What Went Down During Joe Biden’s Inauguration

President-elect and Vice president-elect no more. Biden and Harris are officially sworn in today as commander-in-chief and second in command. And as we said at the outset, today was an unusual Inauguration Day in many different respects: Trump refused to attend, attendance was severely restricted due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and thousands of National Guard troops were on hand to protect the peace.

Biden’s inaugural address centered on unity and bringing the country together as one, but as my colleagues discussed on the live blog, that will be a hard task for Biden to undertake, given how divided America is. It’s something we’ll be covering in the years ahead, too.

Here’s the crew’s headlines of today’s event, followed by their final thoughts.

Micah: Biden Inaugurated As 46th President; Harris Sworn In As First Woman Vice President

Amelia: Biden Takes Office At A Moment of National Crisis

Julia: Historic Inauguration Presents Democracy As A Work in Progress

Nathaniel: President Calls For Unity, Vice President Makes History

Kaleigh: Unity The Theme Of The Day At A Pandemic Inauguration

Seth: Biden Calls For Disagreement To Not Become Disunity, Vows To Be Everyone’s President

Geoffrey: Biden Calls For Unity And Strength In A Time Of Cascading Crises

Meredith: President Biden Commits to Unifying A Divided Nation

Galen: Do Words And Traditions Have The Power To Unite In The Midst Of An ‘Uncivil War?’ We’ll Find Out.

Meena: Extraordinary Times Require The Most Ordinary Inauguration

Shom: A Normal Inauguration In Abnormal Times Is The Coda Into An Uncertain Future