‘My Whole Soul is in This,’ Joe Biden Says During Inauguration as 46th President of the United States

January 20, 2021—“We must look forward to the future in our uniquely American, bold and optimistic way,” said President Joe Biden during his inauguration on Wednesday.

Recalling the words Abraham Lincoln uttered after writing the Emancipation Proclamation, Biden said “my whole soul is in this.” “The American story does not depend on just one of us, but on all of us,” Biden continued,” we the people who seek a more perfect union.”

Biden referred to his inauguration as a small event eclipsed by the country’s need for unity in a chaotic time. Looking back on the riot that invaded the U.S. Capitol on January 6, which marked President Donald Trump’s last days in office with disorder, Biden said “Here we stand just days after a riotous mob thought they could silence the voice of democracy. It did not happen. Not today. Not ever.”

In the midst of a pandemic that according to the Center for Disease Control has taken the lives of 400,000 Americans, Biden called on Americans to rise to the challenge in what he called this “winter of peril,” saying that few people have faced more difficulty than the world does now. As his first act as the new president, he asked for a moment of silent prayer for the lives lost to the COVID-19 virus.

Confronting the pandemic is at the forefront of the new White House administration, but major technology issues face the Biden administration.

In the aftermath of a riot fueled by social media, Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which grants immunity to social media platforms for content posted by their users, has once again taken center stage. It already faces scrutiny from both sides of the political aisle.

In further investigation of big technology companies, the Justice Department and several state attorneys general recently filed antitrust lawsuits against Google and Facebook, alleging the companies use anti-competitive business practices. The suits now become those of the Biden administration.

The digital divide between those with high-speed broadband access and those without continues to put pressure on the incoming administration, as the gap has become more apparent than ever during a time when many schools are closed. Part of the challenge is accurate broadband mapping, ensuring that policy is accurate and addresses the right needs.

Seeking resolutions to the challenges of the new administration, the Internet Innovation Alliance, a broad-based coalition of business and non-profit organizations that dedicated to improving broadband access across America, issued a statement congratulating Biden on his inauguration and encouraging cooperation between the public and private sectors, stating that “universal broadband is an essential part of the solution.”

Notably not in attendance at the inauguration was former-President Donald Trump, who took his final flight on Air Force One to Florida early-Wednesday morning, skipping the historic tradition of current presidents accepting the new president as they are sworn in.