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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, JANuARy 21, 2021
‘Democracy has prevailed’
Biden takes the presidency as Harris becomes first female vice president
By JONATHAN LEMIRE,
ZEKE MILLER and
ALEXANDRA JAFFE
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Joe
Biden became the 46th pres-
ident of the United States on
Wednesday, declaring that
“democracy has prevailed” as
he took the helm of a deeply
divided nation and inherited a
confluence of crises arguably
greater than any faced by his
predecessors.
Biden’s inauguration came
at a time of national tumult
and uncertainty, a ceremony
of resilience as the hallowed
American democratic rite
unfurled at a U.S. Capitol
battered by an insurrection-
ist siege just two weeks ago.
The chilly Washington morn-
ing was dotted with snow
flurries, but the sun emerged
just before Biden took the
oath of office, the quadren-
nial ceremony persevering
even though it was encircled
by security forces evocative
of a war zone and devoid of
crowds because of the coro-
navirus pandemic.
“The will of the peo-
ple has been heard, and the
will of the people has been
heeded. We’ve learned again
that democracy is precious
and democracy is fragile. At
this hour, my friends, democ-
racy has prevailed,” Biden
said. “This is America’s day.
This is democracy’s day. A
day in history and hope, of
renewal and resolve.”
And then he pivoted to
challenges ahead, acknowl-
edging the surging virus
that has claimed more than
400,000 lives in the United
States. Biden looked out over
a capital city dotted with
empty storefronts that attest
to the pandemic’s deep eco-
nomic toll and where summer
protests laid bare the nation’s
renewed reckoning on racial
injustice.
“We have much to do in
this winter of peril, and sig-
nificant possibilities: much to
repair, much to restore, much
to heal, much to build and
much to gain,” Biden said.
“Few people in our nation’s
history have more chal-
lenged, or found a time more
challenging or difficult than
the time we’re in now.”
His predecessor’s absence
underscored the healing that
is needed.
Flouting tradition, Don-
ald Trump departed Wash-
ington on Wednesday morn-
ing ahead of the inauguration
rather than accompany his
successor to the Capitol.
Though three other former
presidents — Bill Clinton,
George W. Bush and Barack
Obama — gathered to watch
the ceremonial transfer of
power, Trump, awaiting his
second impeachment trial,
instead flew to Florida after
stoking grievance among his
supporters with the lie that
Biden’s win was illegitimate.
Biden, in his third run for
the presidency, staked his
candidacy less on any dis-
tinctive political ideology
than on galvanizing a broad
coalition of voters around
the notion that Trump posed
an existential threat to Amer-
ican democracy. Biden did
not mention Trump by name
in the early moments of his
inaugural address but alluded
to the rifts his predecessor
had helped create.
“I know the forces that
divide us are deep and they
are real. But I also know
they are not new. Our history
has been a constant struggle
between the American ideal
that we all are created equal
and the harsh, ugly reality of
racism, nativism, fear, demo-
nization that have long torn
us apart,” Biden said. “This
is our historic moment of cri-
sis and challenge, and unity
is the path forward and we
must meet this moment as the
United States of America.”
Biden came to office with
a well of empathy and resolve
born by personal tragedy as
well as a depth of experi-
ence forged from more than
four decades in Washington.
At age 78, he was the oldest
Andrew Harnik/AP Photo
Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts as Jill Biden
holds the Bible at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
Alex Brandon/AP Photo
Flags stand on the National Mall in place of spectators during the inauguration.
Jonathan Ernst/AP Photo
Vice President Kamala Harris bumps fists with Biden after she
was sworn in during the inauguration.
‘THIS IS AMERICA’S dAy.
THIS IS dEMOCRACy’S dAy.
A dAy IN HISTORy ANd HOPE,
OF RENEWAL ANd RESOLVE.’
President Joe Biden
president inaugurated.
More history was made
at his side, as Kamala Har-
ris became the first woman to
be vice president. The former
U.S. senator from California
is also the first Black person
and the first person of South
Asian descent elected to the
vice presidency and will
become the highest-rank-
ing woman ever to serve in
government.
The two were sworn in
during an inauguration cer-
emony with few parallels in
history.
Tens of thousands of
troops were on the streets to
provide security precisely
two weeks after a violent
mob of Trump supporters,
incited by the Republican
president, stormed the Cap-
itol in an attempt to prevent
the certification of Biden’s
victory.
“Here we stand, just days
after a riotous mob thought
they could use violence to
silence the will of the peo-
ple,” Biden said. “To stop
the work of our democracy.
To drive us from this sacred
ground. It did not happen. It
will never happen. Not today,
not tomorrow. Not ever. Not
ever.”
