Before leaving for Delaware for his inauguration in Washington, President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday paid an emotional compliment to his longtime home and his late son, Beau Biden.
Biden, who is due to take office on Wednesday, choked on his brief statements at the Delaware National Guard headquarters in New Castle, which was named after Beau in 2016 after his death a year earlier, at 46.
“It’s kind of exciting for me,” said Biden, wiping away tears before praising Delaware as “the state that loves our children and grandchildren, and loves our Beau, and he loved you too.”
“It is deeply personal that our next journey to Washington starts here, a place that defines the best of what we as Americans are,” said Biden.
“I know it’s dark times, but there is always light. That’s what makes this state so special. That’s what it taught me,” said Biden.
President-elect Joe Biden wipes his eyes as he speaks at the Major Joseph R. “Beau” Biden III Reserve / National Guard Center at New Castle Airport on January 19, 2021, in New Castle, Delaware, before leaving for Washington, A.D.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
Biden, since defeating President Donald Trump’s candidacy for re-election, has largely been stationed near Wilmington, where his transition team was based.
From there, Biden and his team set out a series of comprehensive political goals, primarily aimed at defeating the coronavirus and restoring the health of an economy damaged by the pandemic.
Biden is due to make additional comments on Wednesday at the Lincoln Memorial, in a ceremony in honor of the victims of Covid, which has killed at least 400,000 people in the United States
The pandemic and the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a crowd of Trump supporters led authorities to make drastic changes at the opening ceremony, which traditionally attracts thousands of spectators to the National Mall. This time, areas of the National Mall were closed to the public and about 25,000 members of the National Guard were deployed to DC
Near the end of his observations at New Castle, Biden again seemed overwhelmed by his emotions.
“They say that James Joyce told a friend that when the time comes to pass, when he dies, he said, ‘Dublin will be written on my heart.’ Well, sorry for the emotion, “said Biden, in a choked voice.
After a pause, Biden said, “When I die, Delaware will be written on my heart. The hearts of all the Bidens. We love you all. You have been by our side in the good and the bad. You never walked away.”
“I am even more proud to be here, doing this for the installation of Major Beau Biden,” added Biden.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have only one regret: he is not here, because we should be introducing him as president.”