Transcripts For MSNBCW The Inauguration Of Joseph R. Biden Jr. 20210120

I would say yes to that. Perfectly done. Has anyone else been more aware of the clothing theyre wearing on Live Television. For help in this conversation with thanks to the rev, lets bring in kasie hunt. Im guessing that the deeper meaning and impact of bidens speech made its way to you on the lawn. As i am also guessing Amanda Gormans presence at the age of 22 made its way to you as we watched the obamas leave just behind where you are. Reporter it really did. Let me first say to pick up on the previous conversation, i would need two marines to help me walk around like that. I think its joy to walk around like that. In all seriousness though, being out here and getting a chance to listen to this, what really struck me is that after four years of having a president who made everything about lims and everything about his own political future, that this speech that we heard from joe biden it was not campaign speech. It was not a politics first speech. It was an american speech. It was a patriotic speech and it was aimed at not just all the people here but people across the country who, frankly, have been hurting in all kinds of ways from the coronavirus pandemic, losing their own family members, economic hardships and what we have all gone through as a country the last two weeks as we watched this temple to democracy get overrun by a violent mob. You are also talking a little bit about accountability earlier and i was watching all of those, our public figures, the former president s, former first ladies milling about in first floor of the capitol and i have been in there in past years covid has changed the rules and we have security this year thats a little bit different but many the past, reporters like me, who have a normal pass for this building have been able to mingle in that crowd. Its a really remarkable, one of the only times in our National Life where this happens. Politicians of both parties from different walks of life get to actually chat with each other. We short hand this sometimes as having a beer together, et cetera. Its a time when every one is actually joined together in this enterprise of celebrating democracy. They all manage to find something personal in common. They have private conversations. Its a fascinating place to be a fly on the wall. One of the things that will be different about this administration and this Congress Going forward that will help answer sochl these accountability questions is those are the people mingling who have power in our country. The faces of the people that have power in our country are changing. Kamala harris, the first woman to ever hold a job of Vice President. Also a black woman. Also a south asian descent. You have new members of congress of color. They are younger. The kind of people and the backgrounds of the people who hold power is changing in this country. Its part of why we have had such a struggle for unity. What joe biden did was open the door to say both to those people who many of whom are in his Political Party but also to republicans on the other side of the aisle, lets take a stab at fixing this. Lets try. Lets try to figure out how to make this new mix, this changing face of power in america work in a way where we can all feel like we are part of the same big project. Well see how republicans receive that. Theyre going to have a chance to hold donald trump accountable for inciting that riot. They its going to happen here in a couple of days in the form of an impeachment trial. They will have in the senate, any way, a chance to shut the door on the di device ifr donal trump ir era to bar him from holding off. That doesnt mean it will be easy. Joe biden acknowledged that. Now President Biden acknowledged that throughout his speech. He talked about how this has been the hardest thing we have grappled with as a country. Its been imperfect and long been this tension. Ive been texting with members who have been listening to a speech on both sides of the aisle. I think the reaction was really a sigh of relief as we try to move into an era that has a distinctly different tone and feel or goal, i guess is the best way to put it. Joe biden wants us to be different than we have been the last four years. I think theres a lot of people on both sides of the political aisle who feel the same way and willing to give it a chance. It may be imperfect with a chance to turn the page. Kasie hunt indeed to all of that. Lets not forget something about this picture. It is heartbreaking that razor wire has to share the picture with the u. S. Army band. Heartbreaking. It is sadly because of our fellow citizens who stormed the capitol. It was because of the fear of further violence to mar this day. To underscore what kasie hunt just said as we see an armored humvee there in the picture. More of the razor wire encircling our capitol. It interrupted a string of i august ral addresses. Mostly about american exceptionalism and while there was that, it also forthrightly noted were in a bad spot right now. We go forward with a new president from this day. Rachel. Right now what we think is happening, logistically is rather than going up to the capitol for the big congressional lunch which is typical for inaugurals, we think the families are having a private lunch right now. The next thing that will happen is that President Biden will sign some documents. Hes going to go do whats called the president s room at the capitol. Hell sign an Inauguration Day proclamation and nominations to cabinet positions and nominations to sub cabinet positions that require confirmation. We have seen with past president s some cabinet secretaries have been confirmed and sworn into office on Inauguration Day. There was a late start with republicans in the senate right not getting a move on. One of the unusual things about him taking office is he will be taking office with zero of his cabinet confirmed. Thats unprecedented. Theres lots of excuses but the fact remains the republican led senate was on recess until yesterday. They didnt bother to get the work done to get these nominees confirmed. Thats part of the background of whats going on today. As far as we can tell, the last act as president by donald trump before President Biden became so at noon, we believe the last official act that donald trump took as president was to issue one last late pardon for the husband of judge pirro who is a fox news personality. The president issued a pardon for her husband. We believe that may have been the last thing that donald trump did as president before President Biden succeeded him. Lets not forget as we talk about the republican senate, josh insurrection hawley of missouri, just yesterday, blocked rapid confirmation of the incoming secretary designate of Homeland Security. Not that we need a vital department of Homeland Security, which lets not forget was created in the aftermath of 9 11, an external attack to protect the homeland. These days we are talking about these fortifications because of internal threats. Senator hawley remaining on brand, whatever new brand he has decided to be. He stepped forward and objected of all 100 senators. Otherwise we would have seen a swearing in today for badly needed secretary of Homeland Security. Lets go back to nbc news president ial historian. I think we had a bit of an issue with your audio. Im assured now it is fixed. Thanks for being with us. My pleasure. I wanted to ask you now that the inaugural ceremony at the capitol. The part we were all so stressed about. Can you reflect on what was different in that ceremony to not have the outgoing president there. The outgoing Vice President was there and took up some of that space. How will this go down in history with that factor in mind . With that major difference . It looks slightly bizarre. If this looked like a normal inauguration, i think we would wonder what was going wrong. If a martian came to earth and heard joe bidens inaugural speech and did not know what had happened during the last four years, that martian would say what on earth happened here. Why is he talking about democracy as if it was something that almost ended . Was there a catastrophic war that struck the United States . Given that i think it would be false and counterfeit to simulate an inauguration that might take place if there was not a pandemic that required people to wear masks and socially distance and caused over 400,000 americans to needlessly lose their lives. If there were a ceremony that ignored the fact we lost our democracy two weeks ago and we could be living in a martial law police, the ceremony has to track to some extent with reality and thats why i think this one succeeded because it did. One of the things ive been watching today and it feels a bit weird to be spending any Mental Energy on this but we have to now. That underlying the attack on the capitol was the president and many republicans lie about the Election Results claiming that joe biden didnt really win the election and there was some parallel universe in which there was massive fraud and thats why President Trump should stay president. There was also a rabid and insane but widespread on the right now, Conspiracy Theory, this qanon Conspiracy Theory that drove a lot of the most rabid and fervent Trump Supporters that took part in the attack. What they believed is this moment would never happen. There was all some sort of plan. A storm coming or whatever else coded words they used. They fervently believed in the qanon universe that donald trump would stay as president and joe biden would never be inaugurated. There was some secret plan that would be revealed to the nation and they would be revealed as the Truth Tellers and we would be shamed. Were seeing the people come crashing into reality to reality their fantasy and this Conspiracy Theory that drove them into insane acts really was made up. I dont know, we have talked about the no nothings. We talked about other conspiratorial movements in u. S. History that have dove tailed with u. S. Politics. Do we have any lessons from history in terms of bringing people back to reality. People who have been driven to political radicalism by a fantasy. One big help is if youve got a president of the United States that wants to tell the truth and bring people back the facts, we have not had that for four years. As you remember, in 2004, how Many Americans thought that sudan hussein was behind 9 11 and how much americans thought that barack obama was born in kenya or lying about his religion. He doesnt doing any of those things. In those cases you didnt have a president of the United States putting this stuff out on twitter as donald trump did for four years and in other venues. Now youve got a president , joe biden, who thinks that its so important to come back to the world of reality that he mentioned it in his inaugural address. Thats something we never heard before. Thats right. The repeated references in the inaugural address to the truth. Right. Normally that would not be controversial. It is foundational matter today. Those of us worried about the right drifting off, quite some distance from a factual basis in which we can ul agree to disagree even though the facts remain the same among us. Worried about those disconnected from reality and living in the world that donald trump promoted. The reality of todays inauguration grounds any of those folks, i guess it remains to be seen. Would be nice to think it does and january 6th wads a one time event will not come again. Im not so sure. Thank you. Were told in terms of whats happening now that President Biden is being briefed on the documents that hes about to sign in the president s room at the capitol. Capitol is big enough and complex enough there are rooms for very specific purposes that there rooms that dont get used at any other times. This is one of those times. Rachel, im going to bring into our conversation, donna edwards, former congresswoman from maryland. I want to pick up on the conversation rachel and michael having with parts of the speech where President Biden, thats the first time ive said that on live tv. President biden came back to the topic of truth and shared truths, multiple points in the speech but he talked about the common objects that we as americans love and that define us. He said this, quote, i think we know what they are. Opportunity, security, liberty, dignity, respect, honor and, yes, the truth. Recent weeks and months have taught us a painful lesson. There are truth and lies. Lies told for power and for profit. One of the places that has allowed those lies to be repeated to massive, massive audiences is over on fox news and im watching some of the twitter traffic. Chris wallace over there has taken a stand today on the side of truth. He pointed out some of the same lines of the Biden Inaugural address that we have and called the inaugural address the best inaugural address hes listened to. My question, donna, do you think biden, by changing the question