the second-highest office in the United States.
Joe Robinette Biden, Jr. was sworn-in by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and placed his hand on a Biden family bible while taking the Oath of Office “to faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States.”
Newly sworn-in President Biden pledged to unite the country through unity and working together to meet the challenges facing the country such as the COVID-19 pandemic, economic recession, systemic racism, climate change, and a politically divided nation.
Biden opened his inaugural speech by stating “this is America’s day. This is democracy’s day….Today, we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate, but of a cause, the cause of democracy.”
Biden added “the will of the people has been heard and the will of the people has been heeded. We have learned that democracy is precious. Democracy is fragile. And at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.”
Biden acknowledged the violent riot that shook the foundation of American democracy on January 6, 2021 by white nationalists and white supremacists at the U.S. Capitol. He stated “So now, on this hallowed ground where just days ago violence sought to shake this Capitol’s very foundation, we come together as one nation, under God, indivisible, to carry out the peaceful transfer of power as we have for more than two centuries.”
Biden added that “the American story depends not on any one of us, not on some of us, but on all of us. On ‘We the People’ who seek a more perfect Union. This is a great nation and we are a good people. Over the centuries, through storm and strife, in peace and in war, we have come so far. But we have far to go.”
Biden stated that “We will press forward with speed and urgency, for we have much to do in this winter of peril and possibility. Much to repair. Much to restore. Much to heal. Much to build. And much to gain. Few periods in our nation’s history have been more challenging or difficult than the one we’re in now,” acknowledging the COVID-19 pandemic, 400,000 fatalities due to the virus, economic recession, lost jobs to the pandemic, rising unemployment, closed businesses due to the pandemic, a cry for racial justice, climate change, and a rise in political extremism, white supremacy, and domestic terrorism.
Biden added that “to overcome these challenges-to restore the soul and to secure the future of America-requires more than words. It requires that most elusive of things in a democracy: Unity.” He asked “every American to join me in this cause….Uniting to fight the common foes we face….With unity we can do great things, important things. We can right wrongs. We can put people to work in good jobs. We can teach our children in safe schools. We can overcome this deadly virus. We can reward work, rebuild the middle class, and make health care secure for all. We can deliver racial justice. We can make America, once again, the leading force for good in the world.”
Biden stated “This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge…” and called upon Americans to end its “uncivil war” and embrace unity to resolve the many challenges facing the nation. “Unity is the path forward. And we must meet this moment as the United States of America. If we do that, I guarantee you we will not fail.”
Biden noted that “we must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal. My fellow Americans, in the work ahead of us, we’re going to need each other.”
Biden concluded that “I will be a President for all Americans. I will fight as hard for those who did not support me as for those who did….It is a time for boldness, for there is so much to do.”
