6 The United States Capitol

7 11:52 AM EST

8 THE PRESIDENT: Chief Justice Roberts, Vice President Harris, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Vice President Pence, distinguished guests, and my fellow Americans.

9 This is America’s day.

10 This is democracy’s day.

11 A day of history and hope.

12 Of renewal and resolve.

13 Through a crucible for the ages America has been tested anew and America has risen to the challenge.

14 Today, we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate, but of a cause, the cause of democracy.

15 The will of the people has been heard and the will of the people has been heeded.

16 We have learned again that democracy is precious.

17 Democracy is fragile.

18 And at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.

19 So now, on this hallowed ground where just days ago violence sought to shake this Capitol’s very foundation, we come together as one nation, under God, indivisible, to carry out the peaceful transfer of power as we have for more than two centuries.

20 We look ahead in our uniquely American way – restless, bold, optimistic – and set our sights on the nation we know we can be and we must be.

21 I thank my predecessors of both parties for their presence here.

22 I thank them from the bottom of my heart.

23 You know the resilience of our Constitution and the strength of our nation.

24 As does President Carter, who I spoke to last night but who cannot be with us today, but whom we salute for his lifetime of service.

25 I have just taken the sacred oath each of these patriots took — an oath first sworn by George Washington.

26 But the American story depends not on any one of us, not on some of us, but on all of us.

27 On “We the People” who seek a more perfect Union.

28 This is a great nation and we are a good people.

29 Over the centuries through storm and strife, in peace and in war, we have come so far. But we still have far to go.

30 We will press forward with speed and urgency, for we have much to do in this winter of peril and possibility.

31 Much to repair.

32 Much to restore.

33 Much to heal.

34 Much to build.

35 And much to gain.

36 Few periods in our nation’s history have been more challenging or difficult than the one we’re in now.

37 A once-in-a-century virus silently stalks the country.

38 It’s taken as many lives in one year as America lost in all of World War II.

39 Millions of jobs have been lost.

40 Hundreds of thousands of businesses closed.

41 A cry for racial justice some 400 years in the making moves us. The dream of justice for all will be deferred no longer.

42 A cry for survival comes from the planet itself. A cry that can’t be any more desperate or any more clear.

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

44 To overcome these challenges – to restore the soul and to secure the future of America – requires more than words.

45 It requires that most elusive of things in a democracy:

46 Unity.

47 Unity.

48 In another January in Washington, on New Year’s Day 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

49 When he put pen to paper, the President said, “If my name ever goes down into history it will be for this act and my whole soul is in it.”

50 My whole soul is in it.

51 Today, on this January day, my whole soul is in this:

52 Bringing America together.

53 Uniting our people.

54 And uniting our nation.

55 I ask every American to join me in this cause.

56 Uniting to fight the common foes we face:

57 Anger, resentment, hatred.

58 Extremism, lawlessness, violence.

59 Disease, joblessness, hopelessness.

60 With unity we can do great things. Important things.

61 We can right wrongs.

62 We can put people to work in good jobs.

63 We can teach our children in safe schools.

64 We can overcome this deadly virus.

65 We can reward work, rebuild the middle class, and make health care
secure for all.

66 We can deliver racial justice.

67 We can make America, once again, the leading force for good in the world.

68 I know speaking of unity can sound to some like a foolish fantasy.

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

70 But I also know they are not new.

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

72 The battle is perennial.

73 Victory is never assured.

74 Through the Civil War, the Great Depression, World War, 9/11, through struggle, sacrifice, and setbacks, our “better angels” have always prevailed.

75 In each of these moments, enough of us came together to carry all of us forward.

76 And, we can do so now.

77 History, faith, and reason show the way, the way of unity.

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

79 We can treat each other with dignity and respect.

80 We can join forces, stop the shouting, and lower the temperature.

81 For without unity, there is no peace, only bitterness and fury.

82 No progress, only exhausting outrage.

83 No nation, only a state of chaos.

84 This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge, and unity is the path forward.

85 And, we must meet this moment as the United States of America.

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

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

88 And so today, at this time and in this place, let us start afresh.

89 All of us.

90 Let us listen to one another.

91 Hear one another.
See one another.

92 Show respect to one another.

93 Politics need not be a raging fire destroying everything in its path.

94 Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war.

95 And, we must reject a culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured.

96 My fellow Americans, we have to be different than this.

97 America has to be better than this.

98 And, I believe America is better than this.

99 Just look around.

100 Here we stand, in the shadow of a Capitol dome that was completed amid the Civil War, when the Union itself hung in the balance.

101 Yet we endured and we prevailed.

102 Here we stand looking out to the great Mall where Dr. King spoke of his dream.

103 Here we stand, where 108 years ago at another inaugural, thousands of protestors tried to block brave women from marching for the right to vote.

104 Today, we mark the swearing-in of the first woman in American history elected to national office – Vice President Kamala Harris.

105 Don’t tell me things can’t change.

106 Here we stand across the Potomac from Arlington National Cemetery, where heroes who gave the last full measure of devotion rest in eternal peace.

