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      Trump Departs Vowing, ‘We Will Be Back in Some Form’

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Biden AdministrationliveLatest UpdatesBiden Takes Office17 Executive Orders SignedU.S. Rejoins Paris AgreementAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyTrump Departs Vowing, ‘We Will Be Back in Some Form’Defeated and twice impeached, the 45th president used his farewell remarks before a sparse crowd to brag about his record and wish luck to the incoming administration.“Goodbye, we love you, we will be back in some form,” Donald J. Trump told supporters in his final hours as president on Wednesday.Credit…Pete Marovich for The New York TimesJan. 20, 2021Updated 9:30 p.m. ETJOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. — President Donald J. Trump left Washington aboard Air Force One for a final time on Wednesday, the iconic plane creeping along the runway so the liftoff was timed to the closing strains of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.”In many ways, Mr. Trump’s last hours as president were a bookend to the kickoff of his presidential campaign in June 2015. As he did then, he tossed aside prepared remarks that aides had helped draft and spoke off the cuff, having them take down teleprompters they had set up. As he did then, he spent hours focused on the visual aspects of the scene where he would speak at the end of a calamitous final three months that capped a tumultuous term.Before departing for Florida, Mr. Trump — defeated at the polls, twice impeached, silenced by social media platforms and facing an array of legal and financial problems — laid down a marker about his future, telling the roughly 300 supporters who greeted him on the windy tarmac, several holding American flags, that they had not seen the last of him.“Goodbye. We love you. We will be back in some form,” Mr. Trump vowed, with the first lady, Melania Trump, by his side in sunglasses and a black outfit. He has yet to say what that form will take, but people who know him said he remained bitter that congressional Republicans had joined in rebuke of his speech at a Jan. 6 rally that incited his supporters to storm the Capitol.He at one point delivered an understated line: “We were not a regular administration.”Nonetheless, he performed more regularly in his farewell remarks than at almost any other moment since the Nov. 3. election. He thanked members of Congress with whom he worked, as well as Vice President Mike Pence, whose unwillingness to join in Mr. Trump’s baseless effort to halt Congress’s certification of President Biden’s victory led to a deep rift between them.Aides carrying boxes out of the White House on Wednesday morning.Credit…Anna Moneymaker for The New York TimesMr. Pence and the two Republican leaders in Congress skipped Mr. Trump’s departure and later attended Mr. Biden’s inaugural. Mr. Trump did not mention Mr. Biden, but for the first time he wished “great luck and great success” to the incoming administration. (A draft of Mr. Trump’s prepared remarks had included a space suggesting he acknowledge Mr. Biden, but were bracketed in case he did not, according to a person who saw them.)He did find time to note his own vote total.And he tried to claim credit for what he suggested would be a string of strong economic news in the coming months. “Remember us when you see these things happening, if you would,” he said.He similarly sought to promote his record in helping accelerate development of vaccines for the coronavirus. “It really is a great achievement,” he said.At different points, Mr. Trump seemed as close to becoming emotional as he had throughout his four years in office. He talked about the families who had suffered from the coronavirus throughout the last year.It was the first time in two weeks that Mr. Trump had addressed the public in person. He stayed mostly out of sight since election night, save for the incendiary speech he delivered to supporters on Jan. 6 urging them to march on the Capitol in an effort to deny Mr. Biden’s victory.His remarks were riddled with falsehoods and factual errors, boasts about his time in office and demands for credit, including his oft-repeated but exaggerated claim that he had rescued veterans from poor treatment. There were also awkward moments, like when he told his supporters, “Have a good life.” He offered a less acid version of his brand of partisanship, save for a few moments. “I hope they don’t raise your taxes,” he said, “but if they do, I told you so.”The Biden AdministrationLive Updates: Inauguration Live UpdatesUpdated Jan. 20, 2021, 10:06 p.m. ETTrump extends Secret Service