cable television companies in 1979. today, we are brought to you by these television companies, who provided c-span to viewers as a public service. -- provide c-span to viewers as a public service. ♪ >> the presidential inauguration from the u.s. capitol. live coverage all day on c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. >> on the west front of the capitol, it is the inauguration of the 46th president and 49th vice president of the united states, joe biden and kamala harris. this marks the 59th time in our history that this transfer of power has happened, where a new president is sworn in to lead

the executive branch. while we have gotten used to the pageantry and parades of past inaugurals, that will not be the case this year. no crowds on the national mall and limited invitations to witness the swearing in in person at the capitol. this morning, at 8:00 a.m. eastern, president trump will make farewell remarks at andrews air force base before departing for florida. he is not hosting the traditional coffee for the incoming president. at 9:00 a.m. this morning, president-elect biden and congressional leadership will participate in a church service at saint matthews catholic church, about eight blocks north of the white house, where jfk's funeral was held. the inauguration ceremony begins at the capital at 11:30. -- capitol 11:30.

-- capitol at 11:30. at about 1:30 this afternoon, there will be a military review held on the east front of the capitol. it is usually the time when the presidents pass the torch, but not this year, as president trump will already be in florida. at 2:30 p.m. this afternoon, there will be a wreath at arlington cemetery laid. joe biden will be joined by former president's clinton, bush, and obama. and joe biden will receive a military escort to the white house at 3:00. the theme of the inaugural is unity. this morning, we are focusing on the symbolism and history of presidential inauguration's.

we want to hear your voices as well. when you think about past inaugurations and past speeches, what resonates with you? we want to hear what your thoughts are there. we want you to participate. (202) 748-8000 eastern time zones. (202) 748-8001 mountain and pacific time zones. and we are broadcast around the world today. we want to hear from international callers as well. you can send us a text message. if you do, send it to this number 202-748-8903.

all of our social media sites are available. @cspanwj is the handle for our website, twitter, and facebook. joining us is greta brawner, looking through news sites and social media. >> when joe biden raises his hand to take the oath, reuters reports he will do so before chief justice john roberts and put his hand on a bible that has been on the biden family for more than a century. there are several stars participating in today's inauguration. the wall street journal reports lady gaga, tom hanks, and j-lo are among them who will perform at the ceremony. lady gaga was in washington, d.c. the hill has this picture of her outside of the milicent -- cap

itol, talking to the national guardsmen, and she posted this picture of herself outside the capital, saying i prayed tomorrow will be a day of peace for all americans, for dreaming of our future joy as a country, a dream that is nonviolent, that provides safety for our souls. also, j-lo posted this picture of herself before boarding a plane to washington yesterday with the caption d.c. bound. there will be the traditional poetry read at today's inauguration. usa today notes amanda gorman may only be 22, but is set to make history as the youngest inaugural poet in history, continuing a rich tradition in the united states alongside such

poets as robert frost and maya angelou. this morning, fox notes there will be two prayers given at the inauguration. they note that leo donovan, a jesuit priest and spiritual mentor biden, will offer the invocation at the start of the service. reverend sylvester beeman, friend and confidant, will give the benediction. >> the theme of this year's inauguration is american unity. we are focusing on the symbolism and history of the inauguration. what has resonated with you from inaugural address in the past? what would you like to hear from newly sworn in president biden and his inaugural? -- in his inaugural? annie in greenville, mississippi, you are kicking us off. good morning. please go ahead.

caller: i just want to make a comment that i hope the incoming administration with their new president, i hope he tries to reach out to different sectors of the tea party, boogaloo boys, to see what their beef is, to see how he can bring the country together. do not be divisive like the president we just had, because this has been bad for a lot of people. a lot of people have been in fear as to what he will do. i hope you will reach out, cross the aisle, and try to talk to these people, and try to bring all of us together. that's my comment. host: thank you, danny. ken is calling in from fremont, california this morning. caller: a few comments i would

like to make. [indiscernible] would make a great candidate. host: we are focusing this morning on the inauguration and on the history, the symbolism. what would you like to hear from president-elect biden? kim in indianapolis. good morning. caller: i would like to hear unity to bring our country together, and i think that this is a great day and i just wish the best to our new president and the country. host: what do you think those unity inspiring words should be, kim? caller: bringing us together. not being as decisive --

divisive and just peace and love. that's what we really need as a country right now. we don't need anymore anger. we just need unity. unity and thinking of others, especially those who have passed from covid. thinking of the families today. host: thank you for calling in this morning. everything you are seeing on your screen, those are all live pictures from the national mall, from the capitol, from the white house, just to give you a sense of what it looks like. about 200,000 flags were planted on the national mall in remembrance of the covid victims of the country. you can see those flying down there. that is the west front of the capitol. dan is in eureka, montana.

