Festivities celebrating President-elect Joe Biden’s swearing-in will be organized around the theme “America United,” despite President Trump’s refusal to attend.
Biden’s inaugural committee announced the theme Monday, along with plans for former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton to join Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to lay wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
“This inauguration marks a new chapter for the American people — one of healing, of unifying, of coming together, of an America united,” committee CEO Tony Allen said in a statement. “It is time to turn the page on this era of division.”
The wreath-laying ceremony will follow Biden’s swearing-in and military pass in review at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20. The pass in review and a virtual parade will replace the traditional procession down Pennsylvania Avenue, scrapped this cycle to discourage crowds amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump announced last week he would not attend Biden’s inauguration, the first president since 1869 to skip a successor’s event absent resignation or death.
“It’s a good thing, him not showing up,” Biden told reporters Friday, two days after Trump supporters stormed Congress in an effort to thwart the certification of the election’s results.
Biden’s inaugural committee had already unveiled a national day of service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day called “United We Serve” and a light display around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Jan. 19 to pay tribute to the country’s COVID-19 death toll.
On Monday, the panel also outlined plans for a “Field of Flags” public art exhibit on the National Mall to represent people from the country’s states and territories who won’t be able to travel to Washington, D.C., for the festivities.
