Joe Biden's full speech at his inauguration as president of the United States

Joe Biden (Scranton, Pennsylvania, 78 years old) has become the 46th president of the United States this Wednesday when he swore in office around noon with his hand on the same Bible with which he was sworn in as a senator half a century ago, in a ceremony lackluster by the pandemic and strong security measures.

In his 25-minute speech, the Democrat called on citizens to "unity" and "start over."

“We have a lot to do in this winter of danger and possibilities.

Much to repair, much to restore, much to heal and build.

And much to gain ”, he said.

Here we reproduce his full speech:

“Mr. Roberts, Chief Justice, Mrs. Harris, Vice President, Mrs. Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Schumer, Senate Majority Leader, Mr. McConnell, Republican Minority Leader, Mr. Pence, Vice President, distinguished guests , and fellow Americans:

Today is America's Day.

Today is the day of democracy.

A day of history and hope, of rebirth and resolution.

Through tribulations that will remain in the annals, America has been tested once again, and America has risen to the challenge.

Today we celebrate the victory not of a candidate, but of a cause: the cause of democracy.

The will of the people has been heard and the will of the people has been respected.

Once again we have learned that democracy is precious, that democracy is fragile.

And in this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.

That is why, now, on this sacred ground where just a few days ago violence tried to shake the very foundations of the Capitol, we stand united before God as a single nation, indivisible, to carry out the peaceful transfer of power as we have done. throughout more than two centuries.

As we look forward in that tireless, bold, optimistic American way of ours and look to the nation we know we can and should be, I thank my predecessors on both parties.

I thank you with all my heart.

And I recognize the resilience of our Constitution and the strength of our country, as did President Carter, whom I spoke with last night, who cannot be here with us today, but to whom we pay tribute for a life of service.

I just took the sacred oath that all these patriots took, an oath first pronounced by George Washington.

But the history of the United States does not depend on one of us or some of us, but on all of us.

Of us, the people who seek a more perfect union.

This is a great nation, we are good people.

And through the centuries, through thick and thin, in peace and in war, we have come this far.

However, we still have a long way to go.

We will move forward with speed and urgency because we have much to do in this winter of dangers and possibilities.

Much to repair, much to restore, much to heal, much to build, and much to gain.

Few periods in the history of our country have been as challenging or difficult as this one in which we find ourselves now.

A virus that only appears from century to century stealthily stalks the country, and in one year it has claimed as many lives as those lost in the entire Second World War.

Millions of jobs have been lost;

hundreds of thousands of businesses have closed;

a cry for racial justice that has been brewing for almost 400 years moves us.

The dream of justice for all will no longer be postponed.

A cry for survival comes to us from the planet itself, a cry that cannot be more desperate or clearer.

And now, a rise in political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront and defeat.

Overcoming these challenges, restoring the soul, and securing America's future takes much more than words.

It demands the most elusive of all in a democracy: unity.

Unit.

In another January in Washington, on New Years Day, 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Declaration of Emancipation.

By resting his pen on the document, the president proclaimed: "If ever my name is to go down in history, it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it."

Today, on this day in January, all my soul is in it.

All my soul is in uniting America, our people, our nation.

And I ask each and every American to join me in this cause.

May we unite to fight the enemies that await us: anger, resentment, hatred, extremism, disorder, violence, disease, unemployment and hopelessness.

With unity we can do great things, important things.

We can make up for mistakes, we can give people good jobs, teach our children in safe schools.

We can overcome this deadly virus, reward work, rebuild the middle class, ensure health care for all, ensure racial justice, and make America the leading force for good in the world again.

I know that talking about unity may sound a bit ridiculous these days.

I know that the forces that divide us are deep and real.

But I also know that they are not new.

Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we are all created equal, and the ugly and harsh reality that racism, nativism, fear, and demonization have long separated us.

The battle is perennial and victory is never assured.

During the Civil War, the Great Depression, the World War, 9/11, in times of struggle, sacrifice and setbacks, the best of us have always prevailed.

In each of these moments, enough of us come together to move everyone forward.

And now we can do it.

History, faith and reason show us the way.

The path of unity.

We can see each other not as adversaries, but as neighbors.

We can treat each other with dignity and respect.

We can join forces, stop yelling and lower the temperature.

Because without unity there is no peace, only bitterness and fury;

no progress, just exhausting anger.

There is no nation, only a situation of chaos.

This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge.

And unity is the way forward.

And we must face this moment like the United States of America.

If we do, I guarantee that we will not fail.

We have never, never, never failed in America when we have acted together.

And so today, in this time and place, let's start over, all of us.

Let's begin to listen to each other, to hear each other, to see each other, to respect each other.

Politics does not have to be a raging fire that destroys everything in its path.

Any dissent does not have to be the cause of total war.

And we must reject a culture in which the facts themselves are manipulated and even fabricated.

American fellow Americans, we have to be different.

America has to be better and I think America is better.

Look around you.

We are here, in the shadow of the Capitol dome that was completed during the Civil War, when the Union itself hung by a thread.

We overcome it, we resist.

And here we are, gazing at the great Esplanade, where Dr. King spoke of his dream.

Here we are, where 108 years ago, in another inauguration session, thousands of protesters tried to block brave women who were demonstrating to claim their right to vote.

And today we celebrate the swearing-in of the first woman in American history elected to national public office, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Don't tell me that things can't change.

