As President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office in the face of more crises than any other president in modern American history, the stakes for his inaugural speech could not be greater.
A transition official said that Biden is working on the speech this weekend with relatives and his senior adviser Mike Donilon and that the speech will emphasize familiar themes from his campaign: unity, healing and a vision for the many crises the country faces.
Aides also said the speech will echo some of Biden’s recent speeches, which he doubled as opportunities to test inaugural themes. In unveiling his $ 1.9 trillion economic package last week, Biden said bipartisanship was essential to address the economy and the Covid-19 pandemic: “Unity is not an incredible dream – it is a practical step towards achieving that we have to be done as a country is done together, “he said.
Still, Americans should not expect Biden’s speech to be filled with growing rhetoric. Biden believes he connects with people more effectively, taking a direct approach, say the people around him.
A Democratic source said that while some of the most famous lines in American political history are from inaugural speeches – “Abraham Lincoln’s malice towards no one, charity to all”, the “only thing we should fear is fear” of Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy’s phrase “don’t ask what your country can do for you” – most Americans probably can’t remember important lines from most others.
There is pressure on speech writers to “write for history”. But Biden’s allies say they believe the speech is an opportunity to continue the leadership role he has been playing during the transition – in a time of crisis, demonstrating to a much wider audience that he will be tuned in that someone is firmly in charge. That is why Biden’s speeches during the transition often included a simple line: “Aid is on the way,” according to this Democratic source.
“People want a little bit of normalcy and someone who knows what he’s doing and has his hand on the wheel. He’s very good at it,” said the Democratic source. The speech is “it’s going to be Joe Biden” because “unity is part of who Joe Biden is”.
“This is what he believes,” said the source.
Donilon is a chief architect, as has been Biden’s message not only in this campaign, but in most of his previous campaigns. He is working alongside Vinay Reddy, Biden’s speech writing director, who worked for Biden when he was vice president.
Biden’s challenge will be to reach voters who still strongly support President Donald Trump. He told Kristen Welker of NBC News during the last presidential debate that, if he were elected, he would use his address to say, “I am an American president. I represent all of you, vote for me or against me, and I will make sure that you is represented. “
Aides said Biden will likely end on a similar note that he highlighted in almost every speech he has made in the past six months: There is nothing that Americans cannot do despite the challenges if Americans do it together.
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In an interview on ABC News Sunday “” This Week “, the new White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said the speech” will be a reflection of much of what you heard from him during the campaign, which he believes we can bring this country together. “
“He believes that we have to unite this country, that a unified America is the only way to be able to face the massive crises that we are facing,” she said, adding:
“I think you can expect this to be a time when President-elect Biden will really work to try to turn the page on division and hatred for the past four years and really present a positive and optimistic outlook for the country and chart a path – chart a path to follow that really calls all of us to work together. “
