Joe Biden presidential inauguration megathread

[Calthrina950]

Any word on who will be administering the oath of office to Kamala Harris yet?

I imagine there may be a desire for a woman to administer the oath to the first woman Vice President. If that's the case either Sonia Sotomayor or Elena Kagan make sense if a Supreme Court justice is chosen. I think we can rule out Amy Coney Barrett.

I was looking back through recent inaugurations and noticed Cheney chose Speaker Dennis Hastert to administer the oath to him in 2005. Perhaps Nancy Pelosi will be asked as there would be great symbolism with the first woman Speaker administering the oath to the first woman Vice President.

Sotomayor administered the vice-presidential oath to Biden back in 2013, so it's possible she may be brought back to do so for Harris this time.

[Calthrina950]

https://twitter.com/JTHVerhovek/status/1350512258435182594

My prediction was correct!

[Calthrina950]

Trump is upset that celebrities that shunned his inauguration are set to appear/perform at Biden's.

https://twitter.com/marycjordan/status/1351323845643431939?s=20

It's not surprising that he would be so petty. But then again, why would Trump have expected them to perform at his inauguration? Most celebrities are staunch liberal Democrats, and directly opposed to his administration and its policies, to say nothing of his character issues.

[Calthrina950]

Ladies & gentlemen, Joe Biden will be President of the United States in less than 24 hours.

The long awaited end to our national nightmare is soon upon us.

[Calthrina950]

https://twitter.com/Phil_Mattingly/status/1351914903817383937?s=20

Awesome!  He deserves every bit of it.

Even though they've been a part of life for almost a year now, the sight of masks still unsettles me. That's why I'm probably not going to watch the inauguration. That, and the fact that I will be getting ready for work when Biden is actually being sworn in.

[Calthrina950]

With Donald Trump not attending, Dan Quayle is again the dumbest person on the stage.

Which is a good thing.

[Calthrina950]

With Donald Trump not attending, Dan Quayle is again the dumbest person on the stage.

He's really lucky that Republicans who came to the White House after him blew his, er, record out of the water.

Hell, even another Republican VP candidate (Palin) eclipsed him. I have a feeling I (who am way more tuned into politics and history than the vast majority of Americans) am not alone in constantly forgetting Dan Quayle was ever Vice President. I have to consciously try to remember it, never do I just think about Dan Quayle. He’s probably the most forgotten former candidate on a major ticket in the past 30 years.

Aside from his abortive presidential run in 1996, Quayle has not done anything significant since leaving the Vice-Presidency in 1993. Lloyd Bentsen's "You're no Jack Kennedy" retort against him in the 1988 vice-presidential debate will continue to haunt Quayle until he dies, and prevented him from rising farther than he did.

[Calthrina950]

Lady Gaga is singing at this very moment.

24 minutes until Trump is over.

The A-list celebrities avoided Trump's inauguration in 2017, and they're back this year for Biden's. Trump had to get some second-rate or third-rate people to perform at his. Obama had Aretha Franklin in 2009 and Beyoncé in 2013.

[Calthrina950]

Regardless of what people think of Harris, I think we can all appreciate the history of her becoming Vice President.

I'll agree with this. It is a historic moment. And now, I've seen Biden's swearing-in! This is the third presidential oath that I have watched on television, following those of Obama in 2013 and Trump in 2017.

[Calthrina950]

Trump's White House chief usher has been fired.
From CNN's Kate Bennett

White House chief usher Timothy Harleth has been fired by the Bidens, two sources with knowledge confirm to CNN.

Harleth was hired by Melania Trump in 2017 to fill the role of chief usher. Harleth came to the White House from Trump International Hotel DC, where he was rooms manager.

Harleth took the place of Angella Reid, who was hired during the Obama administration.

Chief ushers can stay through multiple administrations, however Harleth’s firing did not come as a surprise to several sources inside the White House.

CNN has reached out to the first lady's office for comment.

Not surprising. Biden doesn't want anyone associated with the Trumps within the White House. And I can't blame him for it.

[Calthrina950]

https://twitter.com/igorbobic/status/1351897114251579394

I guess she finally put her positive pants on.

She's almost the literal worst.  I hated her when she was in Congress, but she's gotten way worse since she's been governor, if you can believe that.  Part of it might be that she's a lot more visible now, though, so just a lot more exposure to her awfulness.

I believe we had an exchange about her a few months ago. If you mind me asking, how is the situation in South Dakota now under her watch? I imagine it has gotten worse.

[Calthrina950]

Lady Gaga is singing at this very moment.

24 minutes until Trump is over.

The A-list celebrities avoided Trump's inauguration in 2017, and they're back this year for Biden's. Trump had to get some second-rate or third-rate people to perform at his. Obama had Aretha Franklin in 2009 and Beyoncé in 2013.

Also Kelly Clarkson in 2013 (probably a slew of others both times, too, but I remember her in particular).

I don't remember her myself, but not surprising. As I've stated before, most of Hollywood-bar the small conservative minority-adore Obama (and Biden), while they absolutely despise Trump.

https://twitter.com/igorbobic/status/1351897114251579394

I guess she finally put her positive pants on.

She's almost the literal worst.  I hated her when she was in Congress, but she's gotten way worse since she's been governor, if you can believe that.  Part of it might be that she's a lot more visible now, though, so just a lot more exposure to her awfulness.

I believe we had an exchange about her a few months ago. If you mind me asking, how is the situation in South Dakota now under her watch? I imagine it has gotten worse.

It's quite bad.  She's way more interested in being on Fox News/being the next Trump than she is in being governor.  And to top it all off, she's now taking legal action to reverse the marijuana amendment passed by voters in November.

A few months ago, I watched some of Fox News out of interest. There was a state-sponsored tourism advertisement for South Dakota, in which Noem appeared. She appeared confident, and was attempting to cast a glowing picture of the state. With this pandemic ongoing as it is, I doubt anyone would want to visit there without taking precautions. And I find it something that Noem herself has somehow managed to avoid contracting the virus, at least until now.

[Calthrina950]

One thing I noticed watching the inauguration yesterday was how pervasively religious the whole thing was, in a nonsectarian kind of way; at points it felt like Biden was getting installed as a high priest of some sort, with the wreath-laying at Arlington as a quasi-sacrificial offering. Biden may or may not be a very good Catholic, but he's clearly a true believer in American civil religion, and that's honestly a relief at this point compared to the constant nothing-sacred impieties of his narcissist predecessor.

I think he is a 'good Catholic', in a septuagenarian Catholic way. Which probably is quite alien to post-war boomer Catholicism, both liberal and traditional, certainly in how it's been 'performed' in the political-public sphere since it became sufficiently 'American' enough to do so.

Yes; I know someone from a very Biden-like Northeastern Irish Catholic background and she's told me many times that he reminds her intensely of her Silent Generation grandparents. And based on what I remember of my Baltimore Irish step-grandparents, I concur.

Well I bought whisky and Michael shed a few tears. Gaga was exceptional J-Lo turned it out and, Michelle's and Hillary's outfits were en pointe.

Wasn't she? I absolutely loved her outfit and hair especially.

Biden is the first (and only) President of the Silent Generation.