In his inaugural address, US President Joe Biden called for national “unity” by promising to be “the president of all Americans”.
After observing a minute of silence in tribute to the American victims of Covid-19, the Democrat also promised to "defeat" "white supremacism" and "internal terrorism".
"Democracy won," said newly invested US President Joe Biden in his inaugural address Wednesday, hailing a day of "hope" for America.
"The will of the people has been heard and the will of the people has been respected," he said a few minutes after taking the oath to become the 46th President of the United States.
Joe Biden also called America for “unity” during his 21-minute address, and vowed to be “the president of all Americans”.
Here are the highlights of this historic speech.
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A minute of silence in tribute to the victims of the Covid
In a warning of the arrival of "the hardest and deadliest phase" of the coronavirus pandemic, the new president called on Americans to put aside their differences to face this "dark winter".
"We will get by together", he assured, before observing a minute of silence in tribute to the 400,000 "mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, friends, neighbors and colleagues" killed by the Covid -19.
Joe Biden observes a time of silence in tribute to the victims of Covid-19 pic.twitter.com/6XV4ojmB0U
- BFMTV (@BFMTV) January 20, 2021
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"Defend the truth"
The new president further urged Americans to reject manipulation of facts, in a reference to his predecessor Donald Trump, who for weeks denied the result of the presidential election and popularized the phrase "fake news" during his tenure. .
"All disagreements must not lead to all-out war. And we must reject the culture where the facts themselves are manipulated, and even invented," he said.
"There is the truth and there are the lies, the lies spoken for power and for profit. And each of us has a duty and a responsibility as citizens, as Americans, and especially as leaders (...) to defend the truth and fight lies, "added the 78-year-old Democrat.
Joe Biden denounces "the rise of political extremism and white supremacism" pic.twitter.com/tumSQnHyPM
- BFMTV (@BFMTV) January 20, 2021
"Defeat white supremacism"
Two weeks after the trauma of the violence on Capitol Hill perpetrated by supporters of Donald Trump, Joe Biden also promised to "defeat" "white supremacism" and "domestic terrorism".
"Today we see the emergence of political extremism, white supremacism and internal terrorism," he noted.
"We must face them and we will defeat them," he said as the capital Washington DC is barricaded and watched by some 25,000 National Guard soldiers, for fear of incidents with pro-Trump.