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This article is more than 1 year old And breathe: the world exhales as the madness of the Trump era ends Jonathan Freedland This article is more than 1 year old After four years in a heightened state of alert, many people the world over now hope that sanity will return For four years the […] More
For four years the world had held its breath, but at last came the moment to exhale. Ever since noon on 20 January 2017, when Donald Trump took the oath that made him president of the United States, the people of the planet had found themselves in a state of heightened alert: what new madness might the most powerful man on earth unleash? Within months, he had seemed to threaten nuclear war with North Korea – in a tweet directed at Kim Jong-un, he boasted that “I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!” – and there were days when it seemed rational to wonder if America, and the rest of us, would even survive four years of a Trump presidency.Eleven minutes before noon local time, it became possible to breathe out once more. Joe Biden recited the magical incantation by which a single US citizen is transformed into the head of government, head of state and symbol of the republic. As he uttered the words “So help me God,” his hand on a thick Bible, a wave of blessed relief rippled through millions of Americans – and all those, anywhere, who had lived through the stress of the Trump era. The TV networks had helpfully shown footage of the military aide who carries the nuclear “football”, the case containing the codes required to launch the mighty US atomic arsenal, and there was comfort in knowing that that aide now answered to Biden, not the man who a few hours earlier had fled to his resort in Florida.Technically, the oath had come early. According to the constitution, the presidency was not fully in Biden’s hands until just after 12, and even those last remaining minutes were capable of inducing anxiety. “Phew,” tweeted one commentator when the moment finally passed.But relief was not the only emotion on display in a ceremony performed before a National Mall packed with flags rather than people in an eerily empty Washington, hollowed out by both the pandemic and security fears prompted by this month’s storming of the Capitol. There was joy, too, most visible in the face of Kamala Harris after she had sworn her own oath. There have been 46 US presidents and 49 vice-presidents, but until Wednesday every one of them had been a man. Harris became the first woman, and the first person of colour, to occupy America’s second highest office. The elation of that moment, the exuberance of it, somehow found expression in the performances of Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez, which soared.What would once have seemed ritual and routine acquired an emotional punch. The sight of Mike Pence on the platform was oddly stirring. Given his boss’s refusal to attend the inauguration, Pence’s appearance – and those of other Republicans – looked like an act of defiance, signalling acceptance of the democratic legitimacy of the proceedings. The presence of former presidents – Bill Clinton, George W Bush, Barack Obama – suggested the chain of American democracy remained intact, even if its most recent link was missing and broken.[embedded content]That message was conveyed most eloquently by Biden himself. His speech was light on rhetorical splendour, but it matched the moment perfectly. It was like him: humane, decent, rooted. He asked for silence for those who had been lost to the pandemic, a simple act of acknowledgment that had eluded his predecessor. He named the challenges that confront him and the country – the virus, the war on truth, the climate crisis – and asked Americans to at least hear him out and come together. “We must end this uncivil war,” he said.It was tempting to look on this man – solid and seasoned – and imagine that something like normality might return. And when another woman of colour, the 22-year-old Amanda Gorman, closed things out with a poem that brought delight, you could just glimpse a land that had been barely visible these last four years: an America the rest of the world might admire once more. More
The winter wind caused a flutter in a new flag hanging high above city hall in Oakland, California, on Wednesday morning, as the Bay Area celebrated the history being made by one of its own.Oakland native Kamala Harris on Wednesday was sworn in as the US vice-president, becoming the first woman in American history and the first woman of African American and south Asian descent to take up the position.Harris was born in Oakland and lived in neighboring Berkeley, where her parents studied at the University of California, Berkeley, until she was 12 years old. She served as San Francisco district attorney, and California attorney general, before becoming the state’s junior senator.Harris has frequently cited her experiences growing up in the Bay Area as foundational in her political career, including being bussed into wealthier white schools as part of an integration program. On Wednesday, residents of the region proudly watched her ascend to one of the highest offices in the land.An