After the roller coaster of the last few weeks, the eventual handover of power to Joseph R. Biden as the 46th President of the United States was a quiet affair.
In normal times, American citizens would have packed out the National Mall to witness the inauguration. Instead the Mall was empty and surrounded by barbed wire. In the place of well-wishers were 25,000 National Guard troops and 191,500 flags laid out in the shape of America to represent those who could not attend.
Top Democrats and Republicans mingled alongside Lady Gaga who sang Star Spangled Banner into a golden microphone. Then, with one hand on a large family Bible, Biden took the oath of office.
In a soaring, heartfelt address, the President spoke of dignity, hope and unity. He delivered much of it softly, as if to a friend, peering out with his Clint Eastwood glare.
He spoke of the challenges the country faced – the pandemic, political extremism, and climate change. “To overcome these challenges, to restore the soul and secure the future of America, requires so much more than words. It requires the most elusive of all things in a democracy – unity,” he said.
“I will be a President for all Americans – all Americans,” said Biden. “And I promise you I will fight for those who did not support me as for those who did.”
Trump becomes the first outgoing president to miss his successor’s inauguration in 160 years. In a pointed rebuke to his ex-boss, former Vice President Mike Pence sat behind Biden, rather than attending Trump’s farewell speech a few hours earlier. It was everything we’ve come to expect: petty, solipsistic and false. He told his supporters that their movement was “just beginning” and promised that “we will be back in some form”.
Trump’s pardon list stretches to 143 people, from rapper Lil Wayne to his former strategist, Steve Bannon. His attorney, Rudi Giuliani, did not feature. Nor did Trump himself, or his family.
Biden has already issued 15 executive orders reversing many of Trump’s key policies, including the ban on travel from many Muslim countries, the construction of the border wall and the decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Accord.
What will Biden mean for Britain?
The UK’s relationship with the incoming administration hasn’t got off to the best of starts.
Following the 2019 general election Biden said that Boris Johnson was a “physical and emotional clone” of President Trump. Even if you put this down to political positioning ahead of the Democratic primaries, a ringing endorsement it was not.
Biden never misses an opportunity to emphasise his Irish heritage and has criticised the UK’s handling of Brexit, particularly the threat it poses, as Biden sees it, to the Good Friday Agreement. Brandon Lewis, Northern Ireland Minister, is expected to be the first to cross the Atlantic to smooth things over and forge new ties.
Lord Sedwill, former Cabinet Secretary and National Security Adviser, threw Johnson a bone yesterday by suggesting in the Daily Mail that despite Johnson’s apparent cosying up to the President in the last year, the PM did want Biden to win the election.
Johnson is hoping to meet Biden for the first time at the G7 in Cornwall in June. According to the Telegraph, a close friend of the President’s said that he would “bury [their] differences over Brexit,” and “get along” with the PM. Johnson can only dream of the introduction leading to anything like the special relationship which was born 20 years ago between former President Bush and former PM, Tony Blair.
“He put the charm offensive on me,” Bush told the world’s press following his first meeting with Blair at Camp David, “and it worked.” When Boris meets Biden, a repeat of the first bit is all but guaranteed. The second is not.
Turmoil in Tunis
Youth protests are sweeping the streets of Tunisia – the same country that triggered the Arab Spring ten years ago.
For the fifth consecutive day, protesters have led violent demonstrations across the cities of Tunis, Kasserine, Gafsa, Sousse and Monastir. Despair over dire Economic prospects is the driving factor. A third of the country’s young people are unemployed.
In the historic uprising in 2011, President Zine al-Abidine was ousted and Tunisians were promised “employment, freedom and dignity”. But ten years on, the democratically elected President Kaïs Saied and his government have failed to turn around the economy – which is now on the verge of bankruptcy.
Tunisia, with its beautiful historic cities and sandy beaches, relies heavily on tourism, meaning economic hardship has been amplified by the pandemic.
Carrying placards with the message, “Employment is a right, not a favour”, the youth now line the streets, angry about Saied’s broken promises.
Police have used tear gas and batons on protestors and arrested hundreds. Demonstrators in the capital have revived the chant that rang out ten years ago: “The people want the fall of the regime.”
Mattie Brignal,
News Editor