In his first address as the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden drove home the message that his administration will be one of unity and healing.
"Disagreement must not lead to disunion. And I pledge this to you: I will be a president for all Americans. All Americans. And I promise you I will fight as hard for those who did not support me as for those who did," Biden said on Wednesday.
It's a message that underwrote the entirety of his campaign for president and one he made clear will define his presidency, as well. It stands in stark contrast with the ethos of former President Donald Trump, who critics say sewed chaos and divisiveness up until his last weeks in office when lawmakers seeking to impeach him alleged he incited a violent mob to storm the nation's Capitol over unfounded claims that the election was stolen from him.
Biden acknowledged the January 6 insurrection, during which five people died. His comments were met with thunderous applause, even from a crowd diminished due to coronavirus-related safety concerns.
"Here we stand, just days after a riotous mob thought they could use violence to silence the will of the people, 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," he stated.
Biden's wide-ranging speech covered a number of challenges the U.S. has faced in the last four years, like worsening relations with allies and growing income inequality. He hit on many talking points favored by Democrats, including concerns over climate change and systemic racism, manifested repeatedly in the deaths of unarmed and innocent people of color at the hands of police.
"This is a time of testing. We face an attack on our democracy and on truth, a raging virus, growing inequity, the sting of systemic racism, climate in crisis, America's role in the world. Any one of these would be enough to challenge us in profound ways. But the fact is, we face them all at once," Biden said.
He especially emphasized the need to come together to address the coronavirus pandemic, which, as he noted, has killed almost as many Americans in a single year than the entirety of World War II.
The weight and gravity of the responsibility Biden now bears permeated his speech. Even so, it was one filled with hope, including acknowledgment of the historic nature of his election alongside Kamala Harris, the first woman and first Black and South Asian person elected to be America's vice president.
"Here we stand, where 108 years ago ... protesters tried to block brave women, marching for the right to vote. Today we mark the swearing-in of the first woman in American history elected to national office, Vice President Kamala Harris. Don't tell me things can't change," Biden said.
Biden's speech also made it abundantly clear that he knows the state in which he finds the nation as he ascends to its highest office. It is a deeply challenging time in U.S. history, not only because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has wrought unimaginable devastation on human life as well as on the economy but also because of how divided the nation is politically. Trump's absence at Biden's inauguration was evidence of that. He was the first president in more than 100 years to skip his successor's swearing-in.
In spite of the challenges, Biden has already begun attempting to reach across the aisle to heal the partisanship that divides the nation. On Wednesday morning before the inauguration, congressional leaders from both parties attended a Catholic mass with Biden, who is only the nation's second Roman Catholic president. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) skipped Trump's departure ceremony to attend the service, according to Axios.
Biden has also outlined an ambitious plan for his first 100 days in office that includes acceleration of the vaccination rollout, passage of a $1.9 trillion relief package, and a push to pave the way for undocumented immigrants to achieve citizenship. He also has an array of executive orders planned that seek to unwind many of Trump's actions. Among them are orders to rejoin the Paris climate accord, mandate masks on federal property, and reunite children separated from their families at the border.
"Without unity, there is no peace, only bitterness and fury; no progress, only exhausting outrage; no nation, only a state of chaos. This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge. Unity is the path forward," Biden said during his inaugural address. "And we must meet this moment as the United States of America. If we do that, I guarantee you, we will not fail."