protection for his children, cabinet secretaries and chief of staff.A boy who bonded with Biden over stuttering will write a children’s book.Michael Ellis, a Trump appointee at the N.S.A. who was sworn in on Tuesday, has been placed on leave.He praised his family and said people did not understand “how hard” they worked.Before the sun rose, officials had constructed a stage adorned with stars-and-stripes bunting, a lectern and a microphone for the president. A military band rehearsed “Hail to the Chief” shortly after 7 a.m.For several minutes, military aides measured the precise length of the red carpet that Mr. Trump was set to walk to the steps connecting to Air Force One, which was brought out around 6:30. Aides hoisted garment bags filled with the first family’s belongings into the forward cabin.A large space was built for an audience that the White House had invited to see the president off. But for a man obsessed with crowd size, only about 300 people showed up, filling roughly a third of the standing area.Mr. Trump took his final ride aboard Marine One. As the helicopter took him away from the White House, it diverted from its normal route and circled the Capitol.Credit…Jason Andrew for The New York TimesFor several days, aides had tried to corral officials to come to the departure, and to bring guests. But several who remained working until the president’s final day in office said they were worn out and deeply angry over his behavior since Election Day, as he spread falsehoods about the race being stolen from him, overshadowing whatever substantive achievements they might remember. Some of his aides who had been with him the longest said they did not even watch the send-off on television.Others wanted to steer clear of Washington in its current quasi-militarized state. And still others left the city before the new administration came in, returning to their home states.Mr. Trump, who often thought about winning but never truly contemplated the presidency before Nov. 8, 2016, began the morning telling advisers he wanted to add one last pardon to the lengthy list of clemency grants he had issued early Wednesday morning, prompting a scramble to make it happen. This one was for Albert J. Pirro Jr., the former husband of a longtime friend, Jeanine Pirro, a Fox News host. Mr. Trump has known the Pirros for more than 25 years, and White House officials said Ms. Pirro let the president know she was deeply unhappy that he had not received one. To the surprise of some of his own aides, he left a note for Mr. Biden in the Oval Office, although its contents remained undisclosed. Mr. Trump left the White House for a final time around 8:20 a.m., stopping briefly to talk to reporters before stepping onto Marine One. He described the presidency as the “honor” of his life.Then he and the first lady boarded the helicopter, taking their last ride as the rest of the Trump family met them at the send-off. The helicopter diverted from its normal route and circled around the Capitol, where two weeks earlier his supporters had chanted about hanging Mr. Pence, vowed to help Mr. Trump remain in office and set off chaos and violence that led to his second impeachment.When he arrived at the air base, a military band played “Hail to the Chief” and he was given a 21-gun salute, lending his farewell the militaristic patina he craved throughout his presidency. But during the event, his typical rally soundtrack played. When he finished his remarks, he stepped off the stage to the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” before heading to the red carpet leading to Air Force One.The plane then crept along the runway to “My Way,” a cinematic departure for a president who once wanted to be a Hollywood producer. On the flight, Mr. Trump stayed cloistered at the front of the plane with his family, who, like him, have never experienced the effect of a political loss.The route from the airport to Mr. Trump’s private club, Mar-a-Lago, was lined with supporters waving flags.Credit…Pete Marovich for The New York TimesWhen the plane touched down in Palm Beach, Fla., a crowd of about 20 supporters greeted the president. He waved, but did not stop to talk to anyone before climbing into an S.U.V.The route from the airport to his private club, Mar-a-Lago, was lined with people waving flags, some weeping as he passed. Around 11:30 a.m., Mr. Trump was whisked inside the gates of the Mar-a-Lago compound, leaving behind the press corps that was assigned to cover him for four years. Mr. Pirro’s pardon was announced around that time.Mr. Trump had another 30 minutes left of his presidency, but he had said all he was going to say.Patricia Mazzei More

