Security workers around the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 15, 2021.
Biden will be sworn in on Jan. 20, amid unprecedented security measures and an epidemic lockdown, in one of the most unusual inaugurations in U.S. history.
Like many former presidents, Biden is to be sworn in on the steps of the Capitol. However, the traditional Pennsylvania Avenue parade, which usually draws hundreds of thousands of Americans, has been canceled and replaced with a virtual parade. The inaugural ball has also been canceled.
The observation deck near the White House has been removed, and the event may be the smallest U.S. presidential inauguration in history in terms of actual attendance. Although attendance is expected to be small, security and law enforcement will be exceptionally tight.
Members of the National Guard near the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 15, 2021.
David Pietrusza, a political historian, author and expert on the history of presidential elections, believes the inauguration has its own unique features.
He says there is “no good precedent for this” with people so nervous and unsettled, with the influx of military and security personnel into Washington, coupled with the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But there are examples of things that have happened in history, and things didn’t go as planned and didn’t go so smoothly, Pietrusza said.
Abraham Lincoln’s first inauguration, according to the historian, was one of the most tense in history, and there was more than a hint of impending war in the air. Six weeks after his inaugural address, the Civil War, which claimed about 2 percent of the U.S. population, broke out.
“Of course, when Lincoln was inaugurated in 1861, the country was in worse shape and people were more nervous. There’s no comparison to that.” Pietrusza said.
He noted that while maintaining security before the Civil War was a big issue, the steps taken this year to prepare for Biden’s inauguration were also unprecedented.
It was the first time that a special national security campaign for the inauguration was launched a full week before the actual event, rather than days before.
The Capitol in Washington, D.C., Jan. 15, 2021.
Authorities have taken proactive measures in Washington amid growing concerns that the riots and violence that occurred on Jan. 6 could be repeated during Inauguration Week. A total of up to 25,000 National Guard members from all 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia will be stationed in the U.S. capital.
Security measures have brought the city to a near complete standstill. In the days leading up to the inauguration, more than a dozen subway stations around the National Mall and the U.S. Capitol were closed; the streets of Washington were empty and eerie everywhere.
Buses, streetcars, and other forms of public transportation, even bicycles, were shut down. Most stores were closed, and many businesses had boarded up their entrances.
The south side of the White House in Washington, D.C., Jan. 15, 2021.
U.S. President Donald Trump (Trump) said earlier that he would not attend Biden’s swearing-in ceremony. He made the announcement a day after Congress certified Biden as the winner of the 2020 election.
Trump will not accompany Biden to the Capitol, a break with tradition. However, this is not the first time a president has refused to attend the inauguration of his successor.
In 1801, John Adams, the second president of the United States, left Washington just before the inauguration of Thomas Jefferson.
The situation that year was very divisive and in some ways similar to that of 2021. Jefferson’s supporters portrayed his opponent Adams as a lover of the monarchy, while Adams’ supporters portrayed Jefferson as a radical. Some say that Adams did not attend Jefferson’s inauguration to prevent violence at the event.
Security around the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 15, 2021.
In 1829, John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, also left Washington the day before, refusing to attend Andrew Jackson’s ceremony.
Other presidents who did not participate in the swearing-in of their successors were Martin Van Buren (1841) and Andrew Johnson (1869).
John Gizzi, Newsmax’s senior White House correspondent and chief political columnist, said it was “unfortunate” that Trump did not attend the ceremony.
“As a former witness to not only the handover of power, but also the tradition of the incoming president paying tribute to the outgoing president, that point will certainly be missed,” he said, adding, “You not only miss the handover, so to speak, but you miss these classic traditions.”
For more than two centuries, inauguration parades, celebrations and, by extension, displays of patriotism have been an American tradition, including Trump’s 2017 inauguration, despite the sporadic protests that can occur.
“The ceremonial pomp and pageantry is the best way you can think of to represent America.” Gizzi said.
Extra security barriers were placed on the streets of Washington on Jan. 15, 2021.
“Listening to the music of the orchestra, watching the president and vice president wave from their cars, sometimes getting out and marching with the crowds, all of that, is extremely American and doesn’t lose its color with the passage of time,” he added, “and when that is removed, the mystique of the transition ceremony will be lost. “
This year’s inauguration, according to Gizzi, can be compared to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fourth and final inauguration, when Roosevelt was sworn in on Jan. 20, 1945, on the White House porch overlooking the backyard.
At the time, with World War II claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of American citizens, Roosevelt decided to hold a simple ceremony. That presidential inauguration took only 15 minutes.
This time, because of the viral pandemic, again there won’t be a lot of pomp and circumstance, Gizzi said.
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