‘American people united in spirit’: Kamala Harris ahead of inauguration
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be sworn by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Sonya Sotomayor respectively.
All set for Inauguration Day, US vice president-elect Kamala Harris on Wednesday took to Twitter to say that she and president-elect Joe Biden will work to unify the country, tackle the challenges, and renew the promise of America.
In a series of tweets, Harris, the first woman to become the vice president of the United States, said that the people of the country are united in spirit. “Though we may be physically separated, we, the American people are united in spirit,” she wrote on the microblogging site.
“My abiding hope—my abiding prayer—is that we emerge from this ordeal with a new wisdom. To cherish simple moments. To imagine new possibilities. And to open our hearts just a little more to one another,” she wrote in another tweet as the two leaders paid tribute to the thousands of lives lost to the Covid-19 pandemic at a memorial held by the reflecting pool at the Lincoln Memorial at the National Mall in Washington.
The inauguration ceremony will kick off with a first-ever curated live stream for “young Americans” hosted by award-winning entertainer and advocate Keke Palmer. Biden and Harris will be sworn by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Sonya Sotomayor respectively.
They have urged supporters to stay home because of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. The National Mall is closed and just a fraction of the tickets usually handed out for an inauguration will be distributed. About 200,000 small US state and territorial flags have been installed on the National Mall, representing those who can't attend.
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The virtual event and celebrations will witness the participation of singers Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez and Demi Levato and actor Tom Hanks. The presidential inaugural committee (PIC) has announced “America United” as the theme of the inauguration to reflect the “beginning of a new national journey that restores the soul of America”.
(With agency inputs)