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      Biden Can Heal What Trump Broke

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Biden AdministrationliveLatest UpdatesBiden Takes Office17 Executive Orders SignedU.S. Rejoins Paris AgreementAdvertisementContinue reading the main storyOpinionSupported byContinue reading the main storyBiden Can Heal What Trump BrokeNow that Mr. Trump is finally out of office, President Biden has the chance to lead America forward.Mr. Wegman is a member of the editorial board.Jan. 20, 2021Credit…Jason Andrew for The New York TimesFor a long time, Jan. 20, 2021, seemed like a day that might never come. It sat there far down the calendar, a tantalizing hint of a moment when America might at last be freed from the grip of the meanest, most corrupt and most incompetent presidency in the nation’s history.The countdown was measured first in weeks, then in days, then hours and minutes, as though Americans were anticipating the arrival of a new year. In this case, it was not just the intense desire of more than 81 million Americans to turn the page on an abominable administration, but a legitimate fear of what Donald Trump could do while still in power, especially without the constant distraction of his Twitter feed. (Seriously, what does he do without Twitter?)In the end, Jan. 20 arrived right on schedule, a cold, blustery Wednesday morning in the nation’s capital. There was no crowd on the National Mall this time, only a smattering of guests in carefully spaced folding chairs, in front of a vast field of flags. At 10 minutes to noon, Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office to Joe Biden. Mr. Biden’s swearing-in as the 46th president, and Kamala Harris’s swearing-in as the first female vice president — both standing on the very spot that Trump-incited rioters had stormed two weeks earlier — was the best possible rebuke of that dark day.If the violent and hateful swarm that descended on the Capitol on Jan. 6 represented some of the worst of America, those on the stage on Wednesday represented some of the best — like the Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman, whose quick thinking helped divert the mob and probably saved lives.“Democracy is fragile,” President Biden said in his inaugural remarks. “And at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.”The new president appealed to “the most elusive of all things in a democracy: unity. Without unity, there is no peace. Only bitterness and fury. No nation, only a state of chaos.”He invoked the words of Abraham Lincoln on signing the Emancipation Proclamation more than 150 years ago. “My whole soul is in this,” Mr. Biden repeated.Near the end of his speech, Mr. Biden called for a moment of silence to honor the memory of the more than 400,000 Americans who have died so far in the coronavirus pandemic. The request was remarkable only because it was the first time in nearly a year that the nation’s leader has evinced a genuine empathy for the grief, pain and loss millions of Americans have endured.One thing Mr. Biden did not say: his predecessor’s name. Under normal circumstances, that would be the height of disrespect. But it was the appropriate send-off for Mr. Trump, who was not in attendance anyway. He had skipped town hours earlier, a sulking, childish coward to the end. It was a final failure in a four-year string of failures to perform the most basic tasks of the office he held.Mr. Trump acted as though he were the first person in history to lose a presidential election. But of course every presidential election has a loser. Until Wednesday, outgoing presidents had handed over the reins of power with grace and public spirit. The few who declined to attend their successor’s inauguration, like Andrew Johnson (who was also impeached), did not spread lies about the legitimacy of their opponent’s victory. Many presidents knew they were ceding the office to someone who would take the country in a different direction. They did it anyway, not because it was easy, but precisely because it was hard — because they valued the American ideal more than their own ego.The Biden AdministrationLive Updates: Inauguration Live UpdatesUpdated Jan. 20, 2021, 10:06 p.m. ETTrump extends Secret Service protection for his children, cabinet secretaries and chief of staff.A boy who bonded with Biden over stuttering will write a children’s book.Michael Ellis, a Trump appointee at the N.S.A. who was sworn in on Tuesday, has been placed on leave.Mr. Trump instead pawned off the job on his vice president, Mike Pence, whose presence on the stage was all the more notable given that he had debased himself faithfully at his boss’s foot for four years, only to be rewarded with a mob, egged on by that boss, calling for his execution.Mr. Trump leaves office as the most disgraced, and most disgraceful, president in history. He divided and exhausted the country. He abused his office to the final possible moment, rescinding his own 2017 order barring lobbying by former White House employees. (Surprise: He never intended to drain the swamp.) And he doled out last-minute pardons to friends and allies like Steve Bannon, his former campaign manager, who faced federal fraud charges for bilking Mr. Trump’s own supporters out of cash that he claimed was going to help build the long-promised border wall.Mr. Trump holds another distinction: the first president to be impeached twice. This time, he might even be convicted by the Senate. Either way, Congress must ensure that he can never hold office again. Once he has faced political accountability, he must face the other types of accountability he has avoided throughout his life — financial, social and, potentially, criminal.Even though Mr. Trump is gone from office, the trauma he inflicted on the nation remains. So do at least 74 million people who voted for him, and who aren’t going anywhere. Living under Mr. Trump’s malfeasance and mismanagement for four years was made all the more upsetting with the knowledge that so many Americans watched it all happen and decided they wanted even more.There will be time to figure out how a nation so deeply divided against itself can come together and heal. However that may happen, it won’t be by forgetting Mr. Trump’s abuses, or who was complicit in them. Nor will it happen by ignoring the profound problems — from economic inequality to systemic racism to social-media disinformation peddlers — that brought us to this wretched place.Mr. Biden cannot solve these problems by himself, but he is well aware of the gravity of the situation, and of the hurdles that await. He enters office with the barest possible Senate majority and a thin margin in the House. His legislative agenda will run up against a Supreme Court that Republicans have stolen and stacked with the most hard-line conservatives in a century — justices who are out of step with the majority of Americans, but who will have the final word on interpreting the nation’s Constitution and laws for decades to come.Now, however, it’s worth pausing and celebrating what America achieved in electing Mr. Biden. It is not a magically different nation than it was the day before he was sworn in, but the simple fact that America is now being led by a decent, experienced public servant who cares about improving his constituents’ lives is a big deal. It’s no small feat to vote a corrupt authoritarian out of power. The American people did it; they earned this day. The inauguration of a new president is the crowning ritual of self-government.In his closing remarks Wednesday, Mr. Biden asked whether future generations would be able to say of this one, “They healed a broken land.” With Mr. Biden in charge, the nation has a chance to begin that healing. He deserves our profoundest wishes of good luck and Godspeed. He, and America, will need it.The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com.Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      For Many Across America, a Sigh of Relief as a New Era Begins