Oakland-Scranton “Unity” flag, designed by Oakland artist Favianna Rodriguez and Ryan Hnat from Joe Biden’s home town of Scranton, Pennsylvania, was hoisted into the heavy gusts the day before the inauguration.The Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf also hung the flag outside her home in the hills as the inauguration celebration continued on the other side of the country. “Congrats my friend Kamala Harris!” Schaaf wrote on Twitter. “Oakland is proud beyond words. First Black Woman & Asian Woman VP. Daughter of Immigrants & Daughter of Oakland. You make us proud to be Americans again.”It’s just moving that a Black and Indian woman was born at Oakland Kaiser like I was, grew up in the flats near San Pablo Avenue like I did, in the same heavily Black and Indian district I did, and got bussed up to a school in the hills like I did, is going to the White House— Darrell Owens (@IDoTheThinking) January 20, 2021
Local businesses also commemorated the occasion. Local Food Adventures, a food tour company, boxed and sold foods that celebrate Harris’s heritage, and included a locally made cornbread mix, a garam masala spice blend from Oaktown Spice Shop, and a coupon for waffles from Harris’s friend Derreck Johnson, the owner of Home of Chicken & Waffles.Oakland chef Robert Dorsey, who went to the same elementary school as Harris, planned to serve one of her favorites – seafood gumbo – but he’s now calling it “Democracy gumbo”.Tony Evans and his 15-year-old granddaughter Dy’mond of East Oakland were overcome with emotion while watching Oakland native @KamalaHarris be sworn in as the first Black, South Asian female Vice President. Evans met Harris while working in Georgia as a poll worker @sfchronicle pic.twitter.com/AglLQodAfM— Jessica Christian (@jachristian) January 20, 2021
Performers from more than two dozen local arts organizations prepared a program titled “Oakland Salutes”, celebrating the Oakland native. The prerecorded videos included socially distanced harmonies from the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, performances from the Oakland Asian Cultural Center and the Oaktown Jazz Workshop, and spoken dedications from local officials.“I am standing in front of an oak tree, because it is a symbol of Oakland, as well as a symbol of strength, wisdom and endurance,” the orchestra’s music director, Michael Morgan said at the start of the streamed show. “These are all qualities we all associate with the native daughter of Oakland, Kamala Harris.”Today, a daughter of Oakland became the woman who shattered glass ceilings, inspired women and girls around the world, and made history. Congratulations, Vice President @KamalaHarris.— Alex Padilla (@AlexPadilla4CA) January 20, 2021
Harris will also be able to show off her hometown pride at the White House, thanks to a gift from the Warriors. Stephen Curry, a star from the basketball team that played in Oakland from 1971 until last year when the team moved to San Francisco, presented Harris with her own jersey – No 49, because she is the 49th vice-president – and “Madame VP” in block letters across the top.In a moving tribute, a video from the team features a young girl named Stella donning the oversized jersey as she thinks about the opportunities ahead. “I love that Kamala looks like me and I can do anything,” she says, as she dances and skips through the city.Kari Paul contributed to this report More
Kamala Harris made history as she was sworn in as the US’s first female, black and south Asian vice-president. The former California senator was sworn in by Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina on the supreme court. Harris chose to be sworn in using two Bibles, one from the late Thurgood Marshall, the first black supreme court justice, and one from Regina Shelton, a close family friend
Kamala Harris sworn in as US’s first female, black and south Asian vice-president
Joe Biden sworn in as 46th president of the United States
US politics live More
This article is more than 1 year old ‘A weight has been lifted’: Washington locals express hope as Biden sworn in This article is more than 1 year old Residents in eerily quiet Washington DC relieved to see Trump leave while 25,000 national guard troops on patrol Biden inauguration – live updates As she watched […] More
As she watched Donald Trump’s helicopter lift away from the White House on Wednesday morning, Nadine Seiler said, she gave it the finger.
“I’ve been protesting him for four years,” the 55-year-old said. “I can exhale now that he’s gone.”
Seiler was standing in Black Lives Matter Plaza, outside the heavily barricaded White House, wearing an outfit that captured the arc of the last four years of protest. She had donned a pink knit pussy hat, a symbol of the Women’s March, the first major demonstration of Trump’s tenure, and a face mask painted with the words “Madam VP”, in honor of the country’s first Black, south Asian and female vice-president, who would be inaugurated later that day.
“I can’t let my guard down,” she added. “His supporters are going to be terrorizing America for the next four years.”
Even as he left Washington, Seiler said, Trump was “giving them dog whistles”, telling supporters their movement was not over.
