Cameron Stewart
Joe Biden inauguration: President gives America the words it wanted and needed to hear
Joe Biden gave the inauguration speech that most of America wanted to hear and the rest of America needed to hear.
It was an address that spoke directly to this turbulent time in the country’s history as it struggles with a deadly pandemic, a battered economy and the deepest political divisions since the civil rights era.
Biden’s key message was that he would be the anti-Donald Trump, that he would not inflame this political divide, but would rather seek to draw the country’s warring tribes closer together.
“We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal,’ Biden said.
His call for unity was aimed at both sides of the divide, urging people to ‘stand in the other person’s shoes’ and to ‘lower the temperature’ of their political discourse.
Biden’s critics may dismiss such words as mere platitudes or feel-good statements from an incoming president.
But if you don’t think that words matter, then consider the impact that Trump’s words had on his own supporters this month when they stormed the US Capitol.
Pitch perfect
If ever America needed an antidote to the divisive rhetoric of the Trump era it is now, and Biden’s speech was a pitch perfect start to that quest.
Biden also rightly called on ordinary Americans and their political leaders to work harder to defend the truth and end the Trumpian era where ‘alternative facts’ are promoted by those who know better.
For example, Trump’s lies about election fraud have helped persuade one third of Americans that Biden’s election win was illegitimate. It is a legacy that undermines faith in American institutions and in democracy itself, and Biden is right to call it out from day one.
His inauguration address was aimed at soothing the national mood rather than firing it up. It was more of a bedside chat than a halftime address by a footy coach to rev up the team.
But good leaders adjust the level of volume according to what is needed, and right now the country is surely best served by a softer tone of leadership.
Good news for Australia
Biden’s speech was also good news for Australia. His pledge to repair America’s alliances and ‘engage with the world once again’ as a ‘strong and trusted partner’ is just what Canberra will want to hear after the isolationist approach of the Trump era.
Biden promises a more outward looking America which hopefully translates to a greater focus on US involvement in the Indo-Pacific in the face of a rising China.
Like all new presidents, Biden will enjoy a honeymoon period before the going gets tougher. He faces a huge task in persuading Trump’s army to give him a fair go before judging him. He also faces challenges from those in the left of his own party who will push him to go further than he wants down the progressive route. Biden’s presidency will have to balance these competing forces. But if his inauguration speech is a sign of things to come, it was an encouraging start.
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