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Presidential InaugurationliveLatest UpdatesScenes From the DayBiden’s SpeechBiden Sworn InBiden’s Long RoadCredit…Jason Andrew for The New York TimesFor Many Across America, a Sigh of Relief as a New Era Begins“I feel lighter,” said a woman in Chicago. For many in an exhausted, divided nation, the inauguration was a sea change, not just a transition.Credit…Jason Andrew for The New York TimesSupported byContinue reading the main storyJan. 20, 2021, 7:01 p.m. ETEarly Inauguration Day morning, she slipped into her pandemic-era work clothes of gray sweatpants and white shirt and ground the beans. Then, with her mug of coffee, she watched on her kitchen television as the green-and-white helicopter took air, removing from the White House grounds the outgoing 45th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump.In that kitchen, in a brick Colonial house in Watertown, Mass., tears came to the eyes of the woman, Karolyn Kurkjian-Jones. Tears of unabashed joy.“It’s over, it’s over, it’s over,” Ms. Kurkjian-Jones, a retired kindergarten teacher and pandemic-furloughed concierge at the Boston Park Plaza hotel, said later. “He’s gone.”Since the election in November of Joseph R. Biden Jr. as the 46th president, a great deal of attention has been paid to the conspiracy theories of Republicans who supported Mr. Trump — especially those who, heeding his combustible words about a stolen election, overran the Capitol in a surge of violence and vandalism on Jan. 6.Vice President Kamala Harris celebrated after being sworn in Wednesday.Credit…Ruth Fremson/The New York TimesBut so many more Americans, nearly 81.3 million of them, are like Ms. Kurkjian-Jones, people who voted for Mr. Biden and against Mr. Trump. And, on Wednesday, exactly two weeks after the attack on the Capitol, they celebrated with liquor and baked goods, with Zoom calls and “Amazing Grace” and tears of joy, a new day: a day in which a nation pushed a reset button.In Chicago, not far from a bakery doing a brisk business in inauguration-themed treats — a Wonder Woman cake featuring the face of Vice President Kamala Harris, for example — Sarah Rassey, 40, made plans to watch the inauguration with her daughter, Madeleine, who also happened to be turning 5.“I feel lighter,” Ms. Rassey said of Mr. Biden’s presidency. “I’m just grateful, relieved, happy — and, honestly, I’ve been crying tears of joy since last night.”In Texas, a pair of sisters — both special-education teachers from Killeen — drove more than an hour to be in front of the State Capitol in Austin in time to watch the inauguration on a cellphone. Norma Luna, 49, and Sylvia Luna, 43, were there in part to honor a third sister, Veronica, 56, who died of the coronavirus on Election Day.Norma Luna, left, and her sister Sylvia watched a livestream of the inauguration from the Texas Capitol.Credit…Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times“It’s a relief,” Norma Luna cried as she watched the ceremony. “I didn’t think we could get here. We’re proud to be Americans again.”In Annandale, Va., Isra Chaker, 30, an advocate for refugees and asylum seekers at Oxfam America, felt unburdened of the need to justify her “Americanness” during the Trump administration — even though she was born and raised by Syrian immigrants in Boulder, Colo.“Today I know that I belong here,” Ms. Chaker, a Muslim who wears a hijab, said. “It was reaffirmed that we are all America and America is all of us.”And at the Calamari’s Squid Row restaurant in Erie, Pa., vodka was the noontime alcohol of choice among some women who call themselves the Drinking Girls. Mary Jo Campbell, 70, a retired university professor and an official in the Erie County Democratic Party, was there, along with her friends Linda, and Kathy, and Alice, and Cheryl, and Karen, and Amy, and Emily — a band assembled in commiseration after Mr. Trump’s election in 2016.The Presidential Inauguration More

