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A new style presidency begins - 22nd January 2021

The 46th President of the United States, Joseph R Biden, was inaugurated on Capitol Hill on Wednesday 20th January.

Swearing the presidential oath, President Biden pledged to defend the US Constitution at the scene of a violent assault on its institutions two weeks before.

In a break with tradition, the outgoing president declined to attend the peaceful transfer of power, although all other former living presidents, except 96 year old Jimmy Carter, witnessed the ceremony.

The absence of spectators on the national mall, owing to coronavirus restrictions, was marked by nearly 200,000 flags rippling across the lawns in their place.

Biden had held ambitions for the presidency since he began his political career. Now a veteran of the senate aged 78, this makes him the oldest person to assume the office.

Biden: “Preserve, protect and defend, the Constitution of the United States, so help me God.”

While suffragettes had faced angry mobs barring their way at an inauguration 108 years ago, Kamala Harris’s swearing-in as the first woman Vice President showed that the dial had permanently shifted, as she thanked those who had paved the way for her opportunity.

Harris: “I, Kamala Devi Harris, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies foreign and domestic.”

Biden appealed to the better angels of the American people in his inaugural, acknowledging the challenges of the pandemic, the economy and the need for national healing.

Biden: "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."

Lady Gaga’s rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner and unifying songs from Jennifer Lopez stirred emotions before Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman’s poignant closing.

Gorman: "There is always light if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.”