Joe Biden on Wednesday was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, vowing a “new day” for the United States after four years of tumult under former Donald Trump, who snubbed the inauguration.
Two weeks to the day after Trump supporters violently rampaged at the US Capitol to overturn the election results, Biden headed to the same very steps alongside Kamala Harris, who became the first woman, Black and South Asian-origin Vice President.
“I will be a president for all Americans,” Biden pledged during his inaugural speech, in a sign of his push for unity.
Biden, who at 78 became the oldest and only the second Catholic president in US history, takes office amid enormous challenges, including the still-raging COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed over 400,000 lives in the United States.
The inauguration ceremony featured performances from artists like Lady Gaga, who sang the National Anthem, Jennifer Lopez, country music star Garth Brooks and a poem recitation from Amanda Gorman, America’s first-ever youth poet laureate.