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      What Are You Hoping For Over the Next Four Years?

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      It could be a better economy, a personal milestone or an ambitious policy. Tell us what you’re hoping will happen during the Biden administration. ✓ Thanks for sharing with us! <!– I’m voting… –> 35 <!– About you –> Name (first and last, please) Age City State Email Your email will not be published. Your […] More

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      Joe Biden Will Be Sworn In on a Family Bible at Inauguration

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Presidential InaugurationliveWatchHighlightsScenes from the CapitalScheduleQuestions, AnsweredJoseph R. Biden Jr. was sworn in for a second term as vice president on Jan. 20, 2013, with his left hand resting on the Biden family Bible.Credit…Josh Haner/The New York TimesJoe Biden’s Family Bible Has a Long HistoryHe’s used the same Bible as far back as 1973. It was also used by his son Beau.Joseph R. Biden Jr. was sworn in for a second term as vice president on Jan. 20, 2013, with his left hand resting on the Biden family Bible.Credit…Josh Haner/The New York TimesSupported byContinue reading the main storyJan. 20, 2021, 8:55 a.m. ETWhen President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. takes the oath of office on Wednesday, he is likely to place his hand on a familial artifact that has followed him throughout his 50-year political career: a hefty Bible, accented with a Celtic cross, that has been in his family since 1893.The Bible has been a staple at Mr. Biden’s past swearing-in ceremonies as a U.S. senator and as vice president. His son Beau Biden also used it when he was sworn in as the Delaware attorney general.Mr. Biden, who will make history as the country’s second Catholic president, after John F. Kennedy, often invoked his faith during the 2020 presidential campaign as he courted voters with a promise to restore the “soul of America.”In an interview last month with Stephen Colbert, Mr. Biden shared some history about the family heirloom.“Every important date is in there,” Mr. Biden said. “For example, every time I’ve been sworn in for anything, the date is inscribed.”But on Tuesday, a spokesman for Mr. Biden’s inaugural committee said he could not confirm whether Mr. Biden would use that tome for his inauguration — or even whether he would use a single Bible. (President Trump used two.)Beau Biden, the elder son of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., with the family Bible at his father’s second inauguration as vice president, in 2013.Credit…Jewel Samad/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesJoseph R. Biden Jr. rested his hand on the family Bible while being sworn in as a U.S. senator in 1973. Beau Biden, foreground right, was in attendance (if not necessarily paying attention).Credit…Associated PressThe Bible that a president-elect chooses to use for the swearing-in ceremony often relays a symbolic message to the American public, said Seth A. Perry, an associate professor of religion at Princeton University and the author of “Bible Culture and Authority in the Early United States.”“It’s difficult to imagine the ritual of the inauguration happening without that book at this point,” Professor Perry said. “It’s part of the scenery. It’s part of the thing that gives the moment the authority that it has.”Here’s a look how the Bible has figured into some of the most pivotal moments in U.S. history: the inaugurations of new American presidents.Washington’s Bible has been popular with other presidents.Like much of the pageantry associated with presidential inaugurations, the presence of a Bible at swearing-in ceremonies is steeped in tradition, dating all the way to the nation’s first president.The Presidential Inauguration More

