While running for president during the coronavirus pandemic, President-elect Joe Biden took his campaign online, scrapping large, in-person gatherings and most travel in favor of remote and socially distant campaign events, APA reports citing ABC News.
On Friday, the president-elect said his inauguration would follow a similar model, telling reporters it could resemble the Democratic National Convention this summer, rather than the typical celebration that regularly brings hundreds of thousands of people to Washington.
“There probably will not be a gigantic inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue,” Biden said. “But my guess is you'll see a lot of virtual activity in states all across America, engaging even more people than before.”
President Donald Trump's ongoing refusal to accept the election results -- or say whether he'll attend Biden's inauguration -- could also reshape the traditional celebration of the peaceful transfer of power.
Biden formed his inaugural committee early last week, adding several more staffers on Friday. Under normal circumstances, the organization is tasked with raising tens of millions of dollars to help organize inaugural balls and the parade down Pennsylvania Avenue from Capitol Hill to the White House. It also generally works with Congress on the program for the swearing-in ceremony.
"The inauguration presents a challenging timeline for any new administration under normal circumstances,” said Emmett Beliveau, who was the executive director for President Barack Obama’s first inaugural committee and went on to serve in several roles in the Obama White House.
“Now it's exacerbated not just by the pandemic, but by the delay of the acknowledgement of the transfer of power by the Trump administration,” he added, pointing to the fact that Biden’s team was established roughly two weeks later than Obama’s inaugural organization, due in part to the General Services Administration's refusal to formally acknowledge Biden’s victory for several weeks.
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