Inauguration Day 2021

Editors note: In July 2024, while speaking at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) conference, former President Donald Trump questioned Vice President Kamala Harris’s racial identity, saying: “She was always of Indian heritage. She was only promoting Indian heritage, I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black,” Trump said. “So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?” This story, first published in 2020 and updated in 2021 when Harris was sworn in as vice president, discusses America’s difficulties with talking about the identities of multiracial people.

The swearing-in of Kamala Harris as vice president of the United States was a historic moment that celebrated other historic firsts: The first Latinx Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor, did the honors as Harris’s hand rested on the Bible that belonged to Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme Court justice.

While President Joe Biden’s inauguration was unlike any other, his messaging repeatedly spoke to a familiar theme: a return to normalcy.

And in a music special Wednesday night, he stressed it even more — with performances from Bon Jovi, John Legend, and Demi Lovato, which called for people to come together for a more hopeful future.

In the days following the violent Trump-inspired insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, the FBI warned all 50 states that similar “armed protests” were being planned by right-wing extremists around their capitol buildings. But on Inauguration Day, at least, those protests turned out to be complete duds.

Not only have there been no incidents of violence at state capitols on Wednesday as of 4 pm ET, but at many of them, the number of MAGA protesters could be counted on one hand.

The nation’s attention turned again to Washington, DC, as Joe Biden was sworn in Wednesday as the 46th president of the United States. The occasion has been rife with symbolism so far, as the incoming first and second families seek to usher in a period of healing. “To heal, we must remember,” Biden said Tuesday night during a memorial for Covid-19 victims. “It’s hard. But that’s how we heal.”

The inauguration is not just an ideological dawn for America; the Biden administration intends to signal a stylistic shift with this official appearance. The transference of image and power is showcased through Biden’s and Harris’s sartorial decisions.

Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on the steps of the US Capitol on Wednesday, surrounded by past presidents, members of Congress, and his family.

It was an unusual inauguration in many respects.

After Joe Biden finished delivering his inaugural address, the youngest-ever inauguration poet in US history took the stage and stole the show. Amanda Gorman, who is 22 years old and was named the first youth poet laureate of the United States in 2017, delivered her poem “The Hill We Climb” to the waiting crowd. Within minutes, her Twitter account jumped from 48,000 followers to 255,000 and counting.

In an interview with the New York Times, Gorman, who graduated from Harvard last year with a degree in sociology, said she struggled to compose “The Hill We Climb” in the weeks leading up to the inauguration. Then came the Capitol riots of January 6.

And just like that, Donald Trump is no longer president, and Joe Biden is.

On Wednesday, January 20, at noon Eastern time, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States. He took the oath of office from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, and his vice president, Kamala Harris, from Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Harris became the first woman, first Black person, and first South Asian person to be elected to the vice presidency of the US.

In his first speech as president, Joe Biden emphasized unity, situating his inauguration among other tense moments in American history where democracy prevailed despite the country’s divisions and crises.

Referencing the Civil War, the Great Depression, and World War II, Biden’s address stood in stark contrast to the “American carnage” references his predecessor used four years ago, clarifying the challenges facing the nation but asking Americans to appeal to their better natures. While calling out the toxic nature of the misinformation that has divided the country — a notable mention while speaking to dozens of Republican lawmakers who denied his electoral win — Biden affirmed his belief in a unified country.

When Joe Biden, the former two-term vice president under Barack Obama and 36-year Senate veteran, took the oath of office on January 20, he became the chief executive with the most experience in public service in US history. His running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, became the first woman, first African American, and first South Asian American to serve as vice president.

The 46th president and his vice president take office amid a world-historic crisis, a pandemic that has already claimed more American lives than US soldiers who died in World War II, and has produced the highest unemployment rates since the Great Depression.

What a difference two weeks makes.

On January 6, Eugene Goodman, a Capitol Police officer, exhibited bravery in the face of a mob of insurrectionists storming the US Capitol. On January 20, he escorted Vice President-elect Kamala Harris into the inauguration ceremony.

With her inauguration, Vice President Kamala Harris has made history: She’s the first woman — and first Black and South Asian person — to serve in the role, and now the highest-ranking woman in US government.

But beyond these firsts, Harris is poised to have an unusual vice presidency, in large part because of the singular role she’s expected to take on.