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      Joe Biden’s Long Road to the Presidency

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      The story begins with an Irish Catholic family in northeastern Pennsylvania. Mr. Biden was born in 1942, the eldest son of Joseph Robinette Biden Sr. and Catherine Eugenia Finnegan Biden. He was also a son of Scranton, Pa., which would become central to his political identity. The Biden family moved to Delaware when he was 10 years old.

      Joseph R. Biden Jr. at age 10Biden family

      Mr. Biden, back right, with his younger siblings James and Valerie.Biden family

      Mr. Biden attended Syracuse University College of Law.Biden campaign

      After graduating from law school, Mr. Biden got his start in local politics in Delaware, winning election to the New Castle County Council in 1970. Two years later, at just 29 years old, he challenged a well-known Republican incumbent, Senator J. Caleb Boggs, a former Delaware governor. Mr. Biden won in a major upset.

      1970: During the New Castle County Council campaign.Biden campaign

      Nov. 1972: Celebrating his 30th birthday with his wife, Neilia, and their children.Bettman, via Getty Images

      Jan. 1973: Mr. Biden’s son Beau in a hospital bed.Brian Horton/Associated Press

      Weeks after Mr. Biden’s victory, his wife, Neilia, and their 13-month-old daughter, Naomi, were killed in a car accident. Mr. Biden considered giving up the Senate seat that he had just won but was persuaded to serve. He was sworn in at the hospital where his sons were treated for injuries from the crash.

      Dec. 1973: At Union Station in Washington.Bettman, via Getty Images

      As a senator, Mr. Biden commuted to Washington by train, a routine that allowed him to return home to his children each night. In the 1970s, he was a vocal opponent of busing, and decades later, he would come under fire after recalling working with segregationist senators during his early years in the Senate. As time went on, he gained clout in the chamber, becoming the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee and then the panel’s chairman.

      Feb. 1978: With President Jimmy Carter at a fund-raiser.Associated Press

      Feb. 1981: Serving on the Foreign Relations Committee.George Tames/The New York Times

      In 1977, he married Jill Jacobs; they would later have a daughter, Ashley.

      Jan. 1985: His second wife, Jill, left, and their children at a swearing-in ceremony.Lana Harris/Associated Press

      Aug. 1986: On the Judiciary Committee with Senators Strom Thurmond, third from the left, and Edward M. Kennedy, center.Lana Harris/Associated Press

      June 1987: A campaign kickoff rally in Wilmington, Del.Keith Meyers/The New York Times

      In 1987, Mr. Biden began his first presidential campaign, aiming to win the Democratic nomination the following year. The 44-year-old candidate presented himself as representing a new generation and declared, “We must rekindle the fire of idealism in this country.” But his bid was derailed by a plagiarism scandal, and he dropped out of the race months before the first nominating contest.

      June 1987: Trains became a part of Mr. Biden’s political identity.Keith Meyers/The New York Times

      June 1987: The 1988 Democratic presidential candidates included Al Gore, third from right; the Rev. Jesse Jackson, third from left; and Michael S. Dukakis, second from left, the eventual nominee.Charles Tasnadi/Associated Press

      Sept. 1987: Announcing the end of his campaign.Jose R. Lopez/The New York Times

      His presidential hopes dashed, Mr. Biden faced a far graver kind of peril in early 1988: a life-threatening brain aneurysm that required emergency surgery. Not long after that, he had another operation for a second brain aneurysm. Later that year, he returned to the Senate after a seven-month absence.

