Media laud Biden inauguration speech as ‘inspiring’ and ‘best inaugural address’ in recent history

“There was a mob of thugs, of insurrectionists, of domestic terrorists on the inaugural stand,” Wallace added, referring to the siege of the Capitol earlier this month. “And Joe Biden was saying that democracy prevailed. We were able to get through that, and he was talking about how we need to get through that in the future if we are going to be a united country.”

Others in the media echoed Wallace’s comments on the speech, with some describing it as “inspiring” and “great.”

In his speech, Biden called for people to unite and see each other not “as adversaries but as neighbors.”

“And in each of these moments, enough of us have come together to carry all of us forward, and we can do that now,” Biden said. “History, faith, and reason show the way, the way of unity. We can see each other not as adversaries but as neighbors. We can treat each other with dignity and respect. We can join forces, stop the shouting, and lower the temperature. For without unity, there is no peace, only bitterness and fury; no progress, only exhausting outrage; no nation, only a state of chaos.”

He added that although there is a rise in “white supremacy” and “domestic terrorism” in the United States, “we will defeat” it.

“The dream of justice for all will be deferred no longer,” Biden said. “The cry for survival comes from the planet itself — a cry that can’t be any more desperate or any more clear. And now, a rise in political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront and we will defeat.”

Earlier Wednesday morning, some in the media also showed their excitement over former President Donald Trump leaving the White House.

CNN host Jake Tapper called Trump “disgraceful” as he prepared to leave for Joint Base Andrews.

“As we watch President Trump’s helicopter, it’s interesting. He really is doing everything he can that’s wrong,” Tapper said. “This is a textbook case of how not to leave the presidency: whine and cry, pretend that you didn’t win, incite your supporters, stage an insurrection. And on his way out the door, he pardons a bunch of his cronies.”

“You think that he couldn’t get any more disgraceful. Well, just give him a few hours,” Tapper said.

CNN’s Dana Bash also took a swipe at Trump as he left Washington, D.C.

“He just looks like a small man,” Bash said. “And that is exactly the way that he has handled his presidency since he lost, and he just has appeared smaller and smaller and less and less courageous.”

Trump gave a short speech before boarding Air Force One for the final time, thanking the men and women within his administration and his supporters for the last four years.

“Thank you very much, and we love you. And I can tell you that from the bottom of my heart,” Trump said. “This has been an incredible four years. We’ve accomplished so much together.”

“So, just a goodbye. We love you. We will be back in some form,” he added.