•We Look Forward To Working With Joe Biden And Kamala Harris – Buhari
•I’ve forgiven Americans for voting racist Trump —Soyinka
•Iran president hails end of ‘tyrant’ Trump
Joe Biden has been sworn -in as the 46th President of the United States of America.
His running mate in the US presidential election of November 3, 2020, Kamala Harris, was also sworn – in as Vice President .
Biden and Harris had arrived at the US Capitol on Wednesday for their official inauguration ceremony .
Biden , 78, was sworn in by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts as the 46th president of the United States .
Harris, 56, is the first woman to become vice president .
Donald Trump left Washington three hours before Biden ’ s swearing-in , the first American president to skip the inauguration of his successor in more than 150 years .
The inauguration comes exactly two weeks after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a bid to disrupt the certification by Congress of Biden ’ s November election victory.
Among those attending the ceremony are former presidents Barack Obama, George W . Bush and Bill Clinton.
Vice President Mike Pence is also present after skipping a departure ceremony for Trump at nearby Joint Base Andrews earlier in the day .
Trump Arrives At Mar-a-Lago Home
President Donald Trump arrived Wednesday at his resort home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, after leaving the White House for the last time, AFP observed.
As Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony was underway in Washington, an event Trump snubbed, he flew to Palm Beach aboard Air Force One and then traveled in a motorcade to his home.
Hundreds of fans lined the road waving Trump campaign flags, US flags and one that had an insulting word for Biden.
The motorcade slowed down to a crawl, apparently so that Trump could engage with them.
One woman holding a homemade “Trump landslide” sign was in tears.
“Welcome Home,” said another.
“Trump 2024,” said yet another.
“We love you,” a group chanted.
There was also a smattering of pro-Biden signs. One aimed at Trump said, “You’re fired, you loser.”
At a farewell ceremony earlier at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, Trump said it had been an “incredible four years” and promising to be “back in some form.”
“We’ve accomplished so much together,” he said. “I will always fight for you.
The 74-year-old Trump has hinted at running for president again in 2024, but faces a trial in the Senate over his role in the January 6 storming of the US Capitol by his supporters and a potential ban on holding office in the future.
I’ve forgiven Americans for voting racist Trump —Soyinka
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka , says he has forgiven Americans for electing former President Donald Trump whom he described as a “ racist” and a “ xenophobe ” .
Soyinka said this during an interview with Arise Television on Wednesday .
The Nobel Laureate, who had in 2016 torn his American immigrant visa to shreds for voting Trump, said he would not be renewing the green card since he usually visits the United States even without it.
The playwright, who displayed pieces of his torn green card , stated that America had redeemed itself with the removal of Trump
Soyinka said , “ I feel honoured to be associated with the democratic forces of the United States for correcting the unbelievable error that they committed four years ago . ”
On the green card issue , he said , “ I consider myself back in that community from which I dissociated myself four years ago and I am very glad to be back but I am not renewing my green card, it is not necessary . I go in and out as a visiting alien and that is good enough for me. ”
The Nobel Laureate said he was very much concerned with the US elections in 2016 because the country has a huge Nigerian population , adding that America ’ s history would not be complete without blacks.
He said he tried to warn them about the impending danger of a Trump Presidency but his advice was ignored hence his decision to tear his green cars to shreds.
Soyinka added , “ The complacency was very painful and I said if you people are so careless as to let this racist , this monster , this xenophobic aberrant, this disrespect of the female gender , this serial bankrupt , this man who called your own society a shithole country, if you are so careless as to let him become the next President , I am moving out . ”
He said in a way, he was happy about the attack on the Capitol building by pro -Trump rioters . The playwright said he wanted Americans to understand how fragile democracy is.
“ So , you can imagine what I have felt over the last few weeks, the siege on the Capitol . In a way it was rather heart-warming for the Americans themselves to feel that what they have been fighting for is not really a given in their society and they had to confront it in a brutal unbelievable way and they came out of it in flying colours .
“ It is not over not by any means, I don’ t say that for a single moment but it has been a lesson for us in this continent and we should be grateful that it did happen . I am sorry of course about the loss of life, I regret the disruption of normal life but now we are placed on the same playing level, that we are all fighting for the same virtue in human conduct, the same system we all believe in that you cannot take it for granted, not anymore and for us here in Nigeria , it has been , I hope , it was been a heart-warming occasion . ”
Macron welcomes Biden back to Paris climate accord
French President Emmanuel Macron lauded new US President Joe Biden ’ s decision to return to the Paris climate accord on Wednesday , telling him “ welcome back ” in a congratulatory message after his inauguration.
“ Best wishes on this most significant day for the American people !” Macron tweeted in English.
“ We are together. We will be stronger to face the challenges of our time. Stronger to build our future . Stronger to protect our planet . Welcome back to the Paris Agreement!”
Biden , who served as vice president under Barack Obama and first ran for president in 1987, plans to kick off his tenure with a flurry of 17 orders .
He will immediately rejoin the climate accord and stop the US exit from the World Health Organization , as well as setting new paths on immigration , the environment, Covid- 19 and the economy.
