“This is a new day for the United States. Today we start again.” On the morning of the 20th Eastern Time, US President-elect Biden sent two tweets. Less than an hour after this, the inauguration of him and Vice President-elect Harris began at 11:30. Biden took the oath of office as the 46th president of the United States on a platform built on the west side of the Capitol and delivered an inaugural speech. The capital is heavily guarded like a military base and the death toll from the new crown pneumonia has exceeded 400,000, which painted a gray background for this world-watched inauguration. Biden is said to issue 17 executive orders on the first day of becoming president to reverse a series of policies of the Trump administration. Trump twice hinted at the last moments of his term that this is by no means over, saying that he “will come back in some form.” It is obviously difficult to repair a severely divided United States at home and a collapsed international image. However, compared to the waywardness of the Trump administration, Biden’s assumption of office has made many countries feel relieved. Regarding Sino-U.S. relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on the 20th that although China and the United States have differences, they have broad common interests and room for cooperation. It is hoped that the new US administration will meet China halfway and promote Sino-U.S. relations. Get back to the right track of development as soon as possible.
“The Biden era has finally begun”
A “Global Times” reporter saw in and around the Capitol on the 19th that due to fear of sabotage by Trump’s supporters, the National Guard members with live ammunition were deployed at multiple intersections. At least two safety fences have been built from the inside to the outside of the Capitol, and all intersections are blocked by roadblocks and guarded by armored vehicles and National Guard members. Many schools in the United States even decided not to broadcast the inauguration ceremony to students because of fear of violent clashes at the scene. A Supreme Court official told CNN before the inauguration ceremony that the court had received bomb threats. The court is located across from Capitol Hill.
Taking into account the severe epidemic, there were only 1,000 tickets for the entire inauguration, most of which were distributed to members of Congress. More than 190,000 flags were erected in the National Mall to represent the people who were unable to observe the ceremony. Two million people were present to celebrate when Obama took office in 2009.
After completing the oath on the west side of the Capitol at noon on the 20th, President Biden and Vice President Harris will walk to the east side of the Capitol to participate in the military parade. Reviewing the army is a long-standing tradition, which aims to emphasize the peaceful transfer of power to the new commander-in-chief. Usually, after the military parade, the new president’s motorcade will travel along Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House 1.5 miles away, followed by a parade, and there will be crowds of cheering along the road. But this year this procedure was cancelled. At 2 p.m. that day, Biden and Harris will go to Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Former President Clinton, Bush Jr. and Obama will participate in this event.
As the outgoing president, Trump became the first president in American history to not attend the inauguration ceremony of his successor in more than 150 years. However, CNN on the 20th quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that Trump left a letter to Biden in accordance with tradition before leaving the White House, but the content of the letter is not yet clear.
“The Biden era has finally begun.” The Washington Post stated that no more unreasonable statements were made at 3 in the morning without consulting any professionals. The new government is made up of people who know what they are talking about—their value lies in expertise and experience, not in the ability to flatter an unstable boss. The newspaper said that although the world remains vigilant about the illegible and unreliable United States in the past four years, it is now beginning to breathe a sigh of relief.
Before leaving for Washington, Biden gave a tearful farewell speech on the 19th in his hometown of Delaware. That evening, he hosted a national mourning service at the Lincoln Memorial. The death toll from new crown pneumonia in the United States exceeded 400,000 on the 19th. Biden mourned the dead in a short speech of only 5 sentences. After he spoke, 400 square pillar lamps that symbolized the 400,000 dead were lit on both sides of the reflection pool.
“Biden put an end to the most turbulent administration in modern American history, and the next task is to formulate a new line for responding to the epidemic and uniting a divided country.” Agence France-Presse said that Biden will become the first president of the United States. 17 administrative orders were issued in one day, including rejoining the Paris Agreement, returning to the World Health Organization, repealing the “Mu-Mu Order”, suspending the construction of the US-Mexico border wall, and issuing an injunction to wear masks. He also plans to submit to Congress An immigration reform program that provides fast naturalization pathways for approximately 11 million illegal immigrants.
According to the schedule released by the Biden transition team, at around 5 pm on Wednesday, Biden will sign these executive orders, memoranda and announcements in the Oval Office. The New York Times commented that a few hours after he was sworn in, Biden launched a full-scale attack on the “legacy” of his predecessor. This is a sense of urgency that no modern president can see after taking office. Biden’s press secretary Psaki said that Biden wanted to work as quickly as possible to overthrow the policies of the predecessor Trump in order to achieve the goal of “promoting the country forward.” Deutsche News Agency commented that Biden is determined to make the entire decision-making phalanx within a hundred days in power, but Trump’s four-year term has left long-term destruction and too many disastrous political decisions.
Trump: I will fight forever
Trump, who refused to attend Biden’s inauguration, took the “Air Force One” to Florida for the last time on the 20th. That morning, his farewell ceremony for himself was held at Joint Base Andrews. Before boarding the helicopter, Trump gave a brief speech, enumerating his achievements during his tenure, saying that being president is his “lifetime glory.” He said “I hope this will not be a long farewell”, saying that he will “fight forever.”
