Thirty-four years after first seeking the job, Joseph R. Biden Jr has been sworn in as the 46th president of the United States at a moment of profound turmoil and loss for America.
Biden was sworn in on Wednesday by Chief Justice John Roberts on the Capitol’s West Front, with a vista of iconic national monuments stretching across the National Mall.
Vice President Kamala Harris also took the oath of office that recognized her the first woman, first Black American and first South Asian American to hold the office.
The inauguration comes exactly two weeks after outgoing president, Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a bid to disrupt the certification by Congress of Biden’s November election victory.
Trump broke tradition and became the first outgoing president since 1869 to skip his successor’s inauguration ceremony.
Instead, he flew to Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. His number two, Mike Pence along with former presidents Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton – and their wives were present at the ceremony.
The former US president however gave a parting message before boarding Air Force One, telling a small group of supporters and family members gathered on the tarmac of Joint Base Andrews in Maryland that “we will be back in some form”.
“I wish the new administration great luck and great success,” he added, before boarding the plane, which took off to the booming soundtrack of Frank Sinatra’s My Way.
More to come…
