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We must end this uncivil war: Biden says amid political polarization, pandemic

Thursday, 21 January 2021 9:08 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 21 January 2021 9:34 AM ]

US President Joe Biden prepares to sign a series of executive orders at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office just hours after his inauguration on January 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Getty Images)

New US President Joe Biden has called for an end to “uncivil war” in the United States, offering a message of restoration to a deeply divided country reeling from political polarization, a battered economy and a raging coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 400,000 Americans.

Biden called for a return to civic decency in an inaugural address marking the end of Trump’s tumultuous four-year term.

“To overcome these challenges, to restore the soul and secure the future of America, requires so much more than words. It requires the most elusive of all things in a democracy: unity,” Biden said after taking the oath of office.

“We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal. We can do this - if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts.”

Saying there was “no time to waste,” Biden, a Democrat, signed a slew of executive actions shortly after entering the White House on Wednesday afternoon to set a new course and overturn some of Trump’s most controversial policies.

Biden rejoins Paris Climate Accord, ends Trump’s Muslim ban

US President Joe Biden has signed a slew of executive orders on his first day in the White House to sweep aside his predecessor’s legacy.

Biden also spoke forcefully about the January 6 Capitol siege when Trump backers breached the building, sending lawmakers fleeing for safety and leaving five dead.

The violence prompted the Democratic-controlled US House of Representatives to impeach Trump last week for an unprecedented second time, accusing him of “incitement of insurrection” after he asked his supporters to march on the building to press claims of election fraud.

“Here we stand, just days after a riotous mob thought they could use violence to silence the will of the people, to stop the work on our democracy, to drive us from this sacred ground,” Biden said. “It did not happen; it will never happen. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.”

Biden assumes office as the country faces what his advisers have described as four compounding crises: the pandemic, the economic downturn, climate change and racial inequality.

“I pledge this to you: I will be a president for all Americans,” he said. “And I promise you I will fight as hard for those who did not support me as for those who did.”

The pandemic reached a pair of grim milestones on Trump’s final full day in office, reaching 400,000 US deaths and 24 million infections - the highest of any country. Millions of Americans are out of work because of pandemic-related shutdowns and restrictions.