instead of trying to come up to an answer no one else has been able to come up with. How do you beat trumpism . Do you think biden by widening the field, changing the conversation, wanting to be a president for all americans, wanting to cure coronavirus and heal every one regardless of who they voted for, is the right strategy . Well, i think its a strategy that only joe biden, President Biden can embark on. One thing he said that really stuck with me is that he would defend the truth and defeat the lies. I think that is the standing whether its at the podium in a press briefing or him in the bully pull bit always defending the truth and defeating the lies because we know that throughout trumps presidency, he relied on the repetition of those lies in order for them to take hold. I think its really important that joe biden began his speech, talking about democracy prevailing. He ended saying that democracy didnt die on a watch and all in between he stressed the definition and the importance of defending the truth. Donna, we are expecting President Biden and Vice President harris to go into work today. We have talked all day long about contrast but just seeing this as a busy bustling workplace where people are focused on the nations business may seem like a simple and obvious contrast but i think people will be surprised by what this place looks like when it is a bustling place of work. We havent seen a legitimate press briefing in weeks and maybe months. I cant even remember now going into the oval office President Biden today will be signing a number of executive orders rolling back some of the most egregious acts of the Trump Presidency from day one. I think these are important. Modes of operation that convince americans, maybe one by one or thousands by thousands that government is back to work and its back to competence and to getting things done for the American People and so its not just showing that it works but its like actually doing it. I think today not letting this just be a day of celebration which it is because i know that i and all of us are embracing this move toward unity and plooefing that joe biden can achieve it but doing that by doing the work of the American People. I think hes off to a good start today making it a workday. Congresswoman, while you were talking, we saw the new president and Vice President walk down the hallway like that was a normal thing. I want to bring in Kristen Welker who has been at her post at the capitol the underscore some of the reporting we have been passing along on the plans for the new administration starting day one. Thats right. Just listening to you all talk about the fact theres going be a press briefing and what that means. The fact that is to some extent a sign there will be some normalcy return to govrping there. I was there when sean spicer came out to the Briefing Room and talked about the crowds and tried to make the case he had the largest crowds ever. Period. It was so strike l. That really set the tone for the rest of the Trump Administration. What we would see from those press briefings which is that you would ask questions and you wouldnt necessarily get spin. You would get answers that didnt square with the truth. What we are seeing now is, i think, the incoming administration, the new president and the new Vice President having a reset as it relates to that. Brian, to your point, they are getting to work today. They are going to sign 15 executive actions. President biden will that will relate to the myriad of challenges that hes facfacing. The myriad of crisis hes facing. Getting more testing for covid, rolling back some of President Trumps most controversial policies including the ban on travel for muslim majority countries and passing a number of executive actions that deal with racial inequality in this country. Of course, President Biden speaking to that point at the top of his inaugural address. Talk about White Supremacy and the need to deal with it head on. There will be more executive actions in the coming days and the difficulty comes when it comes to trying to get his legislation passed. The 1. 9 trillion relief package. Lit be hard to get republicans on board with this. This speaks to the question that you all were just talking about. Is this the right approach to try to win over the people who did not vote for him and dont think he won legitimately. Its those smalls of bipartisanship that ultimately could make a difference but it remains to be seen. Brian. Go back inside the president s room at the capitol. First signature to the first document as president. What he is signing here is the Inauguration Day proclamation and nominations to cabinet and sub cabinet level positions. As we have been describing, this is one remarkable thing about this inauguration is the president and Vice President are taking office with none of the cabinet confirmed by the republican well, by the senate, which has been republican led and as of this afternoon, will be democratic led when Vice President harris swears in alex padella for her old seat in california and Rafael Warnock thus cementing democratic control of the senate as part of this transition of power. Joy reid, the folks at president ial trivia are out with the firsts. First president named joseph. First president born during world war ii. First president whose home state is delaware. Second born in pennsylvania. The second catholic president. The oldest at 78. He replaces the previous oldest president in our history. The 7th president of the United States who has served as both Vice President and a u. S. Senator. Joy, dont say i never gave you anything. Brian, i dont know how you knew i am a sucker for that nerd stuff. You could do an hour and i would be wrapped in attention. I think thats such a cool thing. I have somebody that im going to bring on who is also, i think, i can safely say a proud nerd along with me. A great student of history. Our friend and colleague Lawrence Odonnell who is not only a great student of history, a great student of an era ill ask him about in a second and a great student of the United States senate. Lawrence, hello. Great to be with you. Let me begin with a note of trivia and then go do history. Those three pens that we just saw President Biden use to sign those documents will be given away most likely to someone in that room. Ive been in those rooms when those signings are happening. All eyes are on those pens. Hoping that they will be handed to you in that room. Every pen he uses to sign every official document that comes before him will be given away. Usually they use several pens to sign an individual bill into law. They give those pens away to the people who are attending that signing ceremony. On the history, joy, joe biden has attended more inaugurations than anyone else on that platform today. 13 consecutive inaugurations. Nine of them as a senator. Three of them in his role as Vice President including the last inauguration where he was the exiting Vice President and now one of them as president. There has never been a first day president of the United States with more experience, more knowledge of what hes getting into in his first hours in the history of the country. This is the most experience that has ever been brought to the oval office in its history. Experience isnt everything. Wisdom, judgment, sensitivity, humility, tolerance, those are two words he used today, humility and tolerance. All of those things are necessary too. Intelligence. Experience is the thing that you can never teach. Its the thing that you have to walk in there with, if youre going to have it. Joe biden has it in a much more obvious and clear way not just to him and every one working in the white house but every one working in the congress. Every one will know on minute one this is someone who really knows what hes doing no matter what you might think as an individual member of congress of his policy. He knows how to do this job. That is excellent. Im now going to play a little game of historical trivia pursuit for you. I do have a question. Before i get to it, isnt it true that biden was the previous youngest United States senator and today, john ossoff will become the youngest u. S. Senator do i have that right . Yes. Joe biden becomes the oldest first time inaugurated president. Its pretty stunning. Now to the mechanics of what joe biden has to do. To the very point you were making. His experience. He strikes me as an lbjish sort of figure. Man of the senate who becomes president of the United States and has to negotiate through the United States senate and working closely with the speaker of the house to get bills through. With a 50 50 senate, how much trouble can Mitch Mcconnell still make for joe biden. A will the of us have a bit of angst that bleeds over from the Obama Administration when Mitch Mcconnell was able to make a lot of trouble as minority leader. How much trouble can he make for joe biden now . Much, much less. For all the things you need 60 votes for, its not Mitch Mcconnell who has to make the trouble. Its really just 41 republican senators and thats a very likely circumstance. You have three of four republican senators right now who look like very strong possibilities in joining democratic legislative initiatives. Theres a stronger possibilities of compromise in this senate than we have seen at any moment in the last four years. Joe biden goes into this job with more advantages than Lyndon Johnson did. Joe biden was not the majority leader of the senate but joe biden worked in the senate much longer than Lyndon Johnson. Actually knows the modern senate much better than johnson even could have known his own senate at that time. The senate is far more complicated than it was when johnson was a senator and president. There was no Budget Committee. No one knew how much anything cost. The budget rules alone in negotiating things through the senate are so complex that there are very few president s who have really deeply understood them. Biden does. He knows the world of the possible more clearly than anybody could legislatively. And he has another huge advantage over Lyndon Johnson. Every one he worked with in the senate likes him. Likes him as a person. Im afraid that was not true of Lyndon Johnson. I hear that. One last question for you. You just mentioned the budget and that brings me to what i wanted to ask you. One bernard, Bernie Sanders as head of the Budget Committee. That strikes me as a very big deal. Is it a very big deal and what way would that be a big deal for the American People for what would happen legislatively . It helps for senator sanders prominence in the debate. The Budget Committee is an illusion. Its an organizing committee. It doesnt tell the Senate Finance committee what to do on taxes and what to do on medicare, social security, medicaid. It doesnt have the power that the title suggests in it. It doesnt compare in the ability to effect an outcome that the Senate Finance committee has on the senate a Appropriations Committee has. The Budget Committee is more in a bookkeeping mode. It changes everything for him. It changes the way hes regarded in the senate. People have to deal with him in a different way. Its a very important position. I dont want to minimize it. I just want to point out that its title has a bit of an illusion in it for what the function actually is. I love this kind of stuff. Lawrence odonnell, thank you so much. Im going to throw it back to brian in the hope you have a few more nerd tidbits for me. All ive got is hallway cam. Were at the mercy of our switched pool cameras. Theres the rotunda again. The military review is coming up. Theres a Gift Exchange ceremony. One of the last vestages of what would be going on inside the capitol today we were not in an uncontrolled pandemic. Youve seen the members of the military line the stairs on both sides. Members of the public and the press have gathered at the bottom of the stairs. Elements of the bidens waiting motorcade and every available black chevrolet suv on the east coast are all down there. You see various portions of the u. S. Army marching band. They are waiting the cue to go forward. We have an outdoor scene and an indoor scene. We are waiting on. Our cameras are preset inside. What better time to bring in our friend, Pulitzer Prize recipient eugene robinson. We look to you to give us fresh magic on the spot on Live Television as to what it is we have witnessed in our country today and with were waiting to see the new president and Vice President here. History will look back on this day joe biden began president. Thats a very, very big deal for a lot of obvious reasons. Thats a sense of not just moment but a sense of great optimism. An era in history. The era of donald trump disrupter in chief. It said lot about this day. When he said democracy has prevailed thats an astounding thing for an incoming president to have to say. Yet, two weeks earlier at this very spot, democracy hung in the balance. The other moment that really struck me is