      Sept. 1988: Returning to the Senate after recovering from brain surgery.Ron Edmonds/Associated Press

      As the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr. Biden presided over confirmation hearings for six Supreme Court nominees, including Robert H. Bork, whose nomination Mr. Biden succeeded in defeating, and Clarence Thomas. The memory of the Thomas hearings would linger for decades as Mr. Biden faced criticism for his handling of Anita Hill’s testimony before his committee.

      Oct. 1991: Mr. Biden, left, swearing in Anita Hill.Shutterstock

      Mr. Biden also left his mark on consequential legislation, playing a leading role in passing the 1994 crime bill, which would become associated with mass incarceration. The Violence Against Women Act, one of Mr. Biden’s top legislative achievements, became law as part of the crime bill.

      July 1994: A news conference on the Violence Against Women Act.John Duricka/Associated Press

      Jan. 1999: With Attorney General Janet Reno, left, and President Bill Clinton at a community policing event.Paul Hosefros/The New York Times

      Oct. 2002: President George W. Bush signed the authorization of force against Iraq.Mark Wilson/Getty Images

      Mr. Biden immersed himself in foreign policy during his decades as a senator, rising to serve as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In 2002, he voted to authorize the war in Iraq, a vote that he later called a mistake.

      Aug. 2005: A Foreign Relations Committee hearing with Senator Barack Obama.Brendan Smialowski/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

      Two decades after his first presidential bid imploded, Mr. Biden decided to try again in the 2008 election. Now in his 60s, he ran as a leader steeped in foreign policy, but he stumbled immediately when he described Mr. Obama, then a fellow senator and presidential candidate, as “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.” Mr. Biden’s campaign never caught on with voters, and he dropped out after finishing in a distant fifth place in the Iowa caucuses.

      Aug. 2007: The Democratic field included Mr. Obama and Hillary Clinton, the former first lady who was then a senator from New York, right.Keith Bedford for The New York Times

      Oct. 2007: Meeting with voters in Iowa.Doug Mills/The New York Times

      Jan. 2008: Signing a campaign button in Iowa.Joshua Lott for The New York Times

      Jan. 2008: Leaving a caucus site in Des Moines.David Lienemann/Associated Press

      After Mr. Obama won the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, he selected Mr. Biden to be his running mate. The choice added a dose of foreign policy experience to the ticket and began a close political partnership between the two men. As vice president, Mr. Biden oversaw the implementation of the 2009 stimulus bill and later headed the administration’s cancer moonshot program.

      Oct. 2008: Campaigning as Mr. Obama’s running mate.Doug Mills/The New York Times

      Jan. 2009: Marching in the inaugural parade with his wife, Jill, and their children Hunter, Ashley and Beau.Doug Mills/The New York Times

      June 2009: During a meeting on economic legislation at the White House.Doug Mills/The New York Times

      A skilled retail politician, Mr. Biden is known for his tactile, backslapping style, embracing one-on-one interactions on the campaign trail and elsewhere. His touchy-feely nature came under scrutiny in the #MeToo era, with a number of women saying he had touched them in ways that made them feel uncomfortable.

      Sept. 2012: Campaigning for re-election in Ohio.Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

      Jan. 2013: Beau Biden at the inaugural ceremony.Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press

      Decades after losing his first wife and daughter, Mr. Biden faced another family tragedy in 2015: His son Beau, who followed him into politics and served two terms as Delaware’s attorney general, died of brain cancer at 46. Mr. Biden cited his son’s death, and the grieving that followed, when he announced he would not run for president in 2016.

      June 2015: At Beau Biden’s funeral.Doug Mills/The New York Times

      Sept. 2015: Announcing he would not run for president in 2016.Carlos Barria/Reuters

      After leaving office as vice president, he published a memoir and gave paid speeches, earning millions of dollars. He campaigned for Democratic candidates ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.