And here we are, separated by the Potomac River from Arlington National Cemetery, where the heroes who carried the devotion to its last consequences rest in eternal peace.

And here we are, just days after an uncontrolled mob thought it could use violence to silence the will of the people, to stop our democracy from working, and to drive us out of this holy place.

That didn't happen, and it never will.

Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.

To all of you who supported our campaign, I am overwhelmed by the faith you have placed in us.

To those of you who did not support us, let me tell you this.

Hear what I have to say as we go along.

Know my person and my heart.

If you still disagree, so be it.

That is democracy.

That is America.

The right to peacefully dissent within the protective barriers of our democracy is perhaps our nation's greatest strength.

But listen to me clearly: disagreement must not lead to disunity.

And I promise you this: I will be president of all Americans.

I will fight with the same strength for those who did not support me as for those who did.

Many centuries ago, Saint Augustine, a saint of my church, wrote that a people is a multitude defined by the common objects of their love.

What are the common objects that we love and that define us as Americans?

I think I know: opportunity, security, freedom, dignity, respect, honor and, yes, the truth.

The past weeks and months have taught us a painful lesson.

There is truth and there are lies.

Lies told for reasons of power and profit.

And each of us has a duty and responsibility as citizens, as Americans, and especially as leaders - leaders who are committed to honoring our Constitution and protecting our nation - to uphold the truth and defeat lies.

I understand that many Americans view the future with fear and concern.

I understand that you are worried about your job, about taking care of your family, for what will come next.

I understand.

But the answer is not to withdraw into oneself, it is not to withdraw to form opposing factions, it is not to distrust those who do not resemble you, those who do not worship like you, those who do not receive the news from the same source. than you.

We have to end this civil war that pits red against blue, rural against urban, conservatives against liberals.

We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts, if we show a little tolerance and humility, if we are willing to put ourselves in someone else's shoes just for a moment.

Because what life has is that you don't know what fate will bring you.

There are days when we need a helping hand.

And other days when they ask us to throw it out ourselves.

This is how we have to be with each other.

And if we are like this, our country will be stronger and more prosperous, and it will be more prepared for the future.

Our fellow Americans, in the work that awaits us, we are going to need each other.

We will need all our strength to get through this dark winter.

We are entering what could be the darkest and deadliest period for this virus.

We must put politics aside and finally confront this pandemic as a nation.

And I promise you that, as the Bible says, "The crying can last all night, but in the morning the cry of joy will come."

We will get through this together.

The world is watching us today.

This is my message to those beyond our borders: America has been put to the test and has come out stronger.

We will repair our alliances, and we will relate to the world again.

Not to face the challenges of the past, but those of the present and those of tomorrow.

And we will not only lead by the example of our power, but by the power of our example.

We will be a strong and reliable partner for peace, progress and security.

We have suffered a lot in this country.

And in my first act as president, I would like to ask you to join me in a moment of silent prayer to remember all of those who were lost to the pandemic last year.

To those 400,000 compatriots, mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, friends, neighbors and co-workers.

We will honor them by becoming the people and the nation that we can and should be.

Let us pray in silence for those who lost their lives, for those who were left behind, and for our country.

Amen.

They are moments of testing.

We face an attack on democracy and truth, an atrocious virus, a rise in inequality, the sting of systemic racism, a climate crisis, and the role of the United States in the world.

Any one of these threats would be enough to put us in serious trouble.

But the fact is, we face them all at once, which places this country with the greatest of responsibilities.

Now we must take a step forward.

All of us.

It is time to be bold because there is so much to do.

And one thing is for sure.

We will be judged, you and I, on how we resolve the succession of crises of our era.

Will we be up to the task?

Will we know how to overcome this difficult and strange hour?

Will we fulfill our obligations to deliver a new and better world to our children?

I believe that we must and that we will.

And when we do, we will have written the next great chapter in American history.

It is a story that brings echoes of a song that means a lot to me, it is called “Anthem of America”.

There is a stanza that stands out, at least for me, and it goes like this: “Work and prayers for centuries have brought us to this day.

What will our legacy be?

What will our children say?

Make me know in my heart when my days are over.

America, America, I gave you the best of me ”.

Let's add our work and our prayers to the ongoing history of our nation.

If we do, the day our days end, our children and our children's children will say of us: "They did their best, they did their duty, they healed a broken land."

Compatriots Americans, I close as I began, with a sacred oath.

Before God and before all of you, I give you my word.

I will always be honest with you.

I will defend the Constitution, I will defend our democracy.

I will defend America and give my all to serve you, thinking not of power, but of possibilities, not of personal interest but of the public good.

And together we will write an American story of hope, not fear.

Of unit, not of division.

Of light, not of darkness.

An American story of decency and dignity, of love and healing, of greatness and goodness.

Let this be the story that guides us.

The story that inspires us.

And the story that tells the times to come that we answered the call of history, that we lived up to the present time.

That democracy and hope, truth and justice, did not die during our watch, but prospered.

That our United States guaranteed freedom in its territory and once again became the lighthouse of the world.

It is what we owe to those who came before us, to ourselves, and to the generations to come.

So with determination and firmness, we will tackle the tasks of our time.

Sustained by faith, driven by conviction, and dedicated to one another and to the country we love with all our hearts.

May God bless the United States and may God protect our troops. "

Thank you, United States.

Translation of News clips

Subscribe here to the

newsletter

about the elections in the United States