Inauguration Day 2021: Obama, Bush and Clinton give message to Biden as Oval Office gets a revamp
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Your support makes all the difference.Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton spoke in a taped message during the Celebrating America concert.
“Joe, I'm proud of you,” said Mr Biden’s former boss, Barack Obama.
Mr Biden called for American unity as he spoke at the Lincoln Memorial during a celebration concert.
“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," he said at the Celebrating America event.
“As I said earlier today, we have learned again that democracy is precious and because of you democracy has prevailed."
His speech came after the Senate confirmed his first cabinet nomination of Avril Haines for director of national intelligence.
Earlier he got to work at the Oval Office of the White House by signing several executive orders after being sworn in as the 46th president of the United States.
The first order he signed was a federal mask mandate, which would require the face shield on federal property and during interstate travel. His other two executive orders involved revoking Donald Trump’s Muslim travel ban and rejoining the Paris Climate Accords.
Vice President Kamala Harris also got straight to work on Wednesday after she was sworn in. She went to the Senate for the swearing in of three Democratic senators.
This all comes after a day filled with inauguration-related events, including Mr Biden and Ms Harris traveling to Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W Bush, and Barack Obama were all in attendance for the events.
Mr Trump, in comparison, broke precedent and left the White House for Mar-a-Lago in Florida without attending the inauguration. The one tradition Mr Trump did participate in was writing a letter to his successor, which was left in a drawer of the Resolute Desk. Mr Biden did not reveal the contents of the letter, but he did say it was "very generous”.
Lady Gaga sings National Anthem at ceremony
Lady Gaga was the singer selected to since the National Anthem at the swearing-in of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Kamala Harris is sworn in as Vice President
Kamala Harris has officially been sworn as the Vice President of the United States in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who became the first Latina on the Supreme Court in 2009.
The moment was historic as Justice Sotomayor swore in the nation’s first female, first Black, and first Southeast Asian vice president in history.
Ms Harris has now become Madam Vice President.
Kamala Harris makes history as first female Vice President of United States
Kamala Harris has been sworn into office as the 49th vice president of the US, the first woman to hold the office in the nation’s history, as well as the first Black woman and first woman of South Asian descent to hold the title, among several of her barrier-breaking firsts in a country reeling from generations of racial injustice.
She was sworn in by Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina Justice on the US Supreme Court.
Her inauguration, alongside 46th US president Joe Biden, succeeds a chaotic four-year governance under now-former president Donald Trump, who fled the nation’s capital hours before the ceremony on 20 January.
Alex Woodward reports:
Kamala Harris makes history as first female Vice President of United States
Kamala Harris has been sworn into office as the 49th vice president of the US, the first woman to hold the office in the nation’s history, as well as the first Black woman and first woman of South Asian descent to hold the title, among several of her barrier-breaking firsts in a country reeling from generations of racial injustice.
Biden sworn in as 46th president of United States
Joe Biden has been sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, on the front steps of a heavily fortified US Capitol, writes Griffin Connolly.
Mr Biden, a longtime senator from Delaware, is the 15th former vice president and second Catholic to become commander-in-chief.
The Democrat takes over command of the American executive branch from his 2020 election opponent, Republican Donald Trump, with a desire to hit the ground running to address the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and its resultant economic ruin.
Biden sworn in as 46th president of United States
Democrat takes office amid unprecedented public health crisis and era of intense political division
Biden welcomes a 'day of history and hope’ after taking Oath of Office
President Joe Biden has been sown in as the 46th president of the United States.
At the start of his speech, Mr Biden celebrated the moment as a “day of history and hope”.
“This is America's day. This is democracy's day. A day of history and hope,” he said.
“Today we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate but of a cause," he added. “The cause of democracy. The will of the people has been heard and the will of the people has been heeded.”
President pushes ‘unity’ in speech, calling to ‘lower temperature’ in country
“My whole soul is in this: Bringing America together, uniting our people, uniting our nation and I ask every American to join in this cause,” Mr Biden said.
“Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire destroying everything in its path … we must reject the control in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured,” he added, calling for a “lower temperature” in the country.
Biden and Harris officially become president and vice president
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have officially become the president and Vice President of the United States as the clock struck noon on Wednesday.
The time marks the end of the Trump administration and the beginning of a Biden administration.
Donald Trump, who refused to attend the Inauguration Day events, has already arrived at Mar-a-Lago.
‘We must end this uncivil war’: Biden pleads for unity in his first address as president
“To all those who did not support this, let me say this: Hear me out as we move forward, take a measure of me and my heart. if we still disagree, so be it, that's democracy, that's America,” Joe Biden said during his first address as president of the United States.
"I pledge this to you: I will be a president for all Americans."
Then Mr Biden added it was time for Americans to come together, no matter policy differences or where they get their news.
“We must end this uncivil war,” he said. "American has to be better than did and I believe America is so much better than this … The American story depends not on any one of us, not on some of us, but on all of us — on we, the people."
Griffin Connolly has more on Mr Biden’s address:
Biden delivers inaugural address promising unity in tough days ahead
‘Democracy has prevailed,’ 46th president says
Biden’s speech ends with him vowing to always ‘level’ with American people
"Before God and all of you, I give you my word: I will always level with you. I will defend the Constitution. I'll defend our democracy. I'll defend America," President Joe Biden said at the closing of his first address to the nation.
“Together we shall write an American story of hope, not fear. Of unity, not darkness … of love, not healing. May this be the story that guides us,” he said.
Mr Biden then ended his address like he’s ended all recent speeches: "May God bless America and may God protect our troops. Thank you, America."
Joe Biden becomes ‘POTUS’ on Twitter
One of the modern day transitions between administration is the transfer to the “POTUS” Twitter account.
Twitter has officially assigned POTUS to Mr Biden, removing Donald Trump’s account from that title.
Other accounts also live include Mr Biden’s transition team becoming “WhiteHouse", Vice President Kamala Harris becoming “VP”, and Dr Jill Biden becoming “FLOTUS”.
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