when President Biden said theres truth and there are lies. Lies told for power and profit. I think we see Kamala Harris walking out on the inside cam and President Biden. Just to finish the thought, getting everybody on the same page. Its a first step as President Biden tries to heal the country. You have to agree on a single reality and right now we do not. To your central critical point to that critical phrase in the president s speech. It would not have been necessary to mention that democracy has prevailed were that not an open question a few days back and for months and years in the lead up to this. We see the new head of our government. The new president , the new Vice President. We saute were proceeded by majority and minority leaders of the house and senate. Speecher of house and minority leader in the house. Lets open our microphones and take this scene in. President biden and first lady and Vice President and the second gentleman, normally we have a lunch and probably no personal alive has attended more of those lunches that President Biden has. Its an important moment where its bipartisan. Its a part of the legislative government. Probably dont need as much bonding because we have that bonding with you and the traditions here. By those traditions theres a painting at the front of that event that the chairman picks not knowing well have an event until what we will do about it. I asked dr. Biden to pick the painting. This is the one she recommended. Shes a landscape with rainbow. Its the best known africanamerican painter in the year surrounding the civil war. Hes based in cincinnati, encouraged by abolitionists who among other things sponsor a trip to do some study in europe. This is a painting that he painted in 1859. I think maybe its sort of the classic painting. The black artist, painting so much like an american utopia on the verge of a war we would fight over slavery makes all of that even more interesting. While he faced lots of challenges, obviously its optimistic even in 1859. Glad to have all four of you here as we move onto my good friend senator klobuchar. I like the rainbow. The rainbow is always a good sign. Thank you. Mr. President , first lady, madam Vice President and our very first second gentleman. Its our honor to present these custom made crystal vases commemorating your historic inauguration. Lenox, which is a Great American company has hand crafted these gifts for the past nine president ial inaugurations. Its a good thing i dont have to hand them to you personally. They each weigh with the base, 32 pounds. Combined 64. Jill, i know is very strong and could take them both. The Lenox Company is based in bristol, pennsylvania, which you know mr. President is a mere 2 miles from scranton. The team at lenox has worked for months to capture the spirit of this inauguration and your incoming administration. Mr. President , your vase fature the white house and Vice President harris feature the u. S. Capitol. The gifts represent the hope and the faith the American People have placed in you to move our country forward. Thank you. Thaing. Thank you prz. Well, mr. President , madam Vice President , the pandemic has sadly limited our usual hospitalities as mentioned, im very glad we still carry on some of our favorite inaugural traditions. Its my honor and privilege to help present these flags of our nation that were flown over todays event here at the capitol. I have to make one point of personal privilege on behalf of the senate, with all due respect to our distinguished speaker and our colleagues from the house, i have to note not only did we just swear in a son and daughter of the senate to these high offices but both these former senators skipped the house all together. The star spangled banner is our greatest symbol of endurance of the american idea. It flies over this building on triumphant days and tragic ones. For all factions and all parties. Today this flag flew over our former colleagues inauguration as the very first female Vice President of the United States to our very distinguished colleague, madam Vice President , please accept this flag with the highest compliments and congratulations of the United States senate. [ applause ] the distinguished leader of the senate pointed out he has hosted this lunch for members of the senate who have become president and Vice President. I have the privilege of giving a flag to the president of the United States, the flag that was flown when you were sworn in, mr. President. This flag with all its said about your ininauguration. America united. May it be a symbol of the hope, healing and the enthusiasm that you have for our country. As we heard the Beautiful National anthem, when were at the stadium and they say, is our flag still there. You say play ball. Right there. Were ready to go with the inspiration of our flag flying. On behalf of the house of representatives, its my privilege to extend the flag the early moment you were sworn in as president of the United States. Thank you, mr. President. Thank you dr. Biden. Thank you. If we had the lunch, we would have had california wine. Is that not right . Madam Vice President , mr. Emhoff, congratulations. With liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Congratulations, mr. President. President biden, Vice President harris, dr. Biden and mr. Emhoff. Congratulations. Proud of you both. When president washington was sworn in as the first president of the United States, only handful of people saw the ceremony or heard the famous first inaugural address. Today the inauguration is seen around the name and around the world. Yet the task facing the nation is no less momentous than it was in washington. I listened to your speech today. You talked about the tension and division. Our leaders to bind the flagss wounds. Dedicate to the values of all americans shared together. With modern technology a few minutes ago it captured in pictures. History in the making for all the world to see. This picture should serve as a reminder of that task that we have before us. As a very proud son of california, its my honor to present to a very proud daughter of california as well. Today Vice President harris made history in all america should celebrate that. We should also remember this is not the end but just the beginning. As leaders, were justed not by our words but by our actions. Lets go forth from here together, accomplish great things for the American People and every time you look at this foe foe, remember the beginning of the job we have to do. Congratulations. [ applause ] madam Vice President , mr. Emhoff, dr. Biden, mr. President. We are so proud of that. Dr. Biden, he makes you call him mr. President . Marriage is about to get rocky. I can tell. On behalf of the joint congressional committee, i too am proud, more than that, im ecstatic to present the two of you this picture. A testament to technology. A testament to history. Mr. President , in your speech you talked about faith. You talked about tribulations but you talked about victory. The johnson brothers wrote a great hymn. You know it well. Today we have a new day. That hymn came out of faith and out of deep trouble into hope. They said facing the rising son of our new day begun, let us march on till victory is won. Thats what your speech was about. Thats why we are so proud and ready to march with you, President Biden. God bless. [ applause ] theyre both different. Thank you. Thank you, every one. With that, the new president and Vice President exit the rotunda of the capitol. Last in the news when taken over by rioters. We are joined by congressman jim clyburn of South Carolina. He is House Majority whip. He also is the lead chair of president elect the now President Bidens inaugural committee. As personally responsible as anyone for the resurgence of th resurgence of the biden campaign, which lead to the Biden Joe Biden becoming the nominee of his party that lead to his victory and lead to today. Congressman, im curious to hear what you thought about the president s speech today and how the business of governing gets back on track. Its impossible to look at the pictures without thinking of the rioters. Its impossible to hear mr. Mccarthy would being reminded of his role and his effort to turn back the results of the election. Thank you for having me. I listened very closely to the speech today. I was able to read right along with the speech. And i was very moved by it. It is a classic olive branch, so to speak. One of the things he kept talking about in his campaign was restoring the soul of this country. And during the campaign i talked a lot about the countrys situation. But he is reported to have said that america is great because its people are good. And if the people of america ever cease to be good, america will cease to be great. I think that what we saw about two weeks ago was a threat to the goodness of america. People who do not portray that goodness, attempted to take over the citadel of our democracy. But our democracy prevailed and joe biden took steps today to restore the goodness so that we can maintain our greatness. That is what i heard in the speech today. And i think he will reach out to the other side. Congressman while you have been talking we watched the doors open on the east front. We watched the speaker come out, the leadership, the most visual striking feature of the door is the window that remains broken. An im going to guess that the architect of the capitol had the chance to replace the class, but left it as a visible symbol of what the democracy and Congress Just went through. The new president would not have mentioned democracy prevailing had there not been a question about that. You know, as usual, that is correct. I think he called it it just right. I think all of us are aware that in the last several weeks, not just two weeks ago, but leading up to that, our democracy has been teetering on the edge and waiting for somebody to step forth, and no one in pourt did to stop what was going on. So we had that insurrection, or that attempt of insurrection within. We have today an end and two or three days ago, i think Mitch Mcconnell set the right tone when he said that these people are invoked by the president of the United States, an admission of it for the first time that i heard. That the president needs to be held responsible for what happened. And hopefully people will gather for Mitch Mcconnells speech. Where it was necessary for the house to vote to impeach and why it is necessary for the senate to continue on with a conviction. We have to get that cancerous growth out of our democratic system to the people of good will, as Martin Luther king jr. Said, you remember he said that he must come to the conclusion that people of ill will were making a better use of time than people of good will. I think the people of good will will start stepping up after today and make better use of our time and overshadow the efforts of the people. Time marches on so quickly, i dont want all of the lessons of today to be lost to time. Take a moment to talk about todays importance. One category that i have been thinking of is the importance of today to all of the students, path, president , and future at hbcus. Thank you for mentioning that. At these ceremonies a lot of us think about what youre going to wear. I decided this morning to put on my South Carolina State University cap. Oh, we noticed. And i heard from a lot of people about that cap. I did that for a reason. Ron mcnair, the astronaut from South Carolina, just before taking that fatal flight, had been hired by the university of South Carolina to be a professor. Once he retired from the court. Well he said to me on that day. He said everybody talked about my having a phd. He said that is not what made me the astronaut. He said it was going in greensboro known for the sit in that was an effort that i became part of. He said able to relate to him and get into him and putting him on that group to get a ph. D in physics. Thats what hbcus is all about. Getting peoples bank accounted that may not be where the majority of us grew up. I happen to have been married i went on to become a librarian. And i urge you to look at what hbcus is all about. I would hope that having a graduate now as Vice President of these United States, a Vice President of the United States with, the first woman of color, and first woman. I think it is a testament of what hbcus is all about. Not to mention the number three in the Democratic House an hbcu graduate. Thank you for wearing the colors today. Thank you very much for spending time with us on, indeed, a big day. And here is the review of the colors. What better time to bring in berry mccaffery. A tradition in a goes back as far as our republic. We quickly note the red uniforms were thought better of as time went by. General berry mccaffery, this is the traditional fair well of the new president , your thoughts on the day and all it represents . Well, very moving, emotional, and important day. We should not lose sight of