Biden Calls For Unity In America, Says ‘We Must End This Uncivil War’

Joseph R. Biden Jr. became the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, pledging to support all Americans as they grapple with the public health and economic crises wrought by COVID-19 and promising to a help a divided nation heal just two weeks after a deadly assault on the Capitol.

Biden’s inaugural address, while broadcast and streamed globally, was delivered to a relatively small, socially-distanced in-person audience of dignitaries at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. The National Mall, closed off and secured by tens of thousands of National Guardsmen amid threats of potential violence, was filled with a sea of small U.S., state and territorial flags in honor of those who could not attend in person and the 400,000 who’ve died during the pandemic.

Biden characterized the moment as a historic victory, and challenge, for democracy. Citing his own father’s struggles decades ago, Biden told Americans he understood their plight as millions have lost their jobs, lost family members and feared losing their health care. He called on Americans to join forces and respect each other as they had during the Great Depression, World War II and 9/11.

“My whole soul is in this,” Biden pledged, taking a line from former President Abraham Lincoln after he signed the Emancipation Proclamation. “Bringing America together, uniting our people. I ask every American to join me in this cause.”

Biden asked those who did not support him to “hear me out as we move forward. Take a measure of me and my heart. Disagreement must not lead to disunion. I will be a president for all Americans.”

Unity, Biden argued, was the key to putting people back to work, teaching children in safe schools, overcoming coronavirus, rebuilding the middle class and ending racial injustice.

He acknowledged, however, that talking about unity “can sound like a foolish fantasy these days.

“The forces that divide us are deep and they are real, but I also know they are not new,” he said. “Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we are all created equal and the harsh, ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear and demonization have long torn us apart.”

He cited the election of his running mate, former Sen. Kamala Harris of California, who was sworn in just before Biden to become the first female, Black and South Asian American to serve as vice president.

“Don’t tell me things can’t change,” he said.

Though he did not mention his predecessor by name, Biden cited the mob loyal to President Donald Trump that ransacked the Capitol in an attempt to thwart Congress from sealing Biden’s victory on Jan. 6.

Trump and Republican allies in Congress, seeking to overturn the election, had baselessly claimed for weeks that the White House was stolen through election fraud or irregularities in battleground states.

Biden noted that the mob attacking the Capitol had failed, and argued that American democracy won’t be stopped by violence, “not today, not tomorrow, not ever.”

Biden made clear that his administration would confront “a rise of political extremism, white supremacy and domestic terrorism,” and he encouraged Americans to “reject the culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured.”

He called on Americans to hear one another, walk in each other’s shoes and “lower the temperature.”

“We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal,” he said.

At 78, the Delaware Democrat becomes the oldest man to sit behind the Resolute desk in the Oval Office after serving three decades in the U.S. Senate and two terms in the White House under the first Black president, Barack Obama.

Biden thanked Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama, as well as former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and First Ladies Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush, for attending the ceremony.

In a break with longstanding tradition during American transfers of power, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump chose not to attend the inauguration. The couple took their final fight on Air Force One to their Palm Beach resort on Wednesday morning. Outgoing Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence attended the inauguration.

“We’ll be back in some form,” Trump told a crowd of allies and former aides at Joint Base Andrews. “We love you. Have a good life.”

Biden was sworn in by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, while Justice Sonia Sotomayor administered the oath of office for Harris. Biden took the oath with his hand atop a 127-year-old family bible held by his wife, Dr. Jill Biden.

Biden defeated Trump in November after besting a record Democratic primary field of nearly 30 contenders. Biden picked up 7 million more votes than Trump and earned 306 Electoral College votes to Trump’s 232.

States that were crucial to Trump’s victory over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016 — including Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona and Georgia — flipped for Biden.

Officials in Washington, D.C. and at state capitals across the country braced for potential violence Wednesday in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

While Trump supporters have argued that most remained peaceful during the Jan. 6 protest and that Trump encouraged them to “peacefully and patriotically” make their voices heard, his speech frequently mentioned “fighting” and insisted that his followers had the power to overturn an election that he decisively lost.

Bipartisan local, state and federal election officials found no evidence that widespread fraud impacted the presidential race. Dozens of judges of both major parties, including several Trump appointees, tossed lawsuits from Trump’s campaign and Republican allies. Trump’s own Department of Homeland Security and former attorney general found no evidence that fraud or irregularities led to Biden’s win.

Trump now faces an unprecedented second impeachment trial after the House voted to impeach him last week for “incitement of insurrection” at the Capitol.

Biden plans a host of actions in his first few days in office, including eliminating the Trump-era ban on travel from Muslim-majority nations, rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement and pressing for a new COVID-19 stimulus including a $1,400 stimulus check.

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