Washington: Joe Biden took oath as the 46^th President of the United States of America on Wednesday. The US Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts administered the oath as president of America with Joe Biden in front of the Capitol west.

After taking the oath President Joe Biden urged the people to come together to end an uncivil war in a nation deeply divided after four tumultuous years. He declaring that democracy has prevailed. On a chill Washington morning dotted with snow flurries, the quadrennial ceremony unfolded within a circle of security forces evocative of a war zone and devoid of crowds because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, Biden gazed out over 200,000 American flags planted on the National Mall to symbolize those who could not attend in person.

Biden also said “The will of the people has been heard, and the will of the people has been heeded. We’ve learned again that democracy is precious and democracy is fragile. At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed”. “This is America’s day. This is democracy’s day, a day in history and hope, of renewal and resolve.” He never mentioned his predecessor, who defied tradition and left town ahead of the ceremony, but his speech was an implicit rebuke of Donald Trump. The new president denounced “lies told for power and for profit” and was blunt about the challenges ahead.

Central among them: the surging virus that has claimed more than 400,000 lives in the United States, as well as economic strains and a national reckoning over race. Biden Said “We have much to do in this winter of peril, and significant possibilities. Much to repair, much to restore, much to heal, much to build and much to gain”. “Few people in our nation’s history have been more challenged, or found a time more challenging or difficult than the time we’re in now.”

He was eager to go big early, with an ambitious first 100 days that includes a push to speed up the distribution of Covid-19 vaccinations to anxious Americans and pass a $1.9 trillion virus relief package. On Day One, he planned a series of executive actions to roll back Trump administration initiatives and also planned to send an immigration proposal to Capitol Hill that would create an eight-year path to citizenship for immigrants living in the country illegally.

The absence of Biden’s predecessor from the inaugural ceremony, a break from tradition, underscored the rift to be healed. But a bipartisan trio of three former presidents — Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama — were there to witness the ceremonial transfer of power. Trump, awaiting his second impeachment trial, was at his Florida resort by the time the swearing-in took place.

Biden, in his third run for the presidency, staked his candidacy less on any distinctive political ideology than on galvanizing a broad coalition of voters around the notion that Trump posed an existential threat to American democracy. Biden did not mention Trump by name but alluded to the rifts his predecessor had helped create.

“I know the forces that divide us are deep and they are real. But I also know they are not new. Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we all are created equal and the harsh, ugly reality of racism, nativism, fear, demonization that have long torn us apart,” Biden said. “This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge, and unity is the path forward and we must meet this moment as the United States of America.”

Biden came to office with a well of empathy and resolve born by personal tragedy as well as a depth of experience forged from more than four decades in Washington. At age 78, he was the oldest president inaugurated.