Biden and Harris pay tribute to fallen troops at Arlington along with ex-presidents
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris paid tribute to America’s fallen troops at Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday just minutes after taking office.
Joined by three former presidents, Biden and Harris made the short journey across the Potomac River to underline their commitment to the military after four tumultuous years under ex-President Trump.
In a powerful display of bipartisan unity, the first newly minted leaders stood alongside former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and former first ladies Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton.
Wearing black masks, they lay wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The leaders all stood stock still as a military bugler played taps on a sun-splashed chilly winter day.
Former President Jimmy Carter, who is 96 and in failing health, was unable to attend due to concerns about coronavirus.
President Trump refused to attend Biden’s inauguration or any other events related to it.
Biden also reviewed troops at the Capitol after his inauguration ceremony, a tradition that signifies the peaceful transfer of power to a new commander-in-chief.
Biden reveres his close ties to the military and often expresses his pride in the service of his late son, Beau Biden, a major in the Army Reserves.
First Lady Jill Biden plans to make supporting men and women in uniform one of her main roles during her husband’s term in the White House.
The U.S. military has been shaken by the Trump years, during which the president regularly sought to misuse the military for his own narrow political ends.
Trump infamously roped military leaders into his photo op across the street from the White House after violently clearing peaceful racial protesters. Trump aides also got the Navy to cover up the name of his late nemesis, Sen. John McCain, on a ship during a visit to the Far East.