good morning. caller: i just would like to tell joe biden congratulations and we are very proud of him and we are very impressed with his covid memorial yesterday. we would just like to wish him all luck and that we will work as hard as we can to make our country come together and be better. host: dan, has there been an inauguration in the past, and inaugural speech in the past -- an inaugural speech in the past, that has resonated with you? caller: yes. you know, they are all pretty good. bill clinton's, as i remember. i am 66. barack's was excellent, of

course. on a side note, i happen to be there -- i happened to be there at the march on washington speech and that was a pretty good speech, so i expect a lot from mr. biden and i do not think we are going to be disappointed. host: that's dan in eureka, montana. chief justice john roberts will be swearing in joe biden as the 46th president. associate justice sonya sotomayor will be swearing in kamala harris as the 49th vice president. she swore in joe biden for his second term as vice president. bobby in spartanburg, south carolina, good morning to you. bobby, is there a past inaugural that really stuck with you, that inspired you would all? -- inspired you at all? caller: yes, i like to president

trump's inaugural address. i am a trump supporter, but i am hoping that president joe biden, or president-elect for right now, will help unite the country and try and listen to republicans like me. yeah. host: ok. two things. what was it about the trump inauguration that inspired you and, if you could, what would you say to president-elect biden? caller: well, president trump was a businessman. and he was an outsider. and he really spoke to me. so -- i am young. i am in my not 20's. and, and president biden, i

would like to say to him, i hope he does a really good job. host: that's bobby in spartanburg, south carolina. on your screen, you see the white house. that is the south lawn of the white house. you see some of the military officers going out. marine one will be arriving at the white house to take president trump to the andrews air force base in just a few minutes. then president trump will be making remarks at andrews before flying to florida. let's go back and visit with greta. >> in his final hours of his presidency, president trump issued over 140 pardons. kent vogel of the new york times reports he issued pardons to steve bannon, longtime associate, a fundraiser of american businessman, paul

erickson, the x boyfriend -- ex-boyfriend of a russian spy, rick renzi, robert hays, duke cunningham, robert zane -- zangrillo. on the bannon pardon, it is reported they spoke today. there were frantic calls to the president from his supporters and critics. president trump said several times it was not happening. he ended yesterday with aide's convinced he would not pardon him, but trump ultimately seems to have decided that bannon could be useful to him in the future. he goes on to write that the people who hate bannon, the establishment, have turned against trump and he needs to have someone on side. -- on his side.

the president signed the paperwork around 11:30 p.m. according to officials. lynn sleet of the chicago times reports trump's political reasons for bannon's pardon is he was investigated for fraud stemming from involvement in a political project. steve bannon is known for his political acumen. that is lynn sweet of the chicago sun-times. shortly after pardoning a congressman and lobbyist convicted of corruption, trump released in order revoking his own ethics executive order from 2016 -- 2017, bring his own former aide's -- freeing his own former aides from limits on their ability to lobby the government. host: this picture of the union

train station. everything is closed. about 45,000 national guard are here in town. you have heard all this. but several of the metro stations around this area have also been closed. mike in lafayette, tennessee, good morning to you. what would you like to hear from newly sworn in president biden? caller: is going to be a beautiful day in america. the unity, yes, definitely is going to be number one priority, but i think i will have tears running down my face when i see vice president-elect kamala harris take the oath. seeing a woman, african-american woman of asian dissent, take the second seat -- of asian descent, take the second seat will be monumental. being born and raised in california, i know kamala and