the fact that were looking at days ago. To see this man of such difference and decency and civility, and intelligence, and compassion sworn in, along with Vice President harris. Traditionally whoever the American People elect thats who the arms forces will support under the constitution. A great day for america. Please note the new license plate on the rear of the cadillac limb seen, 46, just for today. Will be did switched back to the same number that all of the vehicles share to keep evil doers from targeting one vehicle out of the flock. General mccaffery, talk about the military and civilian relationship and the strain thats have been replaced on it with the revolving door of leadership and support staff at the pentagon . It has been an unbelievable period. A serious of different secretaries of defense, act gt at service level. Some of these people i think were there illegally. How defense miller was chosen instead of the deputy secretary is beyond me. They have been quite explicit at the arms forces plays no role in the flexion of our political leadership. Im very proud to see all of the Service Chiefs reminding them that our oath is to the constitution. I think it has been tough on them. Now under the command, commander in chief, only of the arms forces of someone that has american values. That ought to be a great comfort there to everyone in the country. Rachael maddow, i know you wanted into this conversation. Its great to have you with us today. I wanted to ask about some reporting being confirmed today. Something that was eluded to in public around christmas time when we had word that the transition at the pent gone had essentially stopped. That trump appointees told them that any Transition Communications would take a holiday pause. Politico reporting today really quite shocking inside the ugly transition at the transition. It is Current Operations including essential operation missions. The effort to obstruct the biden team is unprecedented in modder transitions. Seems like a lot of people were adais end to this effort and they failed because of the trumps sides actions and theyre very worried about what that might mean to have no real transition at the Defense Department . Can you shed some light on us . I think the thing that im not worried about at all is whether or not the bide p administration will get the full limit e loyalty. That will happen. It is really noornt the Senate Confirm lloyd austin and other senior members of the dod team and also the attorney general and the secretary and department of Homeland Security. But we need his civilian team in office, but look at that suggestion, these people were actually talking about a coup against the constitution of the United States. Talking to mr. Trump about having the seizing and control of the ballot boxes. These were criminal discussions on the part of an administration. I dont know what was going on in the pent gone. There was four kwirlly squirrely lads over there. He never should have accepted a 70 day appointment. Were lucky to be through it. I remind our viewership there is only two people that can give orders to the armed forts. That includes the acting secretary of defense. They have no command authority, but i think we were in a period of peril. It was a period of considerable peril. General, were watching the departure of the new president and new Vice President , both in the newest generation. The interior confines are an amazingly small compared to the exterior of the vehicles. A lotowed to the thickness of the class and the vehicle doors. It has been compared to a rolling crypt. For folks with problem with confined spaces, it certainly is. This is not anything like the security concern of a normal motorcade. The streets of washington are as close to thoroughly shut down as anything we have seen in the modern era. Virtually zero vehicular traffic. Certainly none coming over the bridges from mard to virginia. All of it suspended because of the threat that we saw going into today. Normally not there, all new for this event for today. It can all be taken down in due time. There is a temporary addition of the reviewing stand across the street from the north lawn. It turned into a beautiful winter day in washington dc. Again, this almost sad view. The absence of americans that would normally be in the capital city to cheer on the new president and Vice President to observe this tradition that we have. The peaceful transition. Youll note at the top of the screen the only people left are members of the National Guard. In this case, standing at attention. General mccaffery. The people there in the if i, and the snoegs in the fast few day thats we have been let in on, and that is the thought of the actual threat from within our guard and ready forces. It has been a very painful discussion. I say that as a grandfather that had a grandson. Every poll says that with good reason. 6 o,000 killed and wounded since the terrible trauma of 911. We have done Something Like taken firing pins of every weapon. There should always be a zero security tolerance. 85,000 National Guard troops in washington dc. They came from all over the country. They have been standing in the freezing cold. Many are combat veterans. Their presence was enough deterrence so that we didnt have a disruptive inauguration. But also i remind people that when youre trying to get in the armed forces right now, its a challenge. Wering with a top 28 of Young American males and top 25 of Young American females. You cant have a tattoo of kkk or nazi symbols. We watch their behavior, not their thinking. But clearly it requires crosssuitny of who we put in the arms forces as well as Law Enforcement. What youre looking at now is the end of the motorcade. They will go across the river to Arlington National cemetery before the focus of the day shifts to the white house where the new president and previous president s will take part in a 15 to 20 million program. A wreath laying, before coming back here. If you have been to arlingtons washington cemetery, you will recognize this. They keep watch 24 7 over that tomb. Our live coverage will continue on the other side. Write your next adventure. Handwriting recognition and the audi q3. Lease or purchase a new audi suv and have your first months payment covered. Go pro at subway® for double the protein on any footlong. Or on any new protein bowl so many ways to go pro at subway® its not amateurtein, its protein, baby go pro and get double the protein for just 2 more. Subway. Eat fresh. Wanna lose weight and be healthier . Its time for aerotrainer. Go pro and get double the protein for just 2 more. A more effective total body fitness solution. announcer aerotrainers ergodynamic design and four patented air chambers create maximum muscle activation for better results in less time. It allows for over 20 exercises. Do the aerotrainer super crunch, push ups, aero squat. It inflates in 30 seconds. Aerotrainer is tested to support over 500 pounds. Lose weight, look great, and be healthy. Go to aerotrainer. Com. Thats aero trainer. Com. The United States has a new president. Our live coverage continues with the motorcade across the bridge to Arlington Cemetery where the new president and former president s will take part in a brief memorial ceremony. The wreath laying at Arlington National. Rachael maddow is back with a special guest. We have joining us now senator corey booker. We caught him on some of our static cams during the inaugural ceremony in the last couple hours. Great to have you with us, thank you for taking some time. A great day to be with you. Let me ask you to reflect on that. Were reflecting in almost equal measure. A period of American History that has just come to close with the Vice President driving off and the outgoing president nowhere to be seen. It is the start of something very, very, very different. How are those two story lines interdefining for you, sir . I was there four years ago. In that same spot in the bleachers and i heard him talking about american carnage. Unfortunately his last days ended with just that, american carnage. And so i think in these dawning days of 2021 we went from a deep hurt to now, today, elevated hope for our country and a reaffirmation of our common ideals and bonds that they won the day over those that ought to under mine them. So i feel incredibly lifted and in many ways for me personally i feel a lot of healing againing after feeling so rounded by what happened on the 6th. In terms of your role in the senate, we are in an unusual situation here. The president and the Vice President worn in, there is no one in their cabinet. No confirmations have happened for any cabinet level appointees, that is an unprecedented delay. Do you think those delays will continue. Yeah, it is disappointing. And it is an attempt, an impotent attempt to mock the ideals that he spoke about too. It is not a severe consequence, it is just a mocking irritation and anyone that he embodiy in my wa is, a dire to find Common Ground and to go ahead, but you said as a guy with incredible privilege, very dramatic things. I was able to walk john ossoff to be sworn in. Things will shift. And i will give you an example of this. Violent White Supremacy. Now on the committee that im in we can call hearings. We can governor the agenda of the United States senate. What we focused on. What bills come to the floor. We have not even had a chance to vote on the minimum wage. We can control that agenda now and drive the peoples agenda in a way that is very exciting to me. So yes, those people who will do everything they can to undermine the success. Have it in the house of representatives and in the white house. It is a new day in washington, a new proms, i believe, for america. Watching to 21 gun salute here, senator. As Vice President harris and President Biden arrive, i have to say in this moment i remember taking a trip to washington as a kid in Elementary School and my dad taking me to the tomb of th. It was mystical to me, knowing that we honored a soldier known only to god as the representative of what american sacrifice means. It is remarkable that were seeing a tribute paid today by the new president and new Vice President , but also without the outgoing president. With only former president s there alongside them. The absence of the man today was the previous president. Because i watch this right now, i feel we should all be pulmobled by the traditions grander and bigger than us im disappointed that former President Donald Trump did everything he could to break our traditions in painful ways and skirted them and violating those traditions. But were seeing them continue. And if i can say, you know, im looking at this accept tear, and i cant help but feel another Great American who fell, the best measure of his devotions, the last measure of his devotions, by dieing. And it is still a time of grief hanging over our country. As i look out that cemetery and i know our first ri responders who died in this pandemic. We are at a time when we have to remember our dead. And those sacrificing in a pandemic or to defend our democracy just in the last days alone. So while trump may not honor the reverence and the dignity this is a new day and a renewal and a hope and possibility and a renewal of honor. Were honored to have you with us today. Thank you for taking the time with us today. Enjoy the rest of this day. Their. The first act of this new presidency was before todays inaugurals. Before the wearing in. It wasnt the start, but they came together yesterday at the base to lead a National Memorial service. We have not had one of those yesterday they lit the 400 lamps at the reflecting pool in a short and very moving ceremony. When President Trump gave is Campaign Rally speech at joint base andrews, but he spoke about the loss of the families that lost people to covid19. As if it was summoned from him. The fact that his successor was able to do that if is just really night and day. You see the rows of tombstones at arlington now. Theyre heading up to, as you mentioned, the platform. At arlington, as we have been witnessing, the 21 guard salute. It is the guard, the post, that protecting the tomb. That is 63 foot rub mat replaced twice a year. They go 21 steps, pauses 21 seconds, in either direction. There is the rooet that will be general, perhaps to a civilian audience i know youd can do better than i can at soming up the meaning and the importance of not just this spot in arlington, but arlington has a whole. It is a special place. If youre a visitor to the capital, you should try to see this longstanding of the guard at Arlington National cemetery. Its open to the public. Its very moving, very precise. It is 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The third infantry regimen is on duty. What were watching here is a joint honor ceremony. The commander and chiefs coming up to lay the breathe. Very important and symbolic, and under scoring the incredible sacrifice of the armed forces, and they will step