107 And here we stand, just days after a riotous mob thought they could use violence to silence the will of the people, to stop the work of our democracy, and to drive us from this sacred ground.

108 That did not happen.

109 It will never happen.

110 Not today.

111 Not tomorrow.

112 Not ever.

113 To all those who supported our campaign I am humbled by the faith you have placed in us.

114 To all those who did not support us, let me say this: Hear me out as we move forward. Take a measure of me and my heart.

115 And if you still disagree, so be it.

116 That’s democracy. That’s America. The right to dissent peaceably, within the guardrails of our Republic, is perhaps our nation’s greatest strength.

117 Yet hear me clearly: Disagreement must not lead to disunion.

118 And I pledge this to you: I will be a President for all Americans.

119 I will fight as hard for those who did not support me as for those who did.

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

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

122 I think I know.

123 Opportunity.

124 Security.

125 Liberty.

126 Dignity.

127 Respect.

128 Honor.

129 And, yes, the truth.

130 Recent weeks and months have taught us a painful lesson.

131 There is truth and there are lies.

132 Lies told for power and for profit.

133 And each of us has a duty and responsibility, as citizens, as Americans, and especially as leaders – leaders who have pledged to honor our Constitution and protect our nation — to defend the truth and to defeat the lies.

134 I understand that many Americans view the future with some fear and trepidation.

135 I understand they worry about their jobs, about taking care of their families, about what comes next.

136 I get it.

137 But the answer is not to turn inward, to retreat into competing factions, distrusting those who don’t look like you do, or worship the way you do, or don’t get their news from the same sources you do.

138 We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal.

139 We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts.

140 If we show a little tolerance and humility.

141 If we’re willing to stand in the other person’s shoes just for a moment.
Because here is the thing about life: There is no accounting for what fate will deal you.

142 There are some days when we need a hand.

143 There are other days when we’re called on to lend one.

144 That is how we must be with one another.

145 And, if we are this way, our country will be stronger, more prosperous, more ready for the future.

146 My fellow Americans, in the work ahead of us, we will need each other.

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

148 We are entering what may well be the toughest and deadliest period of the virus.

149 We must set aside the politics and finally face this pandemic as one nation.

150 I promise you this: as the Bible says weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning.

151 We will get through this, together

152 The world is watching today.

153 So here is my message to those beyond our borders: America has been tested and we have come out stronger for it.

154 We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again.

155 Not to meet yesterday’s challenges, but today’s and tomorrow’s.

156 We will lead not merely by the example of our power but by the power of our example.

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

158 We have been through so much in this nation.

159 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 those we lost this past year to the pandemic.

160 To those 400,000 fellow Americans – mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, friends, neighbors, and co-workers.

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

162 Let us say a silent prayer for those who lost their lives, for those they left behind, and for our country.

163 Amen.

164 This is a time of testing.

165 We face an attack on democracy and on truth.

166 A raging virus.

167 Growing inequity.

168 The sting of systemic racism.

169 A climate in crisis.

170 America’s role in the world.

171 Any one of these would be enough to challenge us in profound ways.

172 But the fact is we face them all at once, presenting this nation with the gravest of responsibilities.

173 Now we must step up.

174 All of us.

175 It is a time for boldness, for there is so much to do.

176 And, this is certain.

177 We will be judged, you and I, for how we resolve the cascading crises of our era.

178 Will we rise to the occasion?

179 Will we master this rare and difficult hour?

180 Will we meet our obligations and pass along a new and better world for our children?

181 I believe we must and I believe we will.

182 And when we do, we will write the next chapter in the American story.

183 It’s a story that might sound something like a song that means a lot to me.

184 It’s called “American Anthem” and there is one verse stands out for me:

185 “The work and prayers
of centuries have brought us to this day
What shall be our legacy?
What will our children say?…
Let me know in my heart
When my days are through
America
America
I gave my best to you.”

186 Let us add our own work and prayers to the unfolding story of our nation.

187 If we do this then when our days are through our children and our children’s children will say of us they gave their best.

188 They did their duty.

189 They healed a broken land.
My fellow Americans, I close today where I began, with a sacred oath.

190 Before God and all of you I give you my word.

191 I will always level with you.

192 I will defend the Constitution.

193 I will defend our democracy.

194 I will defend America.

195 I will give my all in your service thinking not of power, but of possibilities.

196 Not of personal interest, but of the public good.

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

198 Of unity, not division.

199 Of light, not darkness.

200 An American story of decency and dignity.

201 Of love and of healing.

202 Of greatness and of goodness.

203 May this be the story that guides us.

204 The story that inspires us.

205 The story that tells ages yet to come that we answered the call of history.

206 We met the moment.

207 That democracy and hope, truth and justice, did not die on our watch but thrived.

208 That our America secured liberty at home and stood once again as a beacon to the world.

209 That is what we owe our forebearers, one another, and generations to follow.

210 So, with purpose and resolve we turn to the tasks of our time.

211 Sustained by faith.

212 Driven by conviction.

213 And, devoted to one another and to this country we love with all our hearts.

214 May God bless America and may God protect our troops.

215 Thank you, America.

216 END

217 12:13 pm EST