The newly sworn-in President of the United States, Joe Biden, gave a heartfelt speech at his inauguration at the US Capitol and delivered a message of hope for the American people. The 46th US President called for ‘unity among the American people’ in times of unprecedented crisis. He said, “Today on this January day, my whole soul is in this: bringing America together, uniting our people, uniting our nation, and I ask every American to join me in this cause.” 

This inauguration ceremony has set a historical precedent for the political traditions of the United States as Kamala Harris, who was sworn-in as Vice President of the United States alongside Joe Biden at the US Capitol, is the first-ever female Vice President of the US. Moreover, the 56-year-old is also the first Vice President of South Asian descent. 

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The highlights of the US President Joe Biden’s speech:

“Few people in our nation’s history have been more challenged or found a time more challenging or difficult than the time we’re in now. To overcome these challenges, to restore the soul and secure the future of America, requires so much more than words and requires the most elusive of all things in a democracy: unity.”

“There is truth, and there are lies — lies told for power, and for profit. …. And each of us has a duty and a responsibility as citizens, as Americans, especially as leaders who have pledged to honor our Constitution and protect our nation, to defend the truth, to defeat the lies.”

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“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, and unity is the path forward. Hear one another. See one another. Show respect to one another.”

“Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire, destroying everything in its path. Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war. And we must reject the culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured.”