forward, and i have been close to this spot many times. Many of my classmates were killed in action in vietnam and my dad is a veteran of nine years in combat. So it holds a real special place in the heart of all of us, particularly those that served in uniform. As you know, this used to be the estate they make washington dc, and they started bearing Union Soldiers here. Putting the remains of Union Soldiers inside of the house so it would not be afeeling for anyone to ever come back here again. Thats how this began. And john kennedy would come out here from time to time, very much like this on veterans day. It came once, and looked back at the view of washington dc which as you know is commanding across the potomac. Jacqueline Kennedy Remembered that and that is one reason why the federal government took five acres of land for John Kennedys grave site that is there with an internal flame. One of the design coincidences, michael, in washington was the fact that the late senator ted kennedy could, from his Senate Office based on seniority, across the potomac. Exactly right. The bone chilling aspects, it is like this, and Robert Kennedy when he was murdered in june of 1968 was buried right next to there. It was almost 12 years ago. It was a similarly modest gravestone but the three brothers are all together. Property text of the too many is worth reading about the members of the old gaurt that are traditionally they do not wear any indication of their rank to make sure that no one has a visible rank compared to the tomb. Absolutely fascinating. It is precise. We see the president , the first lady, the new Vice President and second gentleman. [ silence ] as the general mentioned, as racial mentioned, and so many of us, this should be such a necessary stop for all of those visiting the nations capitol. The guards who patrol back and forth are not without an official task. In addition to that if anyone sits down, chews gum, or does anything, they will stop in their tracks to enforce quiet. And discipline, and attention. [ silence ] reverence for this part of the job is something that all former president s share. And i think it is something that all three of these men have written about missing in their post presidency. Obviously Donald Trumps record there still to be written. But he skipped visits to military cemeteries in europe. He reached deep into the Justice System that exists for our military. Accused of committing war crimes, and i believe joe biden was one of the first democrats to west him in terms of support among our military. Hard to tell if the occasional aircraft noise over head is the sizable canopy of fighter jets based at Andrews Air Force base that are aloft and in the air, and circling the district at a safe distance on days like this, and how much of it is just near by national airport. Washington one of the few big citys in this city, the airport so, so close to the metropolitan area. Frighteningly close to the white house and national monuments. But because it is the gateway congress has to go home to their districts in large part, it has remained open all of these years having taken on the name of ronald reagan. A man who, how do we say this here is the new president of the United States. [ silence ] present. Present arms. Order. Present arms. [ silence ] [ silence ]. Presumably inside of there the former president s will say their goodbyes to the bidens. Its a motorcade back across the bridge to northwest washington to their new home. Nicole wallace, it is to your previous point an exclusive club. An exclusive club and one that joe biden is just probably the most prepared to take on many of the emotional aspects as this rope of commander and chief and this role of consoler and chief. Having been at the table, at the senate for so many of the debates from the last four decades if is just another part of the job that he is uniquely prepared for. You see the headstone thats go through the feeds and the hills of arlington. They number roughly 400,000. It is an undeniable parallel for our history of loss and green. From the memorial yesterday. The first moment in a senior Government Official acknowledged what has been in this country. And as you said, a number that rivals those who rest at arlington. In terms of whats going to happen here, we are expecting an inaugural parade unlike any other. It will be a virtual inaugural parade. Preceding that, though, we will see the new president walk to the white house. He will have a military escort down pennsylvania avenue. He will walk up the north driveway to the north portico. There will be that amount of normalcy but then while we are used to seeing throngs of thousands at the inaugural parade and participants in the parade from all over the country, this will just be a different a different year. One of the other things that is different about this year is that President Biden is going to sign 15 different executive orders, i believe, on substantive matters. Everything from rejoining the w. H. O. And the paris climate accord, to ending the trump muslim ban, to calling for a 100day nationwide mask challenge to try to stop and slow to slow and ultimately stop transmission of the coronavirus for the first 100 days of the administration. A lot of president s sign one or two executive orders or symbolic proclamations day one, bidens going to do a lot of them and a number of them are going to be quite substantive. Theres, when they say theyre getting to work day one, they really are. So theres a lot yet to come over the course of the day as we head toward the last two or three hours of daylight in washington, d. C. You know, friends, im struck and i dont know if the rest of you, to pick up on what youre saying, rachel, im struck by the formality of it. These are always extremely obviously very formal events, but the people who put this together, you know, the folks who planned this inaugural, despite all the challenges, you know, they went to Great Lengths to sort of reestablish the transition of power as we knew it, the traditional sense. You know, even lady gaga who we know can belt it out did a very traditional version of the national anthem. Everything has been very rooted in a kind of americanastyle tradition that i think is an attempt to take back what was stolen from this country on january 6th. To say that were going to seize back, you know, the idea that there is this this sort of ceremony to our government existing and to having 46, you know, commanders in chief, and i think that thats maybe part of their attempt to kind of take back what was lost. And i also think that the parade being kind of empty makes sense. You know, weve lost 400,000 americans. I know it traumatizes me every time i listen to nicolles lives well lived i burst into tears. I dont know how she gets into it. I cry literally every day. Me, too. At that point in time when nicolle reads those obits. I americans have a strange relationship with death. We nearly fell apart and panicked when nearly 3,000 people died in a rorhorrifying terrorist attack in 2001. And changed all of our policies because of it. We dont deal well with one plane going down. We americans have a strange relationship with death. When you take that and make it a 9 11 a day, its shocking to me, as rachel said, that we havent had a formal statement about that until now President Joe Biden gave us that moment when i think a lot of people were crying, including myself, as they lit those, you know, those lights along the national mall, along the reflecting pool. So i think an emptyish parade fits the mood, you know, i think this has been a really welldone ceremony for the kind of america were emerging from. Emerging as. After 01 06 which is one of those dates thats going to live like 9 11 and never put it behind us or forget it. It changed us. I think this was a reflection of, you know, joe bidens determination to seize it back. Joy, i think the point that you just made, too, shouldnt be overlooked. Were far enough into todays proceedings to note that this has been flawless. Both in terms of execution but also in terms of security worries that we had. Weve all remarked, brian i think has been very eloquent about the fact its strange to not see americans in great numbers out as part of this commemoration of the transfer of power. The security concerns such as they were did not give rise to did not yield to any security worries, at least that were visible today and weve seen reporting across the course of the day that even as Law Enforcement and intelligence professionals were braced for potential armed shows of force by Trump Supporters around state capitols today, that didnt happen. That didnt happen, either, in the wake of what happened on january 6th. Indeed, weve seen more federal charges, serious federal charges brought against more of the attackers on the capitol from january 6th, today, just has these proceedings have been unfolding. So well see what the parade is like, joy, and brian and nicolle, i am struck by the fact there was a challenge along these lines when it came to both conventions trying to do conventions without huge conventions halls full of people. I think both conventions, particularly the democrats, did a good job figuring out how to do that, a televised event rather than a live one. Well see the challenges today for the virtual l nug ra inaugural parade. Can i say, rachel, i hope one thing that survives this covid era, the convention, the callout of the states. I think there have been some innovations weve seen in performative democratic, you know, performing democracy that i think we can keep. I thought that the democrats did a brilliant job going from state to state. I hope they always do it that way. And for this, yeah, i think youre absolutely right. I think because the biden team really has always taken covid very seriously, theyve put a lot of work into planning a convention that didnt have lots of people and crowds, anyway. This is the way they think. This is another sign we now do have an administration that takes covid very, very seriously. And they put a lot of work into planning a convention in which the humans you see, you know, are the people who are part of the performance of democracy and the crowd is missing which, again, reflects the fact that, you know, 400,000 of us are missing. Our friends, our neighbors, our family members, are also missing. So i have to applaud them so far. Its been flawless. One of the executive orders that joe biden is going to sign today will be an order creating the position of covid19 response coordinator. A position that will report directly to the president and be responsible for coordinating all elements of the covid19 response across government including managing efforts to produce, supply and distribute ppe and vaccines and tests. That same executive order is also going to restore at the National Security council the director for Global Health security and biodefense, which, of course, the Trump Administration dismantled when they got to washington only to find that that could become the greatest threat to the nation with now no dedicated element within the government designed to protect against it. Incredible picturs weve been looking at during our conversation including a rare view of the white house from the washington monument. We dont often get to take it all in from the ellipse of the east wing, through the residence, to the west wing. And on the reverse shot from the height of the monument, you can see something even more rare, which is the oval office roof which is just a Vantage Point we so seldom have there on the left. West wing on the left. Pennsylvania avenue on the far side. You see the reviewing stand facing the white house and black lives matter plaza across from that. Think of the violence that took place. Think of the violence that took place just so the president could hold a bible aloft in front of a burnedout church basement. Think of what we have just been through within the space of that 18acre complex. Geoff bennett is our correspondent whos been there today, and, jeff, i know the place was just about hollowed out, certainly upper and Lower Press Office and west wing offices. What kind of changes have you witnessed taking place there . Youve been there today while our attention has been across town at the capitol. Reporter well, i tell you what, brian, that rather serene and peaceful scenic shot of the white house that were seeing right now on our screen kind of belies the flurry of activity thats happening within it. I can tell you for much of the inaugural events, the blue door that leads from the Briefing Room into what we call lower press, that door was locked and the reason why it was locked was because the permanent white house staff, the butlers, the ushers, the janitors, the contractors, were behind the scenes doing that sort of wellchoreographed, albeit frantic, changeover that happens when one administration leaves and other comes in. I can tell you now, though, that now White House Press secretary