The tense atmosphere
evoked the 1861 inaugura-
tion of President Abraham
Lincoln, who was secretly
transported to Washington
to avoid assassins on the eve
of the Civil War, or President
Franklin Roosevelt’s inaugu-
ral in 1945, when he opted for
a small, secure ceremony at
the White House in the wan-
ing months of World War II.
The day began with a
reach across the aisle after
four years of bitter parti-
san battles under Trump.
At Biden’s invitation, con-
gressional leaders from both
parties bowed their heads
in prayer in the socially dis-
tanced service just a few
blocks from the White House.
Biden was sworn in by
U.S. Supreme Court Chief
Justice John Roberts; Harris
was sworn in by Justice Sonia
Sotomayor, the first Latina
member of the Supreme
Court. Vice President Mike
Pence, standing in for Trump,
sat nearby as Lady Gaga,
holding a gold microphone,
sang the National Anthem
accompanied by the U.S.
Marine Corps band.
Poet Amanda Gorman
summoned images dire and
triumphant as she called out
to the world “even as we
grieved, we grew.”
Biden oversaw a “Pass in
Review,” a military tradition
that honors the peaceful trans-
fer of power to a new com-
mander in chief. Later, Biden,
Harris and their spouses were
joined by that trio of former
presidents to lay a wreath at
the Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier at Arlington National
Ceremony.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden,
an Oregon Democrat, said,
“Today our country starts a
new chapter to build back
better — for everyone. The
road ahead won’t be easy,
but democracy is worth the
effort. Let’s get to work.”
U.S.
Rep.
Suzanne
Bonamici, an Oregon Demo-
crat who represents the North
Coast, said, “President Joe
Biden and Vice President
Kamala Harris are the com-
passionate, qualified lead-
ers we need as multiple cri-
ses — the COVID-19 crisis,
the economic crisis, the cli-
mate crisis, and the racial jus-
tice crisis — continue to grip
our country. This is a difficult
time for our country, but there
are brighter days ahead as
we begin a new chapter. I’m
ready to get to work.”
Biden joined the end of
a slimmed-down inaugu-
ral parade as he moves into
the White House. Because
of the pandemic, much of
this year’s parade was to be
a virtual affair featuring per-
formances from around the
nation.
In the evening, in lieu of
the traditional glitzy balls that
welcome a new president to
Washington, Biden was to
take part in a televised con-
cert that also marks the return
of A-list celebrities to the
White House orbit after they
largely eschewed Trump.
Trump is the first presi-
dent in more than a century
to skip the inauguration of
his successor. In a cold wind,
Marine One took off from
the White House and soared
above a deserted capital city
to his own farewell celebra-
tion at nearby Joint Base
Andrews. There, he boarded
Air Force One for the final
time as president for the flight
to his Florida estate.
“I will always fight for
you. I will be watching. I will
be listening and I will tell you
that the future of this coun-
try has never been better,”
said Trump, who wished the
incoming administration well
but once again declined to
mention Biden’s name.
The symbolism was
striking: The very moment
Trump disappeared into
the doorway of Air Force
One, Biden stepped out of
the Blair House, the tradi-
tional guest lodging for presi-
dents-in-waiting, and into his
motorcade for the short ride
to church.
Trump did adhere to one
tradition and left a note for
Biden in the Oval Office,
according to the White
House, which did not release
its contents. And Trump, in
his farewell remarks, hinted
at a political return, saying
“we will be back in some
form.”
And he, without question,
will shadow Biden’s first
days in office.
Trump’s second impeach-
ment trial could start as early
as this week. That could test
the ability of the Senate,
poised to come under Dem-
ocratic control, to balance
impeachment proceedings
with confirmation hearings
and votes on Biden’s Cabinet
choices.
Biden was eager to go big
early, with an ambitious first
100 days that includes a push
to speed up the distribution
of COVID-19 vaccinations
to anxious Americans and
pass a $1.9 trillion virus relief
package. On Day One, he’ll
also send an immigration
proposal to Capitol Hill that
would create an eight-year
path to citizenship for immi-
grants living in the country
illegally.
He also planned a 10-day
blitz of executive orders on
matters that don’t require
congressional approval — a
mix of substantive and sym-
bolic steps to unwind the
Trump years. Among the
planned steps: rescinding
travel restrictions on people
from several predominantly
Muslim countries; rejoin-
ing the Paris climate accord;
issuing a mask mandate for
those on federal property; and
ordering agencies to figure
out how to reunite children
separated from their families
after crossing the border.
Associated Press writers
Jill Colvin, darlene Super-
ville and Michelle L. Price
contributed to this report.
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