The inauguration of the newly elected US president in Washington on Wednesday will be the day that is not remembered – Democrat Joe Biden and his vice president Kamala Harris (Harris will take their oath in the desert city full of the military.
Residents of Washington were told to stay at home and virtually follow the inauguration of the 46th President of the United States so as not to risk coronavirus infection.
They are also deterred from watching the ceremony live by a large number of members of the security forces who are deployed in the barricaded city, shocked by the attack of the supporters of President Donald Trump on the Capitol on January 6.
Trump will not attend the ceremony either. When Biden lays his hand on the Bible at noon local time, he will already be out of Washington, breaking the tradition of a peaceful and polite transfer of power.
Trump in Florida
The Republican billionaire will then be in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, where he will travel on Wednesday morning.
– To all who asked, I will not attend the inauguration ceremony on January 20 – he announced briefly in one of his last tweets before he was banned from using this social network.
Trump is the first president since Andrew Johnson in 1869 to refuse to attend the oath of his successor.
Tradition dictates that the outgoing president and his first lady welcome the new presidential couple in the morning on the day of the oath and come to the Capitol together.
His vice president Mike Pence will attend the ceremony.
More than 20,000 members of the National Guard, military reservists, armed are circling the city. Wire fences and concrete blocks have been erected to protect monuments such as the White House and the Capitol or to close major roads.
Veterans of the Iraq war are reminded of the city center by the green zone in Baghdad.
The National Mall, a huge field leading from the Lincoln Monument to the Capitol, will be closed to the public. Hundreds of thousands of Americans traditionally gather there to greet the new president.
Instead, nearly 200,000 flags have been hoisted to represent citizens who will not be able to come this year.
Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez will perform
The new president planned to make the inauguration ceremony largely virtual to prevent the spread of Covid-19 infection.
From the very beginning of his term, he wants to be different from Trump, whose supporters do not want to wear protective masks and do not respect most epidemiological measures.
After the oath, Biden will give a traditional speech in which he will emphasize the reconciliation of Americans.
Popstar Lady Gaga will perform who will sing the American anthem and Latin diva Jennifer Lopez.
During the afternoon, he will lay a wreath at the tomb of an unknown hero in Arlington Cemetery with three of his predecessors and their wives: George W. and Laura Bush, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Barack and Michelle Obama.
On their return, a procession of the 46th U.S. president will stop a few hundred yards from the White House and Joe Biden will head to his new residence on foot.
He will then be able to announce his first presidential decisions.
Instead of traditional balls and concerts, the evening will be spent on television where a special show hosted by actor Tom Hanks will be broadcast, while Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will address the public via a small screen.