Still, across an eerily quiet Washington, with streets blocked with fences and checkpoints, and 25,000 national guard troops – more than the number of US troops in Afghanistan and Iraq combined – on patrol, local residents said they felt tentatively hopeful. More
Kamala Harris has been sworn in as vice-president, becoming the first woman in American history – as well as the first woman of African American and south Asian descent – to hold the post.The former California senator was sworn in by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina on the supreme court. Harris chose to be sworn in using two Bibles, one from the late Thurgood Marshall, the first Black supreme court justice, and one from Regina Shelton, a close family friend who was something like a surrogate mother for Harris and her sister when they were growing up.“Ready to serve,” Harris tweeted from her new vice-presidential Twitter account shortly after being sworn in.Harris’s inauguration marks a turning point in American history. Women have run on presidential tickets as would-be vice-presidents but until Joe Biden’s win, none were victorious.Wearing a face mask, Harris was escorted through the Capitol by Eugene Goodman, the African American Capitol police officer who was hailed as a hero for helping to distract rioters from invading the Senate floor during the attack this month.As the newly sworn-in vice-president left the Capitol, she mingled with attendees and gave a hug to Barack Obama.Harris’s elevation fulfills a major a goal of Biden’s presidential arc: to install people of color and women in powerful positions in his administration, oftentimes where, historically, only white men have been.Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who offered introductory remarks before Harris took the oath of office, noted that Harris “stands on the shoulders of so many on this platform”.Klobuchar added that with Harris as vice-president, “little girls and little boys across the world will know that anything and everything is possible. And in the end, that is America.”Harris spoke with the now former vice-president, Mike Pence, earlier this week and Pence left a note in the vice-president’s office for his successor. Pence sat feet away from Harris as she took the oath of office.Madam Vice President Kamala Devi Harris!!!— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) January 20, 2021
Harris’s congressional and California colleagues, as well as fellow Howard University alumnae, hailed her new job. Democrat Karen Carter Peterson, a Louisiana state senator running for Congress who also attended the university, tweeted: “Madam Vice President Harris!”“In many folks’ lifetimes, we experienced a segregated United States,” said Lateefah Simon, a civil rights advocate and longtime Harris friend and mentee. “You will now have a Black woman who will walk into the White House not as a guest but as a second in command of the free world.”Gavin Newsom, the governor of California and sometime Democratic rival to Harris, said: “History made.”Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio noted the momentous nature of Harris’s new position for Americans and especially young Black people.“American workers will finally have someone on their side in the White House, and millions of girls – especially Black and brown girls – all over the country are seeing that there is no limit to their dreams, and they belong in every room where decisions are made,” Brown said in a statement.Oprah Winfrey said she was in tears over Harris.Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, also offered felicitations.Congratulations to @KamalaHarris on being sworn-in as @VP. It is a historic occasion. Looking forward to interacting with her to make India-USA relations more robust. The India-USA partnership is beneficial for our planet.— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 20, 2021
Republicans offered cautious greetings to Harris and the new Biden administration.Congratulations to President @JoeBiden and VP @KamalaHarris. I’m glad to have joined in the peaceful transition of power today. I look forward to working with the Biden administration when it is good for Montana and will vigorously push back when necessary.— Steve Daines (@SteveDaines) January 20, 2021
Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only Black Republican in the Senate, said Wednesday marked a peaceful transition of power. He did not mention Harris directly.Today we witnessed a central tenet of American democracy: the peaceful transition of power. We are one nation under God, and it is time for all of us to unite as one American family. (1/2)— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) January 20, 2021
Brandon Davis, a veteran Democratic political strategist who runs a firm specializing in working for Black candidates, said Harris “will likely have a larger profile given the historic nature and her high profile, but she will be able to learn and strengthen her personal politics from a key position”.It “will be interesting to see how she tacks her politics on issues of race, particularly criminal justice reform, and how she builds a record on the economy,” Davis added in an email. “No matter what, she is a HUGE player in the Democratic Party / Left for the next decade.”Harris often says that she wants to be a “person that sees everyone”, said the Democratic strategist Minyon Moore, who had been advising Harris when she became vice-president-elect and helped set up the staffing for her office. “I think what the president did by appointing her as his nominee at the time, he was signaling to the world: we see everyone in America.”Governor Phil Scott of Vermont, a Republican and one of the most popular governors in the country, issued a statement extending “my sincere congratulations and best wishes to the president and vice-president on their swearing-in to lead our nation.”