jen psaki is in her office. Karine jean pierre, a familiar face for those who watch msnbc, now part of the biden press team, shes in her office now. I was talking to her not too long ago. Really all visible traces of the Trump White House are now gone. There are eight large photos with what the white house folks like to call jumbos because they are jumbo photos of the bidens from yesterday. Theres a picture of a tearyeyed joe biden. Youll remember if you watched his remarks yesterday when he was in wilmington before he left to come here to washington, there was a moment he choked up, tears were streaming down his face. He said his one regret was his son, beau, was not here to see this and said i biden saying he should be the one introducing beau biden as president. That picture is now hung up in the west wing. There are also other pictures of the bidens, of Vice President Kamala Harris and of the second gentleman from last nights National Covid memorial. All of those pictures are on the wall. Ill tell you the other thing that were watching for right now, brian, is what happens when joe biden comes here. Hes going to sign those executive orders that rachel was talking about. Well see him sign at least three of them. One that sends the u. S. Back into the paris climate agreement. I spoke with secretary john kerry some months ago, john the new climate enjoy, joe bidens climate envoy, he said that would be the first part of joe bidens climate agenda. Joe biden will sign an executive action to make that happen today. Also going to sign an executive action today well see him sign about that federal mask mandate. Requiring mask wearing in federal property, interstate travel, and all of the places where he has the authority to mandate it and, of course, hes also asked for americans to wear face coverings for at least 100 days. And then hes got another executive action well see him sign pertaining to racial equity. Later this evening jen psaki will hold her first press briefing. That press Briefing Room has literally been collecting dust. The last briefing we had was from kayleigh m these press briefings matter, reporters like to ask questions and have questions answered, we do, its a chief way for the administration to impart information to the American People whether its about the collective good or about a policy agenda or about their sort of perspective and goal for how they seek to govern. Jen psaki has committed to Holding Daily press briefings, returning the press briefings to a daily footing and also said she expects to make that the Biden Administration expects to make President Biden available to reporter questions on a frequent basis, brian. Geoff bennett over at the white house. Its going to be a shock to witness a factbased White House Briefing in that Briefing Room. But well boldly go there tonight. 7 00 eastern time. Im told Michael Beschloss is still part of our coverage and michael, looking at that extraordinary shot, and it is a rare view of the white house from the washington monument, the eye focuses on the rose garden which has been a subject you have talked a lot about, especially on social media. Once and for all, what did the nowdeparted first lady do to the rose garden . How would it physically to those of us who are casual viewers or visitors, how would it look different than, perhaps, this time a year ago . Well, for everyone, i was just thinking about that myself, brian. Im looking at the white house rose garden on our screen. Its just to the sort of middle left near the area where you see some people walking right now. In 1962 Jacqueline Kennedy got her friend to advise her on how to turn the white house rose garden into something lush that looked like something that you might find in a place in virginia or maryland and there were crab apple trees and there were beautiful flowers. And it was lush. You couldnt see the colenade we see now with six pillars that have a look of Eastern Europe without some softening vegetation. And the result was that the kennedys transformed the white house rose garden into something that has given every Single Family thats occupied the white house up until the trumps great pleasure. There were ceremonies held there. Richard nixon strolled there in his last days in august of 1974 before resigning. He had his daughter, trisha, had her wedding there because it was so beautiful. In preparation for the Republican Convention last summer, the trumps, i can only use the word, eviscerated the trees were removed. The vegetation was cut back. Stone walkways were put in. As you can see all around the edge of this thing so that it looks a little bit like a parking lot. And so something that was a huge joy, i think nicolle will confirm this, wouldnt you, nicolle, to people who worked in the white house and lived in the white house . Yeah, i if nicolle is with us. Yes, your points are so so striking to me that they didnt do the basic parts of the job and thats so clear watching this ceremony at arlington then the parts of the job that they the trumps tackled were done in a way that didnt seem to honor any of the history or the traditions and that must have been searing for you as a historian, michael. Oh, it just drove me crazy. Im sure it drove both of us and brian, i know. So the result that this beautiful place, you know, youre working in the white house, these long hours, im sure we havent discussed this, ill bet you a lot of times you walked out there just to get a little breath of air and sort of get away from your office. Yeah. And it was beautiful and doesnt look like downtown washington, d. C. That was all taken away. And the reason it was taken away was the Republican Convention was coming up. They wanted to have a speech by the president in the rose garden and they wanted to be able to have a tv shot of him walking with the first lady along that colenade without the trees being in the way. The result was the trees were yanked out. This whole place was transformed. Essentially for a camera shot. They claimed it was, you know, to improve irrigation for some other reason. The result is heres something thats not the most important thing the bidens have to do but i sure do hope they will at the earliest convenient opportunity transform the rose garden into the way its supposed to look and has since 1962. With all that history. And michael, im also reminded during the pandemic the first lady supervised the construction of the new tennis pavilion. That shows another kind of unique angle of tone deafness. Brian, youre provoking me. Since you have done so, i am happy to respond. In march of 2020, we all remember, tragically, it was the first month that the pandemic really accelerated. Everyone observed it in their own way. This is how the trumps and the first lady, mrs. Trump, observed it. And that was by overseeing the building of what they call a tennis pavilion. Theres a very nice tennis court that barack obama used to play basketball on and there are some people who suspect that the trumps were very eager in their eagerness to erase almost any trace of the obamas, to convert this as quickly as possible so that it did not look the way it did when the obamas were there. The result was installed a socalled tennis pavilion. We have photographs of mrs. Trump in her hardhat which looks like its for heavy construction of a skyscraper. This is a 1,200 square foot tennis pavilion, socalled. It looks quite like a mausoleum to some people. Theres some people who have some association with the white house, not members of the trump staff, who have joked, do they get privileges underneath a tennis pavilion at some point because it looks much more like a cemetery than it does a thing that should be next to a tennis building. And there are even some who have noticed that the tennis pavilion looks exactly like a structure right next to the house in belair in los angeles that was used for beverly hills. I dont know anyone who would make that comparison. Of course, im just quoting others. I am here for Michael Beschloss unchained. Im just saying. Just inject all of this directly into my veins. It takes a lot. Seriously. Were finally getting it. While weve been talking about these things, were looking at the Members Service members sort of posting up for their role in what will be a very different inaugural parade. It will have a physical component in expecting to be virtual parade across america. Our own ali vitali is at the scene of the parade watching some of the Service Members and, indeed, the marching bands post up. What can you tell us . Reporter yeah, rachel in the last few minutes here a flurry of preparation for the physical part of this parade to actually begin. See behind me you have d. C. Metro police on motorcycles. Behind them, d. C. Metro police color guard. Behind them, a military band. And im going to step out of the way so you can get a better look at what youre seeing here because this is the parade route on the way to the white house. Just on the side of the Treasury Department. As iv been watching today having covered the entirety of this campaign season, i was struck when you watched Kamala Harris taking the oath of office. Its a blink and could have missed it moment. Something shes said consistently on the campaign trail when shes met young woman and girls, shes told them when theyre going into rooms where theyre the only person of color or only female in there, they should be in there chin up, shoulders back. She tells them, you never have to ask anyones permission to lead. Today, though, as she was taking the oath of office, she was the one who literally threw her shoulders back, puffed her chest out, chin up, and took the oath of office. Making history in that moment as the first woman to be inaugurated as Vice President of the United States. And so i think in an age where you talk about representation matters, this is one of those moments where it makes sense then why were seeing little girls posting on social media with pearls and chuck taylors, two of Kamala Harris signature fashion items. It makes sense because they are seeing a new model of leadership unfolding before them today. As Kamala Harris is inaugurated as Vice President of the United States. Rachel . Ali vital, alongside the parade route, the physical component of which is about to start. We are expecting that to start shortly. Ill tell you that it will include President Biden, Vice President harris. There will be a military escort. With you see the police motorcade there. Police motorcycle contingent that will be part of it. Were also expecting drum lines from the university of delaware and from Howard University which is reason enough to stick with it to make sure you see it in person. Were going to take a quick break and reset right here. When we come back, we think were getting close to the start of the inaugural parade, virtual and physical. Stay with us. [ engines revving ] its amazing to see them in the wild like th shhh. [ engine revs ] for those who were born to ride, theres progressive. My nunormal fewer asthma attacks. Less oral steroids. Taking my treatment at home. 