According to CNN reports, the White House has sent out invitations to Trump’s circle of friends, but some former Trump administration officials who received the invitation refused to attend. “He has emptied his legacy.” A senior White House adviser said. In the eyes of another former senior White House official, the invitation to allow 5 guests per person “is a sign of despair.” In the event of a conflicting schedule, Vice President Pence chose to attend Biden’s inauguration instead of seeing Trump off.
The Washington Post reported on the 20th that for the last day of the White House, Trump spent the same way as many days in his previous 1460 days as president: thinking about imaginary injustice, plotting revenge on the enemy he was identified. , Seeking ways to maximize their power. On Wednesday morning, Trump announced pardons or reduced sentences for 143 people. Among the media attention was Bannon, the chief strategist who had an early fallout with Trump, who was accused of defrauding donors in a private fundraising campaign to build a wall on the US-Mexico border last year. A senior Trump adviser told U.S. media that part of Trump’s motivation for doing this was that he believed Bannon could help him make a comeback in politics.
“I want you to know that the movement (to make America great again) has just begun.” In his farewell speech on the 19th, Trump also hinted that Wednesday was not his last day on the political stage. In this 19-minute video recorded in advance, Trump wishes the new administration “good luck.” This was considered by the US media to be Trump’s rare goodwill towards his successor, but he never mentioned Biden’s name from beginning to end. Trump spent most of his speech boasting about his “political achievements” during his tenure, including becoming “the first president who has not launched a new war in decades” and building “the greatest economy in world history.” , Tearing up trade agreements with other countries and uniting allies to “fight China in an unprecedented way.” He even claimed that his government “recovered the strength of the United States at home and its leadership in the world”, and once again “won the respect of the world.”
“These four years have been a disastrous defeat.” Sam Nunberg, Trump’s former assistant, slapped his face relentlessly. The ABC commented on the 20th that Trump has treated the country’s system in an unconventional way, leaving Washington with a legacy of great changes and divisions, and he will be included under the label of “Division Commander in Chief” history. According to Bloomberg, most of the former president’s time outside the office is spent playing golf, setting up libraries, giving high-paying speeches, writing more lucrative memoirs, and keeping silent about what his successors are doing. Except for golf, Trump, a president who has never abided by office regulations, will have a different path in the future than any other former president. But what is certain is that when people discuss Trump’s presidency in the future, all conversations will begin and end with congressional riots.
The U.S. business community calls on Biden to rebuild relations with China
“After four long years, Europe has a friend in the White House.” European Commission President Von der Lein expressed his expectation for Biden’s inauguration on the 20th. According to a report in the German weekly magazine Der Spiegel, a few hours before Biden took office, the European Union proposed a “new basic convention” to seek cooperation from the United States. The convention specifies five priorities: promoting multilateral cooperation in the world, fighting the COVID-19 crisis, tackling climate change, rebuilding the economy through ensuring fair trade and digital transformation, and building a joint force for security and peace. Michelle, President of the European Council, said: “Today is our opportunity to revitalize transatlantic relations.”
When asked on the 20th whether Russia-US relations have changed since Biden took office, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Peskov said that Russia will seek to establish good relations with the United States, and whether the United States has appropriate political will will depend on Mr. Biden. And its team. Iranian President Rouhani called Trump’s departure on the 20th as “the end of an era of tyrants”, and said that he “looks forward to the return of the (Biden administration) to laws and promises, if possible, to eliminate the stains of the past four years in the next four years.”
On the 19th, several cabinet officials nominated by Biden conducted a nomination confirmation hearing in the Senate. They made some tough statements on China-related issues. Blincol, the secretary of state, claimed that China poses the most significant challenge to US national interests. Haynes, the director of national intelligence, said that the United States should take a strong stance against the “threat” posed by China. Yellen, the nominee for the Treasury Secretary, said that the Biden administration will use all available tools to combat China’s “unfair trade practices.” Sputnik News Agency quoted Lomanov, deputy director of the Institute of World Economics and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, as saying that the Biden administration urgently needs to unify conflicting political positions in the country. Such remarks by these officials are expected.
Some analysts believe that the Biden administration may take measures to eliminate some of the stimulating factors in the current US-China relationship. Campbell, the nominee of the “Indo-Pacific Coordinator” of the White House National Security Council, said that these measures may include easing visa restrictions for journalists and restarting closed consulates. Brinken also said on the 19th: “There is increasing confrontation and competition in US-China relations, but there is also room for cooperation in line with mutual interests.”
Before Biden took office, American business leaders and economists called on the new government to adopt a less hostile attitude toward China, repair the losses caused by Trump’s trade war, and prevent the world’s two largest economies from further decoupling. The South China Morning Post reported that the US-China Business Council called for the Biden administration to rebuild relations with China. The committee quoted a report from the Oxford Economics Institute that if US-China relations become more tense and the two countries’ economies decouple, the US will lose 732,000 jobs in 2022, and its GDP may shrink by US$1.6 trillion in the next five years. The committee recommended that the Biden administration cancel tariff measures in the trade war and negotiate the elimination of market access barriers between the two countries.
