(Jan. 20) Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, taking control of a nation wracked by a deadly pandemic, persistent unemployment and burgeoning social unrest to cap the most acrimonious transfer of power in modern American history.

Biden, 78, took the oath of office shortly before noon from Chief Justice John Roberts on the steps of the U.S. Capitol -- the very spot overrun two weeks ago by Donald Trump loyalists, who waged a deadly attack seeking to block the Democrat’s ascent to the presidency.

“This is America’s day. This is democracy’s day,” Biden said as he began his inaugural address. “A day of history and hope, of renewal and resolve. America has been tested anew and America has risen to the challenge.”

The new president’s inauguration marked a stark reversal for the American electorate. After four turbulent years governed by Trump -- who had never held public office -- voters turned to a man who spent more than four decades in Washington, including 36 years as a U.S. senator from Delaware and eight years as vice president to Barack Obama.

Biden was joined on stage by his trailblazing vice president. Kamala Harris, 56, became the first woman, the first Black person, and the first Indian-American to serve in the role. The former California senator was sworn in shortly before Biden by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

The Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol factored heavily into Biden’s address, and he took on the nation’s political divisions head-on, asking his opponents to give him a chance. But he was critical of the former president’s campaign to rile up his supporters over his re-election defeat.

“We’ve learned again that democracy is precious, democracy is fragile,” Biden said, a reference to his predecessor’s effort to overturn the election. “At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.”

He added later that “politics does not have to be a raging fire, destroying everything in its path.”

“We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal,” Biden said. “We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts, if we show a little tolerance and humility, and if we’re willing to stand in the other person’s shoes.”

Yet Biden enters office facing historic challenges: Covid-19 has now claimed more than 400,000 lives in the U.S. and rising infection rates in many parts of country threaten to overwhelm hospitals and continue to pummel the economy. Meanwhile, the new president’s ability to muster a broad-based response to the pandemic risks being constrained by the narrow majorities Democrats hold in the House and Senate.

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