Following his one -year notice in 2019, Trump formally pulled the United States out of the Paris climate accord in November last year , claiming it “ was designed to kill the American economy ” rather than save the environment.
Reentering the Paris agreement , which was agreed in 2015, is a 30- day process that begins when the US sends a letter to the UN .
The accord committed all nations to cut carbon emissions to limit warming to two degrees Celsius ( 3. 6 Fahrenheit ) above pre -industrial levels and encouraged them to go down to 1. 5 degrees .
We Look Forward To Working With Joe Biden And Kamala Harris – Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari has said his government is ready to work with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and hopes that a strong point of cooperation and support for Nigeria as well as the African continent will be marked.
President Buhari in a communique by his special media aide – Garba Shehu, congratulated the leaders, and the entire country on the successful transition, which marks an important historical inflection point for democracy as a system of government and for the global community as a whole.
We look forward to the Biden presidency with great hope and optimism for the strengthening of existing cordial relationships, working together to tackle global terrorism, climate change, poverty and improvement of economic ties, and expansion of trade.
“We hope that this will be an era of great positivity between our two nations, as we jointly address issues of mutual interest,” the President added.
President Buhari and all Nigerians rejoice with President Joe Biden, sharing the proud feeling that the first woman elected Vice President of the United States has African and Asian ancestry.
Iran president hails end of ‘tyrant’ Trump
Iran’ s president on Wednesday hailed the White House departure of “ tyrant” Donald Trump, saying “ the ball is in America’ s court ” to return to a landmark nuclear deal and lift sanctions on Tehran.
Biden , who became the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday , has signalled a willingness to return to dialogue with the Islamic republic.
A “ tyrant ’ s era came to an end and today is the final day of his ominous reign, ” President Hassan Rouhani said in televised remarks to his cabinet.
He labelled Trump “ someone for whom all of his four years bore no fruit other than injustice and corruption and causing problems for his own people and the world ” .
During his presidency, Trump led a campaign of “ maximum pressure ” against Iran, pulling Washington out of a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran in 2018 and reimposing punishing sanctions .
The sanctions targeted Iran’ s vital oil sales and international banking ties , plunging its economy into a deep recession.
The nuclear deal, agreed between major powers and Iran in 2015 when Biden was vice president under Barack Obama, set curbs on Iran’ s nuclear activities in exchange for relief from international sanctions .
Since 2019, Tehran has suspended its compliance with most of the limits set by the agreement in response to Washington ’ s abandonment of sanctions relief and the failure of the other parties to make up for it.
– ‘ Dustbin of history ’ –
“ Trump, ( Secretary of State Mike ) Pompeo & Co . are relegated to the dustbin of history in disgrace, ” Iran’ s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet after Biden was sworn in.
He added that the memories of their “ crimes against humanity” , including the assassination of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani last year and sanctions against Iran, “ will shine on ” .
“ Perhaps new folks in DC have learned ” .
Rouhani said Trump’ s political career had “ died … but the JCPOA is alive , ” referring to the nuclear agreement ’ s official name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action .
“ He did all he could to destroy the JCPOA but could not .
“ We expect ( the Biden administration) to return to law and to commitments , and try in the next four years , if they can, to remove the stains of the past four years , ” he added .
Biden ’ s pick for secretary of state, Anthony Blinken , said at a Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday that Trump’ s policies had made Iran “ more dangerous ” .
Blinken confirmed Biden ’ s desire for Washington to return to the nuclear agreement , but said that was conditional on Tehran’ s return to strict compliance with its commitments .
Tehran has repeatedly called on Washington to lift sanctions first and respect its own obligations under the agreement .
It has said it will then return to full compliance .
“ Mr Biden should know that his responsibility is to lift these sanctions , ” Zarif told reporters after the cabinet meeting .
Rouhani said “ the ball is in America’ s court ” and emphasised that when Washington starts to carry out its commitments “ we too will act on our commitments ” .
“ If they return to the law , our response will be positive as well. ”
Biden Plans Immediate Orders On Immigration, Coronavirus, Environment
US President-elect Joe Biden plans to kick off his new administration Wednesday with orders to restore the United States to the Paris climate accord and the World Health Organization, aides said.
Biden will sign 17 orders and actions just hours after being sworn in as US leader to break from policies of departing President Donald Trump and set new paths on immigration, the environment, fighting Covid-19 and the economy, they said.
In first-day moves, he will end Trump’s much-assailed ban on visitors from several majority-Muslim countries and halt construction of the wall that Trump ordered on the US-Mexico border to stem illegal immigration, the aides said.
He will also set a mask mandate on federal properties to stem the spread of Covid-19; restore protections of valuable nature reserves removed by Trump; and seek freezes on evictions and protection for millions behind on their mortgages due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He also plans to send a bill to Congress to revamp immigration policies and give millions of undocumented migrants living inside the country a path to citizenship that the Trump administration denied.
Biden’s staff said he wanted to hit the ground running given the deep health and economic challenges facing the country.
Biden “will take action — not just to reverse the gravest damages of the Trump administration — but also to start moving our country forward,” the aides said in a statement.
