Joseph Robinette Biden

“ Uniting to fight the foes we face—anger, resentment and hatred, extremism, lawlessness, violence, disease, joblessness and hopelessness—with unity, we can do great things, important things. We can right wrongs. We can put people to work in good jobs. We can teach our children in safe schools. We can overcome the deadly virus. We can reward work and rebuild the middle class and make health care secure for all. We can deliver racial justice, and we can make America once again the leading force for good in the world. ”

“ We’ve learned again that democracy is precious; democracy is fragile. At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed. From now, on this hallowed ground—where, just a few days ago, violence sought to shake the Capitol’s very foundation—we come together as one nation under God, indivisible, to carry out the peaceful transfer of power, as we have for more than two centuries.
As we look ahead, in our uniquely American way—restless, bold, optimistic—and set our sights on the nation we know we can be and we must be, I thank my predecessors, of both parties, for their presence here today. ”

“ We face an attack on our democracy and on truth, a raging virus, growing inequity, the sting of systemic racism, a climate in crisis, America’s role in the world. Any one of these would be enough to challenge us in profound ways, but the fact is that we face them all at once, presenting this nation with one of the gravest responsibilities we’ve had. ”

“ Few people in our nation’s history have been more challenged or found a time more challenging or difficult than the time we’re in now. A once-in-a-century virus that silently stalks the country has taken as many lives in one year as America lost in all of World War II. Millions of jobs have been lost, hundreds of thousands of businesses closed. A cry for racial justice—some four hundred years in the making—moves us: the dream of justice for all will be deferred no longer [applause] . ”

“ Let’s begin to listen to one another again, hear one another, see one another, show respect to one another. Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire, destroying everything in its path. Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war, and we must reject the culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured [applause] . My fellow Americans, we have to be different than this, America has to be better than this, and I believe America is so much better than this. ”

“ 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, but I also know they are not new. Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we all are created equal and the harsh, ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear and demonization have long torn us apart. ”

“ Look, folks—all my colleagues I served with in the House and the Senate up here—we all understand the world is watching, watching all of us today. So here’s my message to those beyond our borders. America has been tested, and we’ve come out stronger for it. We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again—to meet not yesterday’s challenges, but today’s and tomorrow’s challenges—and we’ll lead, not merely by the example of our power but by the power of our example [applause] . ”

“ My fellow Americans, in the work ahead of us we’re going to need each other. We need all our strength to to persevere through this dark winter. We’re entering what may be the toughest and deadliest period of the virus. We must set aside politics and finally face this pandemic as one nation—one nation [applause] —and I promise you this, as the Bible says, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning”. ”

“ Here we stand, across the Potomac from Arlington Cemetery, where heroes who gave the last full measure of devotion rest in eternal peace, and here we stand, just days after a riotous mob thought they could use violence to silence the will of the people, to stop the work of our democracy, to drive us from this sacred ground. ”

“ Will we meet our obligations and pass along a new and better world to our children? I believe we must; I’m sure you do as well. I believe we will, and when we do, we’ll write the next great chapter in the history of the United States of America—the American story, a story that might sound something like a song that means a lot to me. ”

“ A cry for survival comes from the planet itself, a cry that can’t be any more desperate or any more clear, and now a rise of political extremism—white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront and that we will defeat [applause] . To overcome these challenges, to restore the soul and secure the future of America requires so much more than words. ”

“ We’ll be a strong and trusted partner for peace, progress and security. Look, you all know we’ve been through so much in this nation. In my first act as president, I’d like to ask you to join me in a moment of silent prayer to remember all those whom we lost this past year to the pandemic: those four hundred thousand fellow Americans—moms, dads, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, friends, neighbors and co-workers. [b] We’ll honor them by becoming the people and the nation we know we can and should be. ”

“ Are we going to step up—all of us? It’s time for boldness, for there is so much to do, and this is certain, I promise you: we will be judged, you and I, by how we resolve these cascading crises of our era. ”

“ I get it, but the answer is not to turn inward, to retreat into competing factions, distrusting those who don’t look like look like you or worship the way you do, or who don’t get their news from the same sources you do. We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal. ”

“ We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts, if we show a little tolerance and humility, and if we’re willing to stand in the other person’s shoes, as my mom would say: “Just for a moment, stand in their shoes”—because here’s the thing about life. There’s no accounting for what fate will deal you some days, when you need a hand. ”

“ Many centuries ago, Saint Augustine, a saint in my church, wrote that a people was “a multitude— defined by the common objects of their love” [a] —defined by the common objects of their love. What are the common objects we as Americans love, that define us as Americans? ”

“ There are other days when we’re called to lend a hand. That’s how it has to be. That’s what we do for one another. If we are this way, our country will be stronger, more prosperous, more ready for the future, and we can still disagree. ”

“ Here we stand, where 108 years ago, at another inaugural, thousands of protesters tried to block brave women marching for the right to vote, and today we marked the swearing in of the first woman in American history elected to national office, Vice-President Kamala Harris. ”