On January 20th, the United States saw a peaceful transfer of power as President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ term came to a close, paving the way for President Trump’s second inauguration.
After serving as Barack Obama’s Vice President from 2009 to 2017, Joe Biden became President in 2021, promising Americans to rebuild the country. During his term, Biden was tasked with keeping the U.S. in shape during the COVID-19 pandemic, ending a twenty-year-long war in Afghanistan, and dealing with the rise of international hostility.
During his farewell address on January 15th, Biden announced that a ceasefire agreement developed by his administration had been reached between Israel and Hamas. Biden said that his team had kept the incoming president’s team fully informed, emphasizing that that is how it should be.
In his address, Biden also raised concern over power inside the United States government, describing it as “a dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra-wealthy people.” He went on to warn Americans about a potential oligarchy in the government, which caused the top Google search to be, “What is an oligarchy?”
During Biden’s final hours in the Oval Office, he issued pardons to his immediate family members, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and those involved on the congressional committee of the January 6th Capitol Attack. Biden said the pardons were necessary, saying, “Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks [attacks/threats made by Trump] will end.”
Three days before the inauguration ceremony on January 17th, Trump ordered it to be moved indoors due to record-low temperatures in Washington, D.C. This left the inauguration committee and crews scrambling with less than 72 hours to prepare a new ceremony.
On the morning of January 20th, the outgoing President and First Lady met with the incoming President and First Lady at the White House for tea, a tradition dating back to the inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. The incoming VP was also welcomed to the White House by the outgoing VP. At 11:00 am, Biden left the White House for the last time as president and rode with Trump to the Capitol for the inauguration ceremony.
The ceremony took place inside the Capitol Rotunda. Guests, including the Trump family, Vance family, former presidents, former first ladies, Supreme Court justices, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, outgoing VP Harris, and outgoing President Biden, sat on stage. Meanwhile, guests, including members of Congress, world leaders, and special guests, were seated in front of the stage.
The ceremony included musical performances by country music artist Carrie Underwood and opera singer Christopher Macchio, as well as prayers by Rev. Lorenzo Sewell, Rev. Franklin Graham, and Archbishop Timothy Dolan.
At 12:00 pm, JD Vance took the oath of office, becoming the 50th Vice President. Then, at 12:01 pm, Donald Trump took the oath of office, becoming the 47th president.
During his inaugural address, Trump spoke about issues he would address strongly, including foreign policy, government efficiency, and immigration. During his address, Trump also spoke further on his claims to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the ‘Gulf of America’ and the name of Mt. Denali to Mt. McKinley.
Following the ceremonial events, Trump arrived at the Capitol One Arena in Washington D.C. packed with supporters, to sign some of his first Executive orders; he signed the rest in the Oval Office. Among those executive orders were the end to birthright citizenship, the renaming of geographical locations, the end to remote government jobs, and the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization.
When asked what she thought about the new administration, 11th grader Catherine Benitez said, “He [Trump] is doing a lot of useless stuff. Who cares about the name of the ocean or a mountain? And what does he mean by taking away citizenship? It is in the constitution.”
With only a few days into Trump’s presidency and an abundance of bold moves, it is unclear what the ‘Golden Age of America’ will look like.
