President-elect Joe Biden has spoken volumes in the US Capitol for more than four decades, but the weight of those words does not come close to the size of the message he will convey in his inaugural address today.
Biden has been steadily creating the speech – adding a thought here, inserting a line there – since the day after he delivered a victory speech in Wilmington, Delaware, aides say. But in those 72 days, Biden’s burden has grown even heavier, with President Trump’s relentless untruths complicating the already challenging task of uniting a divided country.
Mike Donilon, a longtime advisor to Biden who will join him in the West Wing, oversees the writing process along with Vinay Reddy, Biden’s principal speechwriter. Jon Meacham, the historian and presidential biographer, also helps shape the inaugural speech, which will be delivered as the opening sign of perhaps the most challenging presidency since Franklin Roosevelt.
It is expected to take about 20 minutes, said aides, following a pattern of inaugural speeches from recent presidents. Four years ago, Trump spoke for 15 minutes, while Barack Obama’s 2009 speech lasted about 18 minutes.
For the first time in modern history, the new president’s successor will not be within easy reach on the west side of the Capitol. By the time Biden takes his oath of office, Trump is supposed to have arrived at his Florida home. Aides say Biden is unlikely to mention Trump – or certainly not dwell on it – but that he can give an appreciative nod to Vice President Mike Pence, who plans to attend.
The exact text is a well-kept secret, advisers tell CNN. Not only because he wants the message to be new, but also because the speech has been changed several times – out of necessity, given the gruesome siege of the Capitol on January 6, and also because of Biden’s penchant for rewriting speeches to the very last minute.
But several people near Biden say clues to his address can be found in themes from his November 7, 2020 speech when he begged Americans, “Let’s give each other a chance.”
It’s time to put the harsh rhetoric aside, lower the temperature, see each other again. Listen to each other again, ”Biden said on that clear evening. And to make progress, we must stop treating our opponents as our enemies. They are not our enemies. They are Americans. They are Americans. ‘
Those words now strike an almost ominous tone, making their mission even more difficult after a pro-Trump crowd trying to stop Congress from accepting election votes caught up with the Capitol steps where Biden will deliver his first message to the nation as president.