US: Biden inaugurated as 46th President

JOE Biden, 78, has been sworn in as President of the United States by Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts after taking the oath of office to become the oldest US President.

His Vice President, Kamala Harris has also been officially become the first female, first Black and first South Asian vice president, after she was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

“This is democracy’s day, a day of history and hope, of renewal and resolve,” Biden said. 

“America has been tested anew, and America has risen to the challenge,” he added.

He said the “cause of democracy” is celebrated today.

“The will of the people has been heard and the will of the people has been heeded,” Biden said.

After taking the oath of office, Joe Biden said that the Inauguration Day was a celebration of democracy and that the “the will of the people has been heard.”

“Today we celebrate the triumph, not of a candidate, but of a cause — the cause of democracy. 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. Democracy is fragile. And at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.”

President Joe Biden thanked his predecessors from “both parties” in his inauguration remarks to the nation, including those who couldn’t be present.

“I thank my predecessors of both parties for their presence here today. I thank them from the bottom of my heart… And I know the resilience of our Constitution and the strength, the strength of our nation, as does President Carter, who I spoke with last night, who cannot be with us today, but whom we salute for his lifetime in service,” Biden said.

He acknowledged the power that comes with taking the “sacred oath” that was taken by former presidents.

“I have just taken a sacred oath each of those patriots taken. The oath first sworn by Washington. But 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. We are good people,” Biden said.

Joe Biden pledged to be a “president for all Americans,” including those who did not support his campaign at his inauguration address.

Newly minted President Joe Biden referenced the current plight of America during his inaugural address, noting that the country has “much to repair, much to restore, much to heal, much to build, and much to gain.”

As the coronavirus American death toll surpassed 400,000 this week, Biden noted that “few people in our nation’s history have been more challenged or found a time more challenging or difficult than the time we’re in now.”

Speaking specifically of the Covid-19 pandemic, Biden referenced a “once-in-a-century virus, that silently stalks the country. It’s taken as many lives in one year as America lost in all of World War II.”

But amid tones of pain and strife, as “millions of jobs have been lost,” and there exists a “cry for racial justice some 400 years in the making,” Biden offered signs of hope.

“To overcome these challenges, to restore the soul and secure the future of America, requires so much more than words. It requires the most elusive of all things in a democracy: unity.”