Joe Biden Inaugurated as 46th President of the United States

Image Courtesy of ABC News

By Jeremy Perillo

Joseph R. Biden Jr. was inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States on January 20, 2021. While standing on the western steps of the Capitol, elicit imagery of pro-Trump insurrectionists storming the Capitol, who not two weeks prior sought to disrupt the Electoral College certification, danced in the heads of Americans watching from home. Kamala Harris was also sworn into her role as Vice President, breaking through the glass ceiling in the process. 

Despite President Trump’s insistence to not participate in his successor’s inauguration, his Vice President, Mike Pence, represented the outgoing administration and signified a peaceful transfer of power. Also in attendance were members of Congress, former Presidents and their spouses, Supreme Court Justices, and members of the Biden family. 

In observance of social distancing guidelines and the various impending security risks, Biden spoke to a mostly empty national mall, invoking unity and recovery at a time when the country is increasingly divided. 

“Together, we shall write an American story of hope, not fear. Of unity, not division. Of light, not darkness… May this be the story that guides us. The story that inspires us. The story that tells ages yet to come that we answered the call of history,” he said. “We met the moment. That democracy and hope, truth and justice, did not die on our watch but thrived.”

Biden certainly has his work cut out for him in trying to mend the fringes of American society. As he seeks to advance the agenda he campaigned on, he faces the delicate balance of effecting lasting change while not bulldozing through Congress, where his opponents could certainly point to the hypocrisy in his claims for unity.

That certainly ambitious goal did not waiver the President from starting to deliver on his campaign promises. Following the various events of the afternoon after his swearing in, Biden’s administration got right to work. 

In a freshly redesigned Oval Office, President Biden signed more than a dozen executive orders, memorandums, and directives, seeking to start the change he had promised for America.

“There’s no time to start like today,” Biden said. “I’m going to start by keeping the promises I made to the American people.”

Through the executive orders, Biden sought to undo parts of the Trump presidency while also working towards combating the effects of the coronavirus pandemic: Nine of the orders directly reverse Trump’s policies. With the stroke of a pen, Biden rejoined the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Accords, imposed a mask mandate on all federal property, canceled the Keystone XL pipeline, and fortified DACA, among other actions. 

Later on that night, on the other side of the West Wing, Press Secretary Jen Psaki held her first press briefing with a commitment to transparency from her in that role. 

“There will be times when we see things differently in this room, I mean among all of us. That’s OK,” Psaki said. “That’s part of our democracy, and rebuilding trust with the American people will be central to our focus in the press office and in the White House.”

To finish off the night, both President Biden and Vice President Harris had separate opportunities to address the country during the “Celebrating America” inauguration special. Biden invoked similar themes to his inaugural address earlier in the day, and the Vice President sought to highlight American aspiration. 

“It is humbling to stand here in this place in front of these sacred words. Humbling out of respect to President Lincoln and the office we now share and humbling because of you, the American people,” Biden said. “As I said earlier today, we have learned again that democracy is precious and because of you democracy has prevailed.”

Biden and his administration will begin their hike through the notorious first one hundred days of his presidency, working to get his political nominees confirmed by the Senate, and enacting policies that will serve as a foundation to which he begins his legacy at such a tumultuous and unprecedented time in American history.