Joe Biden has finally assumed office as the 46th President of the United States.
He was sworn on Wednesday evening, January 20, 2021 by US Chief Supreme Court Justice, John Roberts.
On Wednesday, January 20, 2021, Kamala Harris was equally sworn in as the first female Vice President of the US.
Madam Harris was sworn by the Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor, making history as the first Black and first South Asian American Vice President.
Both Biden and Harris were sworn in in the Capitol, Washington DC amid tight security.
Some 25,000 security personnel, including the US National Guard, were deployed in Washington DC and other US States to prevent further attacks following the Wednesday, January 6, 2021 attacks in the Capitol which left 5 persons dead.
Attendance
Attending the inauguration were ex-vice President, Mike Pence, former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.
However, Mr Biden’s immediate predecessor, former President Donald Trump, did not attend the ceremony.
Ex-President Jimmy Carter was also absent at the ceremony.
Mr Trump becomes the first US since 1869 (150 yeas ago) to miss the swearing-in of his successor.
Mr Biden defeated Mr Trump in the November 3, 2020 US Presidential Election.
Initially, Mr Trump rejected the election results, saying he won but the election was stolen from him.
After weeks of refusing to concede defeat, Mr Trump finally agreed to give up power.
Inaugural Speech
Mr Biden in his inaugural speech expressed profound gratitude his predecessors from both the Republican Party and Democrats.
Mr Biden stated that “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.”
“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,” the former Vice President to Ex-President Obama stated.
In a somewhat reference to former President Trump’s refusal to accept defeat, Mr Biden observed that “the will of the people have been heard.”
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