Inauguration of Joe Biden

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Seal of the 59th inauguration of the President and Vice-President
Joe Biden at the swearing in
Kamala Harris at the swearing in

With the inauguration of Joe Biden ( English inauguration ) as the 46th  President of the United States , the four-year term of the 2020 presidential election winners , Joe Biden as President and Kamala Harris as the first female Vice President in the history of the United States , as well as after individual confirmation by the began Senate the term of office of the members of the Biden Cabinet .

A public ceremony was held on the Western Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, DC on Wednesday, January 20, 2021 . The event marked the 59th  inauguration of the President of the United States . Biden took the oath of office as president, before Harris took the oath of office as vice president. "Our Determined Democracy: Forging a More Perfect Union," a reference to the preamble to the United States Constitution , served as the motto.

prehistory

The "field of flags" in front of the Capitol

The presidential transition , the orderly handover of office in the months leading up to the inauguration, was actively hindered and delayed by President Donald Trump . For example, the General Services Administration under Trump's direction did not declare a likely election winner until November 23, 2020, instead of the usual days after the election. As a result, Biden's team was denied access to agencies, office space, government website status, $ 6.3 million in organization funding , and Biden was denied access to confidential Trump administration security meetings. Trump had questioned the legality of the presidential election even before it was held and did not recognize the election result, Biden's victory (see Presidential Election in the United States 2020 - Framework ).

Because of the storming of the Capitol by supporters of Trump on January 6, 2021, the day of the counting of the voters' votes and official confirmation of Biden's election victory by Congress , on the one hand another impeachment proceedings against Trump were started by the Democratic Party and on the other hand in the days before During the inauguration, tens of thousands of National Guard soldiers were deployed in support of the United States Capitol Police in the government district. The Capitol itself served as a temporary resting and sleeping place for hundreds of those soldiers due to the lack of available accommodation.

Planning and ceremony

Inauguration Parade
Joe Biden at the swearing in
Lady Gaga wore the national anthem The Star-Spangled Banner before

To secure the inauguration, a total of 25,000 security guards were in Washington, DC, including 20,000 soldiers from the US National Guard.

Trump announced on January 8, 2021 that he would not be attending the inauguration, while Vice President Mike Pence confirmed his attendance a day later. This made Trump the fourth incumbent President of the United States in history to avoid an inauguration of his successor, and the first since Andrew Johnson to not attend the inauguration of Ulysses S. Grant in 1869 .

Former US Presidents Bill Clinton , George W. Bush and Barack Obama with their respective former First Ladies Hillary Clinton , Laura Bush and Michelle Obama attended the ceremony. The 39th US President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter , who attended every inauguration since 1977, traveled because of the 19 pandemic COVID- not to the celebrations to Washington. The Carters sent "best wishes" to President-elect Biden and Vice-President Harris, saying they were looking forward to "a successful government" for them both.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the usual gala events for the day of inauguration have been severely restricted. Instead, a special television show called Celebrating America , hosted by Tom Hanks , aired during prime time in the United States . Performances by artists such as Kerry Washington , Bruce Springsteen , Jon Bon Jovi , Justin Timberlake , John Legend , Demi Lovato and the Foo Fighters have been announced. Lady Gaga was entrusted with singing the US national anthem The Star-Spangled Banner . Jennifer Lopez performed a medley from America the Beautiful and This Land Is Your Land and Garth Brooks sang a cappella Amazing Grace .

In delivering an inaugural poem , Biden drew on a gesture of appreciation for poetry introduced by John F. Kennedy and then only repeated by Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. The young African American poet Amanda Gorman ( The Hill We Climb ) was announced for it. The Jesuit and personal friend Bidens Leo O'Donovan SJ was responsible for the first part of the ceremony, the so-called “Invocation” . Invocation was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance , carried out by Andrea Hall, fire chief in South Fulton, Georgia , the first black woman to hold such an office in the United States.

On the morning of the inauguration attended Joe Biden and his wife Jill by Kevin F. O'Brien held morning Mass in the Catholic Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, DC; the Bidens were accompanied by Kamala Harris and her family, as well as Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer .

During the ceremony, Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States by John Roberts - the Chief Justice of the United States - at 11:55 a.m. local time . Biden took his oath on a Bible that has been in his family since 1893. The front of the 12.7 cm thick Bible is decorated with an Irish Celtic cross and had previously been used in his previous swearing-in as a US Senator and as the 47th Vice President of the United States . Harris previously took her oath on two Bibles: the Bible of Regina Shelton - a close childhood friend of Kamala and Maya Harris - and a Bible owned by Thurgood Marshall , who from 1967 became the first African American Supreme Court Justice of the United States States was. She was sworn in by Sonia Sotomayor , a Supreme Court judge who swore Biden for a second term as Vice President under Obama in 2013.