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Well, thanks, brian, but a lot of people had a lot to do with it including all the staff, all the security, everyone. But for me, it was something because for weeks now, ever since the invasion of the capitol, we were literally on that platform. You could see the spray paint on the bottom of the columns. For me, it was something because we had been told, well, i dont know that you should go forward in it in the same way, maybe you should move it inside, maybe he should get sworn in in a bunker. And that didnt just happen. We went forward. Senator, we seem to have lost sorry. Can you hear me now . Okay. Yeah. Youre back now. Okay. Forgive me. You were saying that you chose, i think everyone agrees correctly, to go ahead, have a public ceremony, a public speech, from the west front. Yes. And it was so important to joe biden and to the country that we do this because you needed to have president bush and Vice President pence up there. You needed to have people behind him that were leaders of congress from both parties because its about him and kamala having their moment and giving the vision for the country. Yes. But its also about something else. Its about that magical moment of healing. That the nation sort of breathes a sigh of relief. As i said, our democracy picks itself up, dusts itself off and moves forward as we always do. Thats what we needed to do as a nation. Senator klobuchar, id like to also congratulate you, join brian and congratulate you. This was a flawless event from our Vantage Point. All the notes seem to have been hit. But i want to ask you, and you know nowPresident Biden very well. And, you know, we all take him i mean, weve seen him and his compassion and his desire for comity with the other side and bipartisanship is obviously very, very real. However, i wonder how realistic it is, in your view, even today, on today, on this day that is so magisterial for a lot of us and cathartic for a lot of americans, youve already got lindsey graham, you know, on television being very uncharitable toward the president s son. Youve got people who showed up at this inaugural like ted cruz who literally tried to overturn the election. And thats after the 01 06, you know, attempted i mean, the invasion of the capitol. Is it realistic to think that there is some middle grown with people on the republican side . Well, i dont want to be a polly anna about this, joy. You understand that. At the same time, there are common causes here. Lets put ted cruz aside. There are some common causes here for democrats and republicans to move forward on getting that vaccine out. I dont think you can explain to anyone in your state or your district why you didnt, wont vote for more funding to develop a vaccine and get it distributed. And i also think theres Common Ground when it comes to economy, moving forward on infrastructure, even immigration reform. To give you a little hope, joy, this afternoon the next thing i do, im going to be able to be there as we swear in two incredible, three incredible new senators. Alex padilla, jon ossoff, and reverend warnock. All at once. Thats called a triple treat. In fact, with kamalas vote, it will almost be as good as lady gaga singing the national anthem. But with kamalas deciding vote, Chuck Schumer will become the leader and so while we have a 50 50 arrangement, its going to make it a lot easier to get these nominees through and to get joe bidens cabinet in so, i just want us to cherish that moment as well as what happened today on the inaugural stage where we basically stood up to the bullies, stood up to the racists, insurrectionists and said, no, this is our nation. And were going to have it back. Senator klobuchar, its Rachel Maddow here in new york. Congratulations. Thank you. You and i had talked in advance of the ceremony today. I know how hard you were working on it. I could also see in your eyes today you were very, very happy at how well things were going. And it does seem to have gone off without a hitch. I wonder if you feel like there is a sort of penumbra that extends from todays ceremony, that there may be sort of to countpoint what joy was saying, people asking him to take his measure, him asking people to continue to disagree if you disagree but to give him a chance. Do you feel like with such a closely divided house, with such a closely divided senate, with biden and harris taking power in such a fraught moment, that there is an opportunity for a little bit of a honeymoon for people for people even on the other side to give him a chance . Well, as you know, not a lot of money moons during the pandemic, rachel. But at the same time, what i think its really hard to buck your constituents right now. If they feel kids cant go to school, first graders are still having to use the mute button to learn reading and theyre mad this vaccine is not like it should, that is a uniting cause to start with and joe biden, Kamala Harris, understand that and thats why this is their lead. Thats why they had that beautiful, beautiful, ceremony last night was to respect the victims of this horrific pandemic but its also to say we have to move together as a team. That the economic shutdown of so many of our Small Businesses and so many struggles people still are having, i think that unites people. And i know we have other big challenges that joe mentioned today. Climate change and immigration reform. They are devoted to working on this. Theyre putting a team in place that we can confirm now, again, i go back to that important swearing in this afternoon. Theyre putting a team in place that will have the competence to get it done. So it is the emotion of today. The field of flags. But its also the competence that youre seeing come back into our government. Weve seen today the administration announced a new list of acting secretaries of every agency in the federal government. Everything from the cia to defense, to energy, to health and human services, Homeland Security, all the way down to the office of u. S. Trade representative. Does more than two dozen acting administrators because the cabinet secretaries arent there. But i hear you expressing here some confidence that the confirmations will happen quickly now. Well, thats because were in charge. That one deciding vote of Kamala Harris and the three new senators means its a 50 50 power situation. We know that its not easy, but that vote means that gives us the vote to put this cabinet in place. Its a 551vote margin. We can do this, and get this done. Im going to let my friend and colleague, claire mccaskill, your friend from the senate, jump in here. Hey, claire. Hey, amy. Thanks. First, you did great. Congrats to you and roy both. You both did great jobs today. I kept explaining to people online that you guys were in charge of it. The rules committee. I have a very specific question. When will the first Biden Cabinet member be confirmed, what day, and secondly, when will the gavel come down for the beginning of the trump impeachment trial in the senate . Well, first of all, i would love that to be today. Theres always rumors about votes. Well see what happens. Weve got to get the three new people in. But it will be very soon. With the exception of josh hawley holding up the Homeland Security nominee, there is a lot of sentiment for a number of these nominees. Even bipartisan support, much less our vote our margin which is slim but there. So, i cant give you the exact hour, claire. You know how the senate works. But its got to be soon because as you know, other administrations have had key defense people in place and no other time do we need that when weve just had an assault on the capitol. We need an attorney general in place. Those prosecutions have to go forward. And then in terms of the impeachment trial, again, as you know, senator schumer, our leader, is negotiating with senator mcconnell right now. And i think you should be able to do i was telling this to rachel the other day, three things at once. Moms and dads are at home with their laptops on their desks and toddlers on their knees and helping to try to get everything done. Trying to visit their moms and dads and Nursing Homes from the outside. They are juggling so much right now. We should be able to juggle having the nominations in the mornings and doing the impeachment trial in the afternoons and passing pandemic relief at night. It shouldnt be that hard because the American People are doing it right now. Senator, thank you very much for joining us. We thought when we saw the first flakes of snow that you had brought some of that boom Island Energy from the twin cities to washington. But alas, it was just a flurry. But any hint of Winter Weather makes us think of you forever now. Senator Amy Klobuchar. In washington we in washington they call that a blizzard. Thank you. Senator, thank you. Democrat from minnesota. Shaquille brewster is shaquille, are you along the route . Reporter im along the route. Im right at the beginning of the route. 15th and pennsylvania. I tell you, this will be the First Sighting of President Biden as he makes his way to that route. We watched that understandably somber ceremony at Arlington National cemetery with the former president s, but ill tell you, things will turn celebratory once they get to the route right now. Pardon me for looking over my shoulder. One thing that were seeing now is the university of delawares drum line. This is the drum line that will precede President Biden as he makes his way along the route. President biden will not take the trump from pennsylvania avenue, the u. S. Capitol, all way to the white house, instead see the drum line behind me, instead, hell be right behind the drum line in his beast. The beast which is the president ial vehicle going up 15th street and making a left onto pennsylvania avenue before making his way into the white house. Im looking over my shoulder again. And it looks like we will be seeing the president in just a few seconds here. As we makes his way along the route. One thing i do want to point out, just how unusual this parade is. I dont know if you can hear around me, but its pretty quiet. Its a parade. There are no spectators. There are no regular members of the public. You have the drum lines that will be going through. Once they get to pennsylvania avenue, they will Start Performing there, but its just notable that you dont hear cheering fans. You dont hear thousands of people cheering and celebrating this moment. You see the members of Law Enforcement behind me lining the parade route, but on the opposite side, its a ninefootsteel barricade. That just goes to the extent of how limited things are. We are now seeing the first secret Service Vehicles make their way at the beginning of this parade route. Just a couple seconds, well see some of the this looks like the motorcycle units then well start to see President Biden make his way here. Again, you saw the university of delawares drum line. They will be escorting President Biden. Right behind them will be Howard Universitys showtime drum line. And they will be escorting Vice President harris. We have one more Police Vehicle and then well start to see our first glimpse of the vice excuse me, of President Biden. Again, brian, pennsylvania avenue is down that way. Thats where you see that has become somewhat of a staging area. Thats where the bands were staging. Thats where they were getting ready. That is where you usually see people on balconies watching over the procession, looking and celebrating, waving at the new president and the new Vice President. That is just simply not a sight that youre going to see today. Were seeing the press van. These are with cameras in front of the beast, that president ial limousine that we talked about. Things have paused a little bit right now, but were truly just seconds away from seeing our first glimpse of President Biden as he makes his way on this parade route and heads straight to the white house. Brian . Shaq, were here to them you hes on his way. Were looking at the limousine with several beefy individuals alongside it. Great secret service trivia, their jackets are never buttoned and its for the worst of reasons. So they can reach for their weapons if they need to. Shaq, share with the good viewers why you threw in an extra word there. How is it you know that the Howard University bison drum line is known as the showtime drum line . Now, weve proven it scientifically, if you dont like a drum line, youre not put together right. Tell people why you happen to know so much about the Howard University drum line. Reporter i will answer that for you, brian, but i want you to see right here this is the first president ial limousine. And i believe right behind it well get our first glimpse. This one right here well see President Biden. Jill biden is on our side right there. She just waved over at us. Theyre in the second president ial limousine with the license plate, 46, obviously marking the 46th president of the United States. Well just show that shot one more time as they go away from us and continue down the processional. As you mentioned, yes, i did mention the Howard University marching band. It was the university of delaware drum line that escorted the president. And then actually this is some of the biden clan right behind me. Sorry. Im looking through these thick glasses. Thick windows of these president ial motorcade vehicles. And we actually are continuing to see more of the biden family make their way there. But over my shoulder youll see the showtime marching band as you mentioned and, yes, im a Howard University graduate. So im very proud of the showtime marching band. In this case just the drum line. We see them right there. Theyre getting ready to escort the Vice President. Once she makes it to the procession. But we just saw President Biden. Hes going to continue making his way up 15th street. Hell make a left on to pennsylvania avenue and with that military escort, the color guards from the five Service Branches of our United States military, hell then be escorted to the white house for his first time in the white house as president of the United States. Guys . Just not going to miss an opportunity to advertise the hbcus today of all days. Morgan radford is elsewhere. I am told on the parade route. Morgan, where are you compared to where shaq is . Reporter im further along the parade route, brian. Im a little close tore the white house. Just behind me is where we expect to see President Biden step out of his vehicle to begin that very short walk between where were standing now and the corner of 15th and as he enters the white house as shaq mentioned for the first time as president of the United States. Brian, i have to tell you this is the symbolic moment that everyone has been waiting for this afternoon. To watch the president and watch the Vice President now take those first steps. You just saw the university of