Joe Biden Sworn in As 46th US President
Joe Biden has been sworn in as the 46th US president, ending one of the most dramatic political transitions in American history.
The last 4 years have been extremely in US political history. Now all that has come to an end as Joe Biden has been sworn in as the 46th US president. He took the oath with his hand on the Bible, which was held by his wife Jill Biden. The Bible has been in Biden's family since 1893 and was used during his swearing-in ceremonies as Vice-President when Barack Obama was President. At 78, Biden has become the oldest person to be sworn in as the US President. Kamala Harris was sworn in as vice-president. She took the oath while her husband, Dough Emhoff, held the bible. She is the first woman - and the first black and Asian-American person - to serve in the role, a heartbeat from the presidency.
The inauguration took place at the US Capitol Hill. There are always thousands of people in the audience, but for the first time due to Coronavirus there were limited people. Three former US Presidents also attended the function. They were: Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W Bush. In his speech, Mr Biden said it was a day of "history and hope". "I will put my whole soul in putting America back together again,"
The inauguration ceremony included musical performances by Lady Gaga - who sang the national anthem - as well as Jennifer Lopez and Garth Brooks. Fire Captain Andrea Hall recited the pledge out loud, while simultaneously leading the pledge in American Sign Language. Andrea is the first Balck Woman to become the Fire Captain in Georgia in 2004. American Deaf Model, Actor and Deaf activist Nyle DiMarco posted a video of Andrea on his Instagram account. He captioned the video saying: A refreshing sight to see accessibility and inclusivity at the inauguration. I will never forget this moment. Even though Trump was not present, his Vice-President Mike Pence and his wife Karen attended the inauguration. Later Pence shook hands with Kamala Harris and wished her luck as well. The new president's motorcade then left for the White House. He walked the last block with his family, and hugged his wife Jill before entering their new home. Mr Biden later told reporters that Mr Trump had written "a very generous letter" to him, adding: "Because it was private, I won't talk about it until I talk to him." As soon as he was sworn in, Biden resumed work. The new president swiftly signed various documents reversing Trump policies.
There will be an evening concert at the Lincoln Memorial in the city hosted by Tom Hanks and will feature singers like Bruce Springsteen, John Legend, Jon Bon Jovi etc. Thousands of kilometers away from the US, a small village in India, that is the ancestral home of Harris's maternal family, also lit up in celebrations.
In Thulasenthirapuram-Painganaadu, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, residents performed a special puja at the Sri Dharmasastha Temple. They also distributed ladoos and burst crackers. John Adams was the first US President to not attend the inauguration programme in 1801. AFter him John Quincy Adams also left town, and did not attend the 1829 inauguration. Now Trump has become the 3rd president in USA history to not attend his successor's inauguration. He left the White House early on 20th January and is now at his resort Mar-a-Lago in Florida. In his last hours as president, Mr Trump granted clemency to more than 140 people.