she did a wonderful job in california. i think she will do a great job for our country. for past inaugurations, i would go with jfk and barack obama as my two favorite inspirational speeches. it is a glorious day to see. hopefully, we will never see this in the capitol, this military presence. hopefully this will dwindle down and the fbi will do its job and arrest those people. hopefully long jail sentences for their insurrection. host: have you ever attended an inauguration? caller: no. i had the chance -- and that is one of my regrets -- when barack obama took the oath of office. i was a little depressed when i saw the pictures on tv. over one million people there. just so inspirational. so glad we are done with donald

trump and the way he was president. just thank god for miracles. hopefully the country can move forward and we will get good things done here for the people and not the corporations. the people need the help and i hope everything comes together like biden said he will do. host: that is mike in lafayette, tennessee. john is calling in from sweden this morning, or afternoon in sweden. john, greetings to you. what are you watching? caller: good morning, i want to say. thank you for having me on. i am calling from sweden. i just want to say, from an international perspective, i am really happy about this day and i am looking forward to an end to the gas lighting we are experiencing. i can also tell my fellow americans that this is not

something that is limited to the united states. we see the same divisions internationally as well, because your culture, it effects hours as well. that is what it means to be the leader of the free world. for mr. biden, i wish him all the luck, and i hope he delivers on his promise to unite the american people. for that purpose, i believe he is the right person for the job. host: john, do you follow american politics pretty closely? caller: i do. i did during the obama years, but too much perhaps. i was a little obsessed during the trump years. i would say i follow it. host: are you calling from stockholm or another area? caller: yes, the capital of

sweden. host: what do you do there? caller: i work as a data scientist. information management. host: thank you for participating in our program this morning. we will be alive all day on c-span. dallas is in phoenix, arizona. dallas, is there a past inauguration that resonates with you, sticks with you, inspires you? caller: good morning. i will tell you, actually, i am fairly young. i am 22, so out of the inaugurations i remember, this will be the second most important, with the trump administration being that first i remember when i started college. i look forward to today for the many families across this country that can finally come back together. that is what most stands out for me today. lots of families have been divided and i am hoping we can

move forward after today. host: are you in one of those families? caller: absolutely. it is difficult going home for thanksgiving and christmas during college, between my sisters and my grandmother. most of my family is pretty conservative. it is hard to see my whole family. i am hoping these next four years, these tensions can calm and we can go back to enjoying thanksgiving and christmas and those holidays together. host: why do you think that is? why do you think that was kind of a phenomenon? caller: at least in my family, there was just a lot of -- both my sisters are wonderful and intelligent people, and i think that one of my sisters got really caught up -- i don't know the exact word for it, but got

caught up in the whole scene of trump and was more of a follower of his then a believer in -- of his than a believer in the republican platform. that is where the rift started. the rest of my family is just conservative, who happen to agree with trump. never in my life have i seen someone agree with the president rather than their own party's platform. host: where the traditional inaugural parade takes place. that will not be happening this year. greta brawner, what have you got? >> the incoming vice president will be the first black woman vice president. she tweeted out last night at 11:11 p.m., my abiding hope, my abiding prayer, is that we emerge with this ordeal with a new wisdom, to cherish simple moments, imagine new

possibilities, and open our hearts. jeff mason is reporting the blair house, where joe biden spent the night. in the early hours on inauguration day, biden and trump will not meet. a tweet -- inside the white house, i am told, with president trump and the first lady, only a few aides remain, including mark meadows and chris liddell. mostly empty offices. rebecca shabbat reports, trump will leave the white house at 8:00 a.m. and traveled to palm beach with. monia joe biden and kamala harris will be sworn in as president and vice president. and while the current president

will not be attending today's inauguration, elizabeth crist sends a tweet with the official notification from the vice president's office, noting vice president hence will attend the inaugural -- pence will attend the inaugural. he was spotted at the white house a few minutes ago. the vice president sent out a farewell tweet on twitter yesterday, saying thank you for the privilege of serving as your vice president these past four years. it has been the greatest honor of my life. on behalf of the second lady, karen pence, and our entire family, god bless america. karen pence sending her own farewell tweet. "thank you, america. it has been an honor and privilege to serve. god bless the usa."

i will end with this note from the jimmy carter presidential library. they sent this picture. here is senator joe biden and president jimmy carter in 1979. they met to discuss salt ii which, by did not think was going well. -- host: let's go to ted in los angeles. what would you like to hear from the new president? caller: i would like for our new president to make the people of our country understand that the great thing of our country is we came from europe, all of the world. latinos.