delaware marching band behind me. Theyre continuing to come here across the corner as they head to the white house. And then as shaq mentioned, just behind them, you are going to see Howard Universitys marching band. And theyre going to play a special cadence for Kamala Harris. This is their moment. This is also about accessibility, brian, because what we expect to see here today is symbols. The president and Vice President bringing elements of their past. You know, this is a president who graduated from a state school. Showcasing his state school as we speak. And then we have Kamala Harris whos now the Vice President , the first female, the first south asian female, and also the first hbcu grad and also member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Shes also showcasing part of her history. These are people who are marching in this band momentarily and they are seeing what can be done. Theyre seeing what america can be. Im going to step aside here just a moment for you so you can see the motorcade pulling up and we expect to see President Biden step out of this vehicle in just a moment here. And, again, to just reiterate how different this is from inaugurations past. The people who are lined up, as you can see right now on the screen, all along the sides of this pathway. These are all servicemen and women. These are members of the armed forces. Typically, in any other inaugural year, what you would see is people cheering on the sidelines. You would hear chanting and well wishes and prayers for the incoming administration. But right now, you can see the servicemen and women of the marine, you can see local d. C. Police, theyre all lining up here and this is what youre hearing. So basically, its a slightly more sterile inaugural celebration. We spoke to some people, for example, lawmakers who have been in the capitol trying to go back to work who said that this does dampen some of the celebratory nature that they were hoping to see especially on such a historic day and especially for such a historic duo because this is a duo that has promised americans that their administration will reflect back to them the america that we know. The america that we operate in. The america that we live in. The america that we love. And the america that we see. And this is a celebratory moment of that day as they usher them in to begin that moment. You can see here the motorcade pulling up. We expect to see the president step out of the car any minute. Just behind me here. And take those first steps to the white house. He will have 13 members of his family alongside him. And he will go to the white house and just behind him Vice President Kamala Harris will have members of her family, but she will not be headed to the white house, instead, shell be escorted to the eisenhower executive building and thats what were expecting to see z the beast pulls up here. The beast being the president ial limousine where we expect to see biden. You can see him here through the glass. There he is. Hes about to step out of the vehicle here. You can see people waving. Members of the press and Armed Services waiting. Hes there on the righthand side. Facing your screen, if you look in the very back of the beast, and here hes about to step out. Back to you, brian. Morgan radford with the playbyplay. The Treasury Department in the background. Indeed, the limousine has made the corner. Entering the last kind of straightaway on pennsylvania avenue. Hard to believe that as recently as the Clinton Administration there was open, freeflowing, traffic on pennsylvania avenue. It was sadly, after the Oklahoma City bombing, the secret service had to convince the first family that it needed, indeed, to be closed. Needed to become a pedestrian mall. Greater than average dismounted protection around the limousine. Given the times were living in. And the threat that was perceived for this event. So from morgans position, theyve rounded the corner. On the right of the screen, not visible to us, is the white house. If they keep going here. So that means Lafayette Park is over on the left. Youll see a change in the agents behavior if they need to change their footing and move toward a position of opening the limousine door. Oddly, the doors cant be opened from the inside. Only the outside. Something that protectees have expressed a great frustration over, but its a its a security precaution just so doors dont open prematurely or by accident. Theres two agents in the front. Five dismounted agents alongside. And once they get, make the determination that the crowd is cool and the press pool has assembled and is ready for the shot, then we should see the bidens dismounted and walking what is now a very short distance over to the white house. Rachel maddow watching along with us. Can yes. Its a very quick question, but youre the only person who will know this. See the suv on the lefthand side, see how it look like theyre in bellbottoms . Yes. They have Running Boards like you mentioned before but mega Running Boards that look like the width of surf boards. Why is that . Thats exactly what theyre no, they are because theres theres piping along the roofline for when that is used for external agents. So they can hang on to the roof line. The usual Running Boards that come on the chevy suburban and tahoe are just not that wide and theres not enough grip. You would never dream of being on a moving vehicle with them. Those are just there in case they need them. And in the modern era, we have seen instances where agents move on the vehicle. Wow. Youll also notice the chevy suburban right behind the limousine there is several model years old. They dont trade up often because they just get them tricked out to their specifications like they need a certain rear gate so they can get out quickly that has not been available on newer models. So youll see motorcade vehicles not brand spanking new. All of them well maintained. But some of them are bordering on vintage because they have the weapon storage in the back, they have it tricked out so agents in assault gear can be hunkered back there two at a time and its a comfort measure. So in the front here, d. C. Metropolitan police. The motorcycle phalanx is a group of dedicated officers who are motorcycle patrolmen and women during the weekend by day, but they also drill with the secret service. This is one of their specified jobs is to always accompany the motorcade when its out and about in washington. So thats clearly what were waiting for here. The rolling camera news media is on the flatbed truck right to the side of the limousine. Theyve come to a stop. And i think were just waiting to make sure were good. And they can get out. Now i want to go Running Board shopping. Yeah, they make it a little tough in traffic in new york city because it tends to scrape on the neighboring vehicles. Yes, i guess thats but highspeed Running Board surfing has a lot going for it, so how close are they to their ultimate destination . Do we know how far theyre going to be walking . I know that ive come for meetings at the white house complex, ive come around that corner. Yep. Myself. Theyre only going to be walking about a block, is that right . Yeah, this is that kind of looks like paving stones, pavement. The checkerboard pavement marks the start of kind of the pennsylvania avenue plaza in front of the treasury building. Theyre 300 yards away from the north lawn. Theyre very close now. Okay. Theres joe biden. The faint strains of the drum line in the background. Its a great shot, actually, see the reflection of the flag in the roof of the limo there. The doors and the glass are so thick that there is no matter what you use to tap on the glass, if you wanted to get the agents attention outside, they cant hear you. You rely on yelling forward to the agent in the passenger seat. Even though both agent and driver usually have two earpieces in, theyre listening to net traffic along the motorcade route. Thats your point of contact if you wish to get the hell out of the car, as they say. But you can tap all you want, yell all you want, no one can hear you. The glass is about 5 1 2 inches thick. The doors are so incredibly heavy. All of it for good reason. Looks like were going to get a door opening here any second. Look at the width of that door. Yeah. See some biden family members there in the foreground. Designated handbag attendant. We all need one. D. C. Is so used to motorcade routes that all the Manhole Covers on the motorcade get welded shut for events like this then the welds are broken for when the Security Threat is lifted and public works needs to get to them. This is now pennsylvania avenue. Congratulations. Thank you. Mr. President. Has a question for you. Come over. How are you feeling . Mr. President. How are you feeling . Doing great. Mr. President , how does it feel to be president . President biden. Hey. How are you, sir . Its good to see you. Got to keep doing this. I know. Its been three hours. How does it feel, mr. President . Feels great. Feels good . Feels good. All righty. Dr. Biden, thank you. Well, got a fist bump. There you go. All right. Youll be able to start shouting at him pretty soon. Mr. President. Mr. President. Come on over. Mr. President , youve been aspiring to this office for your whole career. What does this moment feel, as youre about to walk into the west wing . Feels like do you have a message for President Trump, sir . We love you. Mr. President , can you unite the country . Congratulations, sir. Thank you. Are we allowed to say that the score thus far is correspondents with nbcrelated networks, two other networks nothing. That was the mayor of washington, d. C. , with those better than average seats in front of the white house that the new president stopped by to say hello to. Her birthday tomorrow, too. Happy birthday. Hi, guys. Love you. Love you guys. Love you. Love you. Woohoo how are you . Mr. President. How are you . How are you . Im well. Do you have a message unity. We got to turn around. Im just trying to get over. Pool, lets go, pool. Lets go. We got to move. Lets go. Pool, weve got to move. Lets go and that is your basic peaceful transition of power. Rachel, for those of us unaccustomed to a band playing when we come home, well have to allow the ceremony, because obviously what was supposed to happen in normal president ial life, they were supposed to be greeted by the outgoing president and first lady. There was none of that this time. None of that with the outgoing presidency, merely the chief usher inside the door to greet them, what is their new home, a structure they are very familiar with, enough to give fewer of their own, but still a moment for the biden family. Now is the moment i have been looking forward to, which is the Howard University showtime marching band drumline, which would be accompaying Vice President harris. We need some music, dont we. I would give anything to hear it. Who is our drumline correspondent . Hopefully well get audio soon, but with that walk as nerveracking for anyone else as it was for me . I can only say that moment during the 2009, during the first president barack obama inaugural, i think i held my breath for the walk. We were so afraid, and it was a hold your breath moment for every black person in america. It feels so dangerous right now in the country that that was, boy, every time that joe biden did his joe biden sprint and ran over to al roker or anyone, i literally almost swallowed my heart whole. Were wired to be afraid of it, because we think of the people on the sidelines as being whoever showed up. In this case its mike memoli and al roker, and the mayor of d. C. Its a pretty select group. But it was freaky, when did you see the big bandstand thing . The whole time i have thinking there was a very attentive gentleman, it shadowing him the whole time. It was a bit of a nerve out moment for me, and probably will be again. Im prepared. I would only soothe your worries by reminding you how many eyes are on the scene. You have all the optics on the third floor of the white house that had them the full view, and the number of drones and realtytime satellite information coming in is staggering, and i think americans would be proud to know how good the optics and the security is. The next limousine in question has both the white flag of the vice presidency, and the distinction of having the kind of white background crest, the seal on the door to differentiate it from the president. So that is the Vice President s limousine, and presumably she will now mirror the same walk, and we can now finally blessededly hear the Howard University showtime drumline. Neath guys, you think that president Andrew Johnson kept vetoing reconstruction acts after the civil war and getting overridden by the radical republicans in congress, and chartering Howard University, and now a graduate of Howard University is going to be Vice President of the United States. Hes rolling in his grave right now. Vice president harris and her family are jibe land, of course