With the swearing-in of Biden and Harris, Jill Biden became the new first lady and Douglas Emhoff became the first second gentleman in United States history .

Web links

Commons : Inauguration of Joe Biden 2021  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Inauguration 2021 for Joe Biden: schedule, supporting program and special circumstances - Trump participation uncertain. In: merkur.de. Mercury, January 8, 2021, accessed January 8, 2021 .
  2. ↑ Trump initiates the process of handing over office to Biden. In: spiegel.de. Der Spiegel, accessed on January 14, 2021 .
  3. ↑ Lisa Rein, Jonathan O'Connell, Josh Dawsey: A little-known Trump appointee is in charge of handing transition resources to Biden - and she isn't budging . In: Washington Post . ISSN  0190-8286 ( washingtonpost.com [accessed January 14, 2021]).
  4. ↑ Biden camp calls for GSA to recognize victory to begin transition. Retrieved January 14, 2021 (American English).
  5. ↑ Biden to bring in national security experts after briefings denied. Retrieved January 14, 2021 (American English).
  6. ↑ Michael Crowley, Michael D. Shear: Denied Briefings by Trump, Biden Meets With Former National Security Officials . In: The New York Times . November 18, 2020, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed January 14, 2021]).
  7. ↑ a b US National Guard should ensure peace and quiet in Washington: Protect and sleep. In: spiegel.de. Der Spiegel, accessed on January 14, 2021 .
  8. ↑ After storming the Capitol: FBI examines 25,000 soldiers who are supposed to secure Biden's inauguration. In: spiegel.de. Der Spiegel, accessed January 18, 2021 .
  9. ^ Leonie Voss, Anne Martin: Washington DC: "A capital shouldn't look like this". In: spiegel.de. Der Spiegel, accessed January 18, 2021 .
  10. ↑ Rejection via Twitter: Donald Trump does not want Joe Biden to be inaugurated. In: spiegel.de. Der Spiegel, January 8, 2021, accessed on January 9, 2021 .
  11. ↑ Kaitlan Collins: Pence will attend Biden's inauguration. In: CNN. January 10, 2021, accessed January 10, 2021 .
  12. ↑ Break with 150 year old tradition: Trump does not want to take part in Biden's inauguration. January 8, 2021, accessed January 18, 2021 .
  13. ↑ Jeff Zeleny and Rachel Janfaza: Obama and Clinton will join Bush at Biden's inauguration. In: CNN. January 8, 2021, accessed January 17, 2021 .
  14. ↑ Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter won't attend Biden's inauguration. In: AP News. The Associated Press, January 5, 2021, accessed January 17, 2021 .
  15. ↑ Allison Gordon and Jamie Gangel: George W. Bush will attend Biden's inauguration; Jimmy Carter will not travel to ceremony. In: CNN. January 6, 2021, accessed January 17, 2021 .
  16. ↑ Alex Weprin: Tom Hanks Hosting 'Celebrating America' Inaugural Special With Performances From Demi Lovato & More. In: Billboard. January 13, 2021, accessed January 17, 2021 .
  17. ↑ Bruce Springsteen: "The Boss" appears at Biden's swearing-in ceremony. In: stern.de. Stern, January 15, 2021, accessed January 17, 2021 .
  18. ↑ Joe Biden: Lady Gaga sings the national anthem on inauguration. In: spiegel.de. Der Spiegel, January 14, 2021, accessed on January 14, 2021 .
  19. ^ Inaugural Poems in History , Academy of American Poets website , accessed January 15, 2021.
  20. ↑ Presidential Inaugural Committee Announces Participants in the 59th Inaugural Ceremonies at bideninaugural.org January 14, 2021, accessed January 15, 2021.
  21. ↑ Jesuit with Münsteraner past talks with Biden Inauguration on katholisch.de from January 19, 2021
  22. ^ The Bidens have arrived at church. In: cnn.com. CNN, December 19, 2020, accessed January 17, 2021 .
  23. ↑ Ashley Collman: Biden plans to be sworn in as president with a massive family heirloom Bible dating back to 1893. In: Business Insider. December 19, 2020, accessed January 17, 2021 .
  24. ↑ Averi Harper and Beatrice Peterson: Harris to be sworn in by Justice Sonia Sotomayor at inauguration. In: ABC News. January 16, 2021, accessed January 17, 2021 .
  25. ^ Caroline Hallemann: Doug Emhoff Launches a New Twitter Account, Confirming He Will Use the Title Second Gentleman. In: Town and Country. January 15, 2021, accessed January 20, 2021 .