our fathers came here to give us a better foundation, a better claim, and our country needs to understand that is what makes america great. it is a country that shows the world that, you know, we unite, we create things. technology, schools, the leaders in the world, but we have to go back to being the country of unity, the country that accepts all races, all peoples, and works together to create a better world, and i think that our leadership starts with the president, starts with the white house. they need to trickle that information down and make the people believe and understand that we are all in this together, united, we have one nation, one creed of making our kids lives better. that is the only way we can

continue to be that country the world looks upon as a leader. host: that is ted in los angeles. elsa is joining us from paris, france. thank you for calling in. how closely are you following this inauguration? caller: i am following it minute by minute because i lived in the u.s. for about five years and was an avid c-span listener, so i am still doing that now, and i wish everyone to be safe and healthy and happy on this day and the rest of the term. the main message i wanted to say is that aside from a theme of unity, i think the new administration should focus on combating disinformation and establishing a new standard of objectivity, truth and fact because i think we have the same issue over here, by the way, in europe. a lot of the problems we have been facing has been related to people -- you know, people are entitled to their opinion, but

not to their own facts, and i think biden should and get people to understand that this information is exactly that. there has been a great program on c-span on presidential inauguration speeches. i would advise all the listeners to listen to it before the speech to get some practice in and really think about what biden is going to say. host: are you a french citizen? caller: i am french. i just lived in america for a long time and my partner is still there. host: what is life in paris like right now with everything going on? caller: we are still under curfew from 6:00 p.m. onwards. everything is still closed for the foreseeable future. they managed to bring the coronavirus, the infections down from about 50,000 to 15,000 these days, but it is still a

dicey situation, and one which i am very concerned about. there's a lot of anti-vaccination sentiment going on, so they are having problems getting people vaccinated, again, because of this disinformation and general skepticism, but aside from that, it is still paris, so it is nice to an extent, but we are really feeling it and it is true we are very concerned about what is going on over there, too. host: thank you for calling and watching c-span. what channel are you watching or how are you getting c-span right now? caller: i usually listen to it on the radio, but today i am watching live. otherwise, i usually listen to c-span radio, which you pick up here through the app. i am very happy to have that nice link to you guys across the pond. host: we will be alive all day and thank you for joining us. we appreciate that. you can see how to participate on the screen. the numbers are divided by time

zone and our international number. you can see the final number is our text number, if you want to send a text giving your thoughts on past inaugurations. the theme of american unity for this inauguration. 202-748-8903. include your first name and city if you would. earlier this week, we spoke with matthew costello, a historian with the white house historical association, and he talked about the origins of the inauguration. >> the first inauguration was held in 1789 at federal hall in new york city. it began with george washington. he took the oath that day and, ever since then, up until the 20th amendment, inauguration day was on march 4, so washington was the exception to the rule. >> new york city and april 30. why then and why there?

>> well, that there was because the u.s. capital at that time was new york. april 30 was because congress had not reached a quorum bringing their representatives into the city. you have to keep in mind this is the 18th century. roads and bridges are what they seem. it also took washington a while to get to new york as well. the date was picked april 30 once washington was in town and congress reached a quorum. >> mr. costello, was it a celebration in any sense like we know today? >> for washington, it was. do you know, you had the citizens of new york lined outside federal hall. they were able to see washington take the oath, but washington did not give a public inaugural address to the crowd. they retreated inside and he gave the address to members of congress.

that very symbolic display of taking the oath of office in front of americans was important because this was a new government, a new constitution, and washington was the only person entrusted to have this role as president of the united states, chief executive. people needed that affirmation to know that washington would govern on behalf of the collective good. >> now, where there any rules set out by the founding fathers when it came to inaugurations -- now, were there any rules when it came to the inauguration? >> the only prescribed rule is take the oath of office. beyond that, all these things need to be invented. so much what we see today is a result of traditions that have been created and institutionalized, reinforced,

and done over and over again, but really, the founders expected the president elect to take the oath of office and work with congress to organize and initiate those things, but the public address, having the public involved with the actual ceremony, inaugural parade, inaugural ball, these are things layered onto that tradition later. host: what do we know about george washington's inaugural address? >> he would admit, even himself, he was not a great public speaker, but he knew how important this speech was. he was unanimously selected to be the first president. he knew his fellow representatives were entrusting him with these incredible powers that an executive had never had before. he knew that people would be looking to him, especially his successors, about different precedents he creates.

