Biden Inauguration: Drexel University Professor Bill Rosenberg Joins CBS3 To Discuss Expectations For Inauguration Events
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- On Wednesday afternoon, President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. Officials have increased security around the parameter of the U.S. Capitol where a threat of another attack is on the minds of those at Wednesday's inauguration.
Millions of people are expected to tune in for the inauguration ceremony. And after taking the oath of office, Biden is expected to address the nation emphasizing unity.
Drexel University political science professor Bill Rosenberg joins CBS3 with more on what we can expect to see at the inauguration.
A lot of inauguration day events will be different due to the heightened security, but there will be some elements of tradition that will still take place.
"I think we saw a break of tradition last night when we saw Joe Biden and Kamala Harris go to the Lincoln Memorial to pay respects to the hundred thousand people who died of the coronavirus. This was a total turn of the page and something we really haven't seen in the past," Rosenberg said. "But as we approach today we have to also understand that the focal point will be the 40 or so words that the president will use as his oath of office which is required in the Constitution and establishes him as the new President of the United States. It's basically a celebratory time but we also have to recognize that we are facing a very tragic time as well with the U.S. Capitol basically being the green zone in Iraq with 25,000 troops and the very large number of people resisting the coming of Joe Biden. So it's a bittersweet day in America."
He says Biden having the first female Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, as his right hand is "really remarkable."
"We have Joe Biden, who is to become the president, a quest he's tried to accomplish a number of times in the past, but this time he is accomplishing it with the first African-American, East Asian woman, who is going to serve as his vice president," Rosenberg said. "They are going to be a team to truly work together. If you've noticed whenever Biden has had any of his press conferences or engagements she is right by his side. We're also going to see the Capitol come alive again. Which is a new first for the rebirth based upon the tragic incidents that happened just two weeks ago with this storming of the Capitol. So, I think in many ways Biden is trying to set a tone, a tone of unity for the United States. He's going to commemorate this with a number of executive orders he is going to sign today."
Some of the orders he is expected to sign include the removal of the travel ban for Muslims, rejoining the World Health Organization, joining climate change and reinstituting the Iran Treaty.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW.
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