“The challenges we face are great: confronting a global pandemic and its economic fallout; strengthening America’s position in the world and our alliances; combating systemic racism; addressing climate change; building a stronger and more diverse economy that reduces economic inequality for all Americans in every community; and so much more,” Scott said.Even as she becomes vice-president, Harris’s portfolio remains unclear. Biden and Harris have described their ideal relationship as similar to that between Biden and Barack Obama when the latter was president. Biden was to be the last voice in the room on any major decision.But that dynamic will not be perfectly replicated. Biden spent decades in the Senate while Harris was in her first term when she first ran unsuccessfully for president and then was selected as Biden’s running mate.Unlike recent vice-presidents, though, Harris is expected to often play a deciding role in the Senate because of the 50-50 split.Harris will reside at the Naval Observatory, the traditional home of the vice-president. Her husband, Doug Emhoff, will join her there and become the first man married to a vice-president. He will be referred to as the second gentleman.Harris, a lawyer, is the former attorney general for California. She attended Howard University in Washington DC for her undergraduate degree and often references her time there.Harris becomes vice-president with a relatively new team in her office. Her chief of staff, Tina Flournoy, was not a member of her campaign staff. Harris’s chief spokeswoman, Symone Sanders, also a woman of color, served as a top adviser to Biden throughout his successful presidential campaign. Sanders began traveling with Harris near the end of the campaign and stayed on with Harris through the transition. More
It was a moment of immense relief across the world, rather than unbridled celebration. Washington saw an orderly transition of power at the Capitol, just two weeks after the attack on it; the departure of a man who has thrived on division and the anointment of Joe Biden, who pledges unity; the arrival of Kamala Harris – the first female vice-president and a woman of colour – after the racism and misogyny of Donald Trump. Yet there were no cheering crowds to greet the new president, and 25,000 members of the National Guard stood watch, thanks to his predecessor’s legacy: the deadly toll of the pandemic and the political violence epitomised by this month’s insurrection. That threat did not recede when the 46th president took his oath of office. It is part of America’s body politic, as are the bitter political forces that birthed it. Though Mr Trump was resoundingly defeated, more than 70 million Americans voted for him and a huge number of those now believe that President Biden stole his job. One in five voters supported the storming of the Capitol.Mr Trump, petty to the last, slunk away to Florida rather than face his defeat. But whether or not the twice-impeached ex-president can maintain political momentum, Trumpism in the broader sense is thriving. Its next standard bearer – there are plenty of hopefuls – could well be smarter and more dangerous. So the sombre mood was not only inevitable but apt. The perils facing the republic have rarely been greater. Mr Biden’s speech rose to the moment. He acknowledged the constant struggles of his nation, and the current dangers. But he also promised: “Democracy has prevailed … Our better angels have always prevailed.”The new president has promised a flurry of action, expecting little honeymoon. He must tackle the pandemic that has taken 400,000 American lives – a quarter of those in the past month – and the economic crisis, with 10 million fewer employed than a year ago; he plans a $1.9tn stimulus package. A slew of executive orders on his first afternoon – axing the Muslim travel ban; rejoining the Paris climate agreement – are set to reverse some of Mr Trump’s most egregious acts. But erasing the last four years is impossible. Only some policies can be enacted at the stroke of a pen. An ambitious legislative agenda must force its way through a 50/50 Senate. The Trump administration scrapped regulation and stacked courts. Above all, it tore apart the social and political fabric of the United States, making brazen lies, naked cruelty and hatred commonplace. Mr Trump was the product of his country’s failures, but further exposed and exacerbated them. Europe and other allies are breathing easier, but America’s standing cannot truly be restored until its domestic crises are resolved. At best, Mr Biden will begin to address them. He reminded his listeners that politics “does not have to be a raging fire destroying everything in its path”, in a call for honesty and decency that should be heard not only in the US, but across the Atlantic. Yet others are still pouring on the fuel. While some Republicans belatedly scramble for the vestiges of respectability, others continue to foment lies. Facts have become optional in the age of disinformation.Changing the president, as hard as it has been, was an easy task set against the challenge of binding up the nation’s wounds. But this is, at least, the removal of a dangerous man and the arrival of a president who believes in his oath of office. This inauguration brings hope, however tentative, at a time when the US desperately needs it. More
