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US President-elect Biden with Deputy Harris
Photo: KEVIN LAMARQUE / REUTERS
The designated US President Joe Biden should go down in the history books in many ways - even though he is not yet in office.
Not only does he have to continuously defend himself against his predecessor Donald Trump, who refuses to admit his own defeat even weeks after the election and continues to hinder the handover of government affairs.
Because of the corona pandemic, Biden and his deputy Kamala Harris will probably be sworn in differently than usual.
Biden and Harris should be sworn in as usual at a ceremony at the Capitol, the seat of the US Congress in the capital Washington, said the committee responsible for the inauguration.
However, it called on the population to refrain from traveling to Washington and instead follow the inauguration from home.
An event is planned that does justice to the traditions, but at the same time ensures that the population is protected and that the corona virus does not spread any further, it said.
Biden will hold an inauguration speech.
1.8 million people at Obama's swearing-in ceremony
The event will be very limited, however, and the usual parade after the swearing-in will be "re-thought".
Details are to be announced in the coming days.
About 1.8 million people came to Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009, and tens of thousands attended the swearing-in of Donald Trump.
The modified inauguration is not the only precautionary measure that Biden and Harris will probably undergo due to the corona.
According to the renowned US immunologist Anthony Fauci, the future US president and his deputy should get vaccinated against the virus as soon as possible.
Turning to Biden, Fauci told ABC News, “They want him to be fully protected when he takes the presidency in January.
So that would be my strong recommendation. "
Fauci is director of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases and part of the White House's Corona working group.
Biden recently announced that Fauci would be his chief advisor in connection with the corona pandemic.
Fauci also advises Trump and Pence to vaccinate
Fauci said he would also advise incumbent President Donald Trump and his deputy Mike Pence to have a vaccination - if asked for a recommendation.
"Even if the president himself was infected and he probably has antibodies that would likely protect, we're not sure how long that protection will last," Fauci said.
A vaccination would provide double security.
Trump fell ill with Covid-19 in early October and therefore had to be treated in hospital.
Since Monday, people in the United States have been vaccinated with the corona vaccine from Pfizer and Biontech, after it received emergency approval from the responsible FDA.
McConnell congratulates Biden on the win
Trump's close confidante Mitch McConnell, Republican majority leader in the US Senate, also recognized Biden's victory on Tuesday.
Biden was on the phone with McConnell;
the two agreed to meet soon.
It is becoming increasingly lonely about the outgoing US President Donald Trump, who continues to suspect electoral fraud without having produced a single proof of it.
“Tremendous evidence of electoral fraud.
There has never been anything like it in our country, ”wrote Trump on Twitter.
Trump did not initially respond to the fact that the Republican McConnell Biden had congratulated Biden with reference to the vote of the electorate.
Biden's victory became official on Monday after 538 electoral representatives cast their votes for the future president in the 50 US states and the Washington capital district.
Biden received - just as Trump once did in his victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016 - 306 votes from the electorate, 270 were necessary. After the vote, Biden appealed to Trump to recognize the defeat.
The final results of the election will be officially announced in Congress in Washington on January 6th.
Biden is due to be sworn in on January 20th.
On that day, Trump's constitutional term ends automatically - even if he does not admit defeat.
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