WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden called for “unity” and pledged to be apresident for “all Americans” at his inauguration in Washington Wednesday,but warned of the challenges ahead as he takes on multiple crises.
Speaking at the US Capitol just two weeks after it was stormed by an armedmob supporting his predecessor Donald Trump, Biden declared: “This isAmerica’s day, this is democracy’s day. A day of history and hope.”
But as the US confronts the deadly coronavirus and deep politicaldivisions, he warned that to overcome its challenges will require “so muchmore than words, it will require the most elusive of all things in ademocracy, unity.”
“Today on this January day, my whole soul is in this: bringing Americatogether, uniting our people, uniting our nation, and I ask every Americanto join me in this cause,” the 46th US president said.
“This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge and unity is the pathforward. And we must meet this moment as the United States of America.”
In the 21-minute speech Biden sketched out the challenges ahead.
“We need all our strength to… persevere through this dark winter. We’reentering what may be the toughest and deadliest period of the virus,” hesaid, calling on Americans to “finally face this pandemic as one nation.”
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Biden spoke on the steps of the Capitol, which two weeks ago saw scenes ofviolence unprecedented in modern history as rioters egged on by Trumpstormed the building, leaving five people dead and shaking US democracy toits core.
“Here we stand just days after a riotous mob thought they could … driveus from this sacred ground,” he said.
“It did not happen, it will never happen, not today, not tomorrow, notever, not ever.”
The United States faces “a rise of political extremism, white supremacy,domestic terrorism, that we must confront, and we will defeat,” he said.
The new president called for the country to “reject the culture in whichfacts themselves are manipulated.”