      Dec. 2018: At a book event in Vermont.Hilary Swift for The New York Times

      In the first months of 2019, the Democratic presidential field grew larger and larger, and Mr. Biden showed no urgency to declare his candidacy. He finally jumped into the race in late April, denouncing President Trump as a threat to the nation’s character.

      May 2019: A campaign kickoff event in Philadelphia.Erin Schaff/The New York Times

      June 2019: With a portion of the Democratic candidates at the first debate.Doug Mills/The New York Times

      Despite his stature as a former vice president, Mr. Biden struggled to attract some primary voters who were turned off by his moderate brand of politics and his septuagenarian status — a far cry from his days as the 29-year-old Senate candidate. Mr. Biden fell flat in the first nominating contests, finishing in fourth place in Iowa and fifth place in New Hampshire.

      Despite his early difficulties in two overwhelmingly white states, Mr. Biden counted on receiving strong support from Black voters in later contests. A big win in South Carolina turned his campaign around, and after picking up a series of key endorsements from former primary opponents, he defeated a more progressive rival, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, to win the Democratic nomination.

      Feb. 2020: Connecting with voters in Iowa.Jordan Gale for The New York Times

      March 2020: At a campaign event with two former presidential candidates, Senators Kamala Harris, center, and Cory Booker.Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

      June 2020: A socially distant meeting with community leaders in Wilmington, Del.Erin Schaff/The New York Times

      The coronavirus pandemic upended the presidential race, and Mr. Biden limited himself to campaigning virtually for much of the spring as the outbreak raged. He eventually began making occasional in-person appearances, and in August, he chose Senator Kamala Harris of California as his running mate.

      Aug. 2020: Ms. Harris was announced as Mr. Biden’s running mate.Erin Schaff/The New York Times

      Mr. Biden confronted an extraordinary general election that played out as the pandemic continued to disrupt American life. He repeatedly condemned Mr. Trump’s handling of the crisis, while the president and his allies tried to portray Mr. Biden as a tool of the far left.

      The first general election debate quickly devolved into a headache-inducing brawl, as Mr. Trump repeatedly interrupted his opponent. Just days after sharing the stage with Mr. Biden, the president announced that he had tested positive for the coronavirus.

      Sept. 2020: The first debate with President Trump.Doug Mills/The New York Times

      In his visits to battleground states, Mr. Biden held carefully arranged events with mask wearing and social distancing. Eschewing the packed events with big crowds that are a staple of presidential campaigns, he held a string of drive-in car rallies where voters beeped their horns to cheer him on.

      Oct. 2020: Supporters at a drive-in rally in Des Moines.Erin Schaff/The New York Times

      Oct. 2020: Mr. Obama joined Mr. Biden at a campaign rally in Flint, Mich.Erin Schaff/The New York Times

      Nov. 2020: Celebrating the win with Ms. Harris four days after the election.Erin Schaff/The New York Times

      Nov. 2020: After twice falling short, Mr. Biden succeeded in his third presidential campaign.Erin Schaff/The New York Times

      Election night stretched deep into the week as ballots were counted in key states. Four days after polls closed, Mr. Biden was declared the winner. In the weeks that followed, he rolled out a diverse slate of cabinet picks and prepared to take office.

      Nov. 2020: Introducing members of his national security team.Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times

      Dec. 2020: Receiving the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.Amr Alfiky/The New York Times

      Mr. Biden received the Covid-19 vaccine and promised to step up vaccinations across the country, setting a goal of getting 100 million shots into the arms of Americans in his first 100 days in office.

      Jan. 2021: Campaigning with Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock in the Georgia Senate runoffs.Doug Mills/The New York Times

      Early January brought a major boost to his hopes of passing his legislative agenda. Democrats won both runoff elections for Georgia’s Senate seats, putting their party in control of the chamber.

      Mr. Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday is taking place 48 years after he first arrived in Washington as one of the youngest people to be elected senator. With his swearing-in, he will become the oldest president in American history.

      Jan. 2021: Arriving at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.Doug Mills/The New York Times

      Jan. 2021: Attending a memorial for victims of the coronavirus at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.Doug Mills/The New York Times More