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The Burden of Uniting Americans Falls on the GOP
Posted
January 21, 2021
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January 21, 2021
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1:37Now PlayingJoe Biden began his presidency with a soaring appeal to end America’s “uncivil war” and reset the tone in Washington, delivering an inaugural address that dispensed with a laundry list of policy goals to instead confront the nation’s glaring political divides as the foremost obstacle to moving the country forward.
Biden’s speech, delivered from the steps of the Capitol under heavy security, made no direct mention of Donald Trump but repudiated some of the hallmarks of his tenure -- rampant falsehoods, rhetoric that stokes fear and anger, and zero-sum partisan battles.
The new president acknowledged the historic challenges facing the nation: the worsening coronavirus outbreak, climate change, systemic inequality and persistent unemployment. But rather than offer policy prescriptions, he kept his remarks trained on a call for unity, saying the American democracy had prevailed over a fractious election and now must heal.
“Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire destroying everything in his path. Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war,” Biden said. “Without unity, there is no peace, only bitterness and fury. No progress, only exhausting outrage. No nation, only a state of chaos. This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge, and unity is the path forward.”
Biden’s 21-minute speech capped an inauguration that unfolded without incident under heavy security in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riot when Trump supporters overran the U.S. Capitol in a deadly but failed attempt to stop Biden’s rise to the presidency. His speech borrowed heavily from themes that formed the pillars of his campaign speeches.
“I know speaking of unity can sound to some like a foolish fantasy these days. I know the forces that divide us are deep and they are real,” he said. “But I also know they are not new. Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal -- that we’re all created equal -- and the harsh ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear, demonization have long torn us apart. The battle is perennial and victory is never assured.”
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