Joe Biden Sworn in as 46th President of the US, Signs Series of Orders, Delivers Message of Unity
Facing as monumental a set of challenges as any chief executive in generations, Joe Biden took office as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday and pledged to rally the nation to answer the call of history. Standing on the steps of the West Front of the US Capitol, where two weeks prior an angry mob attacked Congress in an effort to prevent the certification of his election, Biden said the nation is in a time of testing. Joe became the president of the US with a call to unity, vowing to bridge deep divides and defeat domestic extremism. He took some serious decisions as a new President. He said there is no time to waste, and signed a slew of orders to change the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, combat climate change and advance racial equity. Undoing Donald Trump’s legacy, he lifted the travel ban on 13 Muslim-majority and African countries; halted construction of the US-Mexico border wall; and directed officials to preserve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), among other things.
"To overcome these challenges, to restore the soul and secure the future of America, requires so much more than words," Biden said. "It requires the most elusive of all things in a democracy: Unity", he added. Biden's call for national unity contrasted sharply with his predecessor, Donald Trump, who had spent the preceding 11 weeks attempting to delegitimize Biden's election by spreading demonstrably false claims of election fraud. In doing so, Trump made common cause with white supremacist organizations, conspiracy theorists and right-wing extremists, ultimately inciting the attack on the Capitol on January 6 and prompting the House of Representatives to impeach him for a second time.
Though President Donald Trump left the White House for the final time, heading by helicopter to a nearby military base where he will fly to Florida. In brief remarks to reporters, Donald said it had been an amazing four years and the honor of a lifetime. Meanwhile, Biden disclosed that Trump had written him a ‘generous’ letter before departing from Washington. “The president wrote a very generous letter. Because it was private, I won’t talk about it until I talk to him. But it was generous,” he said.
In his final address before leaving the White House, Donald had told the nation, “We love the American people and again it has been something very special. And I just want to say goodbye, but hopefully it’s not a long term goodbye. We’ll see each other again”.
Joe plans to start his new administration with orders to restore the US to the Paris climate accord and the World Health Organization. He will sign 17 orders and actions, hours after being sworn in as US leader to break from policies of departing President Donald Trump and set new paths on immigration, the environment, fighting COVID-19 and the economy.