“These actions are bold, begin the work of following through on President-elect Biden’s promises to the American people, and, importantly, fall within the constitutional role for the president.”
– New approach to Covid –
Many of the actions will take government policies back to where they were on January 19, 2017 — the final day of the Barack Obama-Joe Biden administration, before Trump entered office and took a wrecking ball to many of their initiatives.
Jeff Zients, the new president’s point-man for fighting the pandemic, said Biden would start by establishing an office of Covid-19 response inside the White House.
A 100-day “masking challenge” will be led with a presidential order for wearing masks in all federal properties and activities, setting the standard for private companies, individual states and communities to follow suit, Zients said.
Wednesday “starts a new day, a new, different approach to managing the country’s response to Covid-19 crisis,” he said.
That includes reversing Trump’s decision to leave the World Health Organization.
To underscore Biden’s decision, Zients said, leading US coronavirus expert Anthony Fauci will lead a delegation to take part in the WHO Executive Board meeting on Thursday.
“America’s withdrawal from the international arena has impeded progress on the global response and left us more vulnerable to future pandemics,” he said.
Gina McCarthy, the new administration’s chief climate advisor, said returning to the 2016 Paris accord was essential to making fighting climate change a central tenet of Biden administration policy.
Biden will reverse Trump decisions to ease emissions and efficiency standards, and rescind the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, a large project that would bring relatively high-polluting Canadian oil into the United States.
“The day-one climate executive orders will begin to put the US back on the right footing, a footing we need to restore American leadership, helping to position our nation to be the global leader in clean energy and jobs,” said McCarthy.
Other actions by the new president will require a government-wide, proactive equality effort for minority groups, in hiring, contracting, and service.
“The President-elect has promised to root out systemic racism from our institutions,” said Susan Rice, his Domestic Policy Council director.
World Leaders Congratulate US President Biden
World leaders said they were looking forward to working with US Joe Biden, as the Democrat was sworn in as president after four turbulent years under Donald Trump.
European Unionr
Charles Michel, president of the European Council, tweeted congratulations to both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, adding: “It’s time to bring back conviction & common sense and rejuvenate our EU-US relationship.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “Europe is ready for a fresh start.”
Iran
President Hassan Rouhani hailed the departure of “tyrant” Trump, Tehran having repeatedly called on Washington to lift sanctions imposed over its nuclear drive.
“We expect (the Biden administration) to return to law and to commitments, and try in the next four years, if they can, to remove the stains of the past four years,” said Rouhani.
Biden’s administration wants the United States back in the landmark Iran nuclear accord, from which Trump withdrew, provided Tehran returns to strict compliance.
Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Biden to “strengthen,” a long-standing alliance between the two countries.
“I look forward to working with you to further strengthen the US-Israel alliance, to continue expanding peace between Israel and the Arab world and to confront common challenges, chief among them the threat posed by Iran,” Netanyahu said in a video.
NATO
“The bond between North America and Europe is the bedrock of our security, and a strong NATO is good for both North America and Europe,” said NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg.
“NATO Allies need to stand together to address the security consequences of the rise of China, the threat of terrorism, including in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a more assertive Russia.”
The Vatican
Pope Francis urged Biden to promote “reconciliation and peace” around the world.
“At a time when the grave crises facing our human family call for far-sighted and united responses, I pray that your decisions will be guided by a concern for building a society marked by authentic justice and freedom,” the pope said.
Russia
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would seek “good relations with the United States”, while a foreign ministry statement said they expected a “more constructive” approach to upcoming arms control talks.
The US and Russia are to discuss extending the landmark 2010 New START nuclear weapons accord shortly after Biden’s swearing in. The last remaining nuclear pact between the countries, it limits each side to 1,500 nuclear warheads and is set to expire February 5.
Germany
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, said he was “greatly relieved” Biden was replacing Trump as US president, calling it a “good day for democracy”.
Germany looked forward “to knowing we again have the US at our side as an indispensable partner” in addressing “the coronavirus pandemic, climate change, security issues, arms control and disarmament, and many urgent conflicts around the world”.
France
French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said Biden’s commitments to rejoin the World Health Organization, which leads the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the Paris climate treaty were “extremely important” following Trump’s exit from them.
Britain
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has faced criticism over his close relationship with Trump, said he was looking forward to “working closely” with Biden.
“In our fight against Covid and across climate change, defence, security and in promoting and defending democracy, our goals are the same and our nations will work hand in hand to achieve them,” he said.
Ireland
“Today a true friend of Ireland @JoeBiden became the 46th President of the USA,” Prime Minister Micheal Martin wrote on Twitter.
“It is a day of history and hope and I look forward to forging ever closer ties between our two great nations.”
Canada
“Our two countries are more than neighbours – we are close friends, partners, and allies,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, pledging Canada’s cooperation in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, for climate action and for a sustainable economic recovery.
India
Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi tweeted: “My warmest congratulations to @JoeBiden on his assumption of office as President of the United States of America. I look forward to working with him to strengthen India-US strategic partnership.”
