IPNews-Washington D.C.: Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday with a promise to bring the country back from a precipice of public health, economic and political emergencies after four tumultuous years under Donald Trump.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol for Biden, who held his left hand on a worn Celtic Bible that has been in his family for over a century.
“Congratulations, Mr. President,” Roberts said.
Tears in his eyes, Biden hugged his wife, son and daughter, as a crowd on the Capitol terrace gave him the first standing ovation of his presidency.
Before Biden took the oath, Kamala Harris made history as the first woman to be sworn in as vice president, with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor administering her oath.
Harris flashed a broad smile after the oath, hugged her husband and gave two thumbs up to Biden.
Amid the celebrations, inaugural ceremony for Biden at the U.S. Capitol was unlike any other in modern American history.
Parts of the historic building was still covered in scaffolding after being sieged on Jan. 6 by a far-right mob that killed a police officer and ransacked the halls of Congress in a violent attempt to overturn Biden’s election at Trump’s urging.
Meantime, the National Mall, usually filled with supporters of the new president, gaped empty because of concern over the ever-worsening coronavirus pandemic and threats of more far-right violence.
On the West Front of the Capitol, attendants of Biden’s inauguration wore face masks and socially distanced, another grim reminder of the pandemic that has killed more than 400,000 Americans.
Inauguration Day 2021
Trump, refusing to abide by the long-held traditions of a peaceful transfer of power, did not attend Biden’s inauguration, jetting instead to Florida to begin his post-presidential career, with a cloud of legal jeopardy on the horizon, including an upcoming Senate impeachment trial over his incitement of the Jan. 6 attack. Trump is just the fourth president in American history to skip the inauguration of a successor.
First-term Rep. Richie Torres (D-N.Y.) called it a “duty of democracy” to attend Biden’s inauguration in the wake of the pro-Trump attack on the Capitol.
“I lived through the siege, and it was an unsettling experience, but no matter what concerns we might have about security, it’s important for elected officials like me to be physically present here to attend the inauguration because it symbolizes the peaceful transfer of power, which is the cornerstone of our democracy,” Torres, who represents a large swath of the Bronx, said before the inauguration ceremony kicked off. “So I’m honored to be here.” (courtesy of ABC News)
