On Wednesday, January 20th, Joe Biden was inaugurated to be the United States’ forty-sixth president. This presidential inauguration and transition were perhaps the most-awaited and historically significant in the United States history.

This year’s inauguration was like no other. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the security breach at the Capitol building, only United States politicians and close family and friends of the Biden family were allowed to attend the historic inauguration. In contrast, citizens of the United States were only allowed to view from home. Instead of United States citizens shivering on the lawn in front of the Capitol building, volunteers set up small state flags, each flag representing two Americans that had passed away due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year also featured Amanda Gorman, the United States’ first-ever youth poet laureate, who recited a poem called “The Hill We Climb,” which reflected the struggles of many marginalized citizens to have equal rights for all people and also was an uplifting message of hope.

After the inauguration, President Biden arrived at the White House, his new home for the next four years. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, President Biden’s inauguration balls were canceled, leaving an empty gap in the afternoon. Therefore, President Biden jumped right into the Oval Office to sign executive orders to help the United States citizens. These executive orders ranged from rejoining the Paris Climate Accord to taking away revenue to fund the border wall and finally addressing COVID-19. 

President Joe Biden ended the day by watching fireworks over the D.C horizon with his wife. 

Works Cited

Janowski, Elizabeth. “Here’s the Full List of Biden’s Executive Actions so Far.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 28 Jan. 2021, www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/here-s-full-list-biden-s-executive-actions-so-far-n1255564.

Macaya, Melissa, and Mike Hayes. “2021 Inauguration Day News Coverage.” CNN, Cable News Network, 21 Jan. 2021, www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/biden-harris-inauguration-day-2021/index.html.