Joe Biden has been sworn in as president of the United States, pledging to unite a deeply divided nation rolling from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Raising his right hand and placing his left on a Bible, Biden took the oath of office on Wednesday during a scaled-down inauguration due to the coronavirus, which has killed more than 400,000 people in the US.
“This is America’s day. This is democracy’s day. A day of history and hope, of renewal and resolve,” Biden said in his first address as president.
“Today we celebrate the triumph, not of a candidate, but a cause – the cause of democracy.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, the first woman and first person of colour to hold the post, was sworn in shortly before Biden.
In an extremely rare move, Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, chose to not attend the ceremony.
Goldenationblog.com had earlier reported that Trump left the White House early on Wednesday morning, travelling on the Marine One helicopter to a farewell ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, before flying to Florida.
He briefly spoke to reporters, calling his term the “honour of a lifetime” and an “amazing four years”.
“I will always fight for you. I will be watching. I will be listening,” Trump said, adding: “We will be back in some form.”
The inauguration took place amid ongoing security concerns in the US capital in the aftermath of a deadly riot on January 6, when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building as Congress met to certify Biden’s election victory.
Trump was impeached last week by the US House of Representatives for “incitement to insurrection” about the Capitol attack.
Thousands of security forces were deployed in Washington, DC for the inauguration, giving a strange feeling to what is normally a celebratory event enjoyed by thousands of people.
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