so he wanted to affirm their choice. he wanted them to know it was an honor to serve his country. he wanted to do so. and he did not take this lightly, the seriousness of the powers bestowed on him, but he would work with congress to get the new country off on her right foot. -- on a right foot. >> did the chief justice swear him in? >> no. they had not really created the supreme court yet. that was not created until later that fall in 1789. the man who administered the oath was the highest traditional officer in new york, a man named robert livingston, who held the position of chancellor. he administered the oath to present washington. >> when did january 20 become inauguration day? >> that was part of a constitutional amendment that was passed and ratified in 1933,

the 20th amendment. that shortened that earlier congressional session, moving inauguration day from march 4 to january 20, and specifies that a president and vice president's term of office ends at noon. >> we have come to know these as celebrations, speeches, parties, parades. this will be different. >> yeah. we have a number of complicating factors that have changed the dynamic of what the inauguration will look like. there are going to be different bits and pieces of tradition, but obviously, between the recent political and social unrest, the pandemic, and now the security surrounding the capitol, there will be nods to tradition, but it will not quite be the same as we have seen in years past. >> that was matthew costello of the white house historical association.

now, a few minutes ago here in the west and of washington -- west end of washington, d.c., near georgetown university, the motorcade is getting ready outside of vice president elect kamala harris and her husband, doug emhoff's, townhouse, getting ready to take them off to the blair house, where the vice president is staying, past saint matthews. rishaad, district heights, maryland, good morning to you. american unity is the theme of this year's inaugural. what would you like to hear? caller: good morning. thanks so much for letting me share my thoughts. this is my first time calling c-span since i was about 13 years old. i called in like 2005 or 2006 or something when i was a middle school student in florida. now i am 31 years old and i live in maryland and i work in d.c.

host: welcome back. caller: thank you. i am excited about this. i actually met then senator biden when i was a teenager involved with the florida democratic party. i met vice president-elect harris maybe nine months ago, right before the pandemic, because i work on the lobbyist -- because i work -- i am a lobbyist. so these are the first president/vice president i have met, although i do not have any photographic evidence. i think the trump era has been terrible for our country. donald trump was completely unqualified to be president and it showed. his approach to everything, basically, except for the space force. i'm a big fan. but other than the space force, he was a horrible president. i am glad the page with joe biden, a compassionate person, a

true christian, a man who loves his wife, his family, and america, and of course i am super proud as an african-american, as the son of a black mother and black grandmother who shaped me to be who i am. they are both deceased and i am said they are not here to see kamala harris take the oath. host: what kind of lobbying do you do? caller: i do faith-based lobbying. i lobby on domestic anti-poverty issues for the episcopal church. my office is next to the supreme court in the united methodist building. at normal time, i would be on the hill every day, but now working home during the -- working from home during the pandemic. host: thank you for calling in and welcome back to see spin. jaclyn is calling from pittsburgh, california.

has there been an inauguration that has duck with you -- that has stuck with you? caller: there have been several. actually, i was young when president kennedy, president bush, president clinton, and i am african-american. and i was excited about the obama inauguration, but what sticks out to me is jimmy carter. i remember when. i was so excited, you know, that i think the bushes had finished, and mr. carter, president carter, had come on board. so having been an educator and an educational facilitator, i felt we need help for our children and for our educational

system, and i went through so many different administrations. i think 16 years have been quite -- i think the past 16 years have been quite difficult. we made it through. i did not know that we would, because this country was not built on hate, you see, and we have to be very careful about allowing such heated tensions to rule us. we have to be very careful. we have children who are watching the adults, you know, and we need to set a very good example. so if i were to say something to the new president coming in, i would say persevere, continue to be compassionate, continue to be patriotic, and tell the truth about what is going on. it sometimes feels like maybe

people cannot handle the truth, but what makes us really for he is listening to the truth, living our authentic truth, and being good examples for our children. host: jaclyn, we will leave it there. thank you for sharing some of your thoughts and history. you mentioned jimmy carter. that was january 20, 1