WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden was elected with a promise to restore normalcy to the White House, but his presidency began on Wednesday with an unusual oath, with much of the pomp removed by the necessity of circumstances.
The day was not like the inaugurations of the past. The mall was not teeming with lush crowds; the streets were not teeming with parade spectators; and the city’s ballrooms were not adorned with sequined dresses.
But it did happen, however, which may be the only thing that matters at a time when America’s democratic institutions were tested, almost to the breaking point.
“Democracy is precious. Democracy is fragile,” said the new president after taking an oath on his family’s 127-year-old Bible. “And at this time, my friends, democracy has prevailed.”
Washington is a capital used to absorb the blows of history’s hammer, from civil war to terrorist attacks. But an unprecedented president, a global pandemic and a recent deadly turmoil have turned what is typically a moment of joy into one of relief.
“You could hear the country’s collective blood pressure drop by 100 points during the ceremony,” said Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio.
The organizers tried to keep the ceremony as long as possible, protecting it from both the Covid-19 pandemic and threats of violence, but were able to save little beyond its main function: what Ronald Reagan called a “common and miraculous” act of distributing energy.
“We are a nation in crisis, so I don’t think it was a celebration in the traditional sense,” said Representative Jason Crow, D-Colo. “Having, almost two weeks ago at the time, the riot and crowd in that exact spot, and now we having the power transition there, Republicans and Democrats together, was really a powerful moment. “
Crowds are gone. Masks, on. The outgoing president, nowhere to be seen, for the first time in more than 150 years. The parade route, filled with soldiers instead of spectators. The Capitol door, still destroyed by the mob attack.
Even in the innermost bubble, where normality was most protected, on the stage where the leaders of the three government powers, the politicians whose nature is to shake hands and hug, had to keep their distance as best they could, before taking their seats apart 6 feet apart.
And yet, as if it were a cue, just before the official delivery at noon, the sky cleared, the sun appeared and Lady Gaga sang the national anthem.
“If Hollywood had done the script, we would have said it was mushy, but it was happening in real life, in real time,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, DR.I.
The stripped ceremony itself went smoothly, with performances by Garth Brooks and Jennifer Lopez, and prayers and poetry. Still, the tone was relatively calm, underscoring a silent prayer for those who died of the virus.
It could hardly have been a more stark contrast to when Biden sat on the inaugural stage a dozen years ago to take office as vice president of Barack Obama.
So the mood was joyful. Americans, including Republicans, are extremely optimistic about their new president, polls show. It is estimated that 1.8 million came from all over the country to sleep on sofas and floors and take night bus trips to have the chance to stay in the intense cold of the National Mall and witness history, even though most were too far away to really witness anything.
Bars, restaurants and hotels filled up late at night. Music boomed in the windows. People danced in the streets, alongside vendors selling buttons and commemorative T-shirts. Ballrooms, clothing manufacturers and suppliers worked overtime to accommodate the VIPs who were preparing for the balls – the Obamas attended 10.
“With Obama, he was a celebrity and there was so much crowd, and there was so much shouting and shouting that it was almost like being at a sporting event in a stadium,” said Whitehouse. “It was much more intimate. And he had a lot of soul. “
Representative Vicente González, D-Texas, who was elected the same year as Trump, said he was initially upset that Trump decided to skip the ceremony, but ended up feeling it was a positive development.
“Not having him around was good, for a change,” said Gonzalez. “I think it was a beautiful event. It is a completely new chapter. We are starting a new era, with a new president, with a new Senate, with a new Congress that I really think will be willing to work together. “
Each possession includes a heavy security footprint, but if Obama’s first was four parts of Mardi Gras for one part of martial law, Biden inverted the mix into a recipe born of both paranoia and patriotism.
It is at least the third time in less than a year that plywood has risen in the windows of Washington. And in the center of the “Zona Verde”, people took selfies on deserted streets with checkpoints and armored vehicles, instead of the famous attractions of Americana that Washington offers.
The usual circle of policemen outside the Capitol was diminished by National Guard troops who guarded miles of black fences with barbed wire.
Outside the boarded-up windows of a chic steakhouse, where lobbyists could be discussing plans for the new administration, a waiter in an impeccable white shirt attended to his only customers, four federal agents out of service, guns at his waist.
When the inaugural ceremony began just a few blocks away, the area along the National Mall was eerily quiet. Generators, golf carts, and occasional gusts provided the only soundtrack.
There was no sign of protesters or supporters. Instead, hundreds of thousands of flags installed by the inaugural committee waved in the breeze.
Approached by NBC News, a group of groundbreaking employees – who in any other year would have done their best to attract as many people as possible – noted how successful they were in keeping people at bay.
Gabriel Achemu, a 39-year-old Uber driver who lives in the Washington area, said he was discouraged in the two weeks after the Capitol riot – his city looked and felt nothing like he was used to. The inauguration left him praying for one thing – national unity.
“What we want is the unity of the whole country,” said Achemu, a native of Nigeria. “It’s my biggest wish for Joe Biden.”
For Biden, it was the culmination of a lifetime dream. But none of this could have come close to what he must have imagined, since he first considered running for president in the early 1980s.
Not his Democratic primary campaign, which started with embarrassing losses in Iowa and New Hampshire. Not in his general election campaign, where he was forced to abandon his beloved rope to use Zoom. Not in the way he was declared the winner, four sweaty days after the election. And certainly not his transition to power, which faced unprecedented opposition from the outgoing president, who snubbed the ceremony.
At the start of his campaign, Biden portrayed himself as a gray-haired veteran politician who left retirement for one last job, although he recruited himself for the task. But, as anyone who has seen this film knows, that last job always goes wrong before the outcome.
“What’s most important in life,” said Biden in his comments. “There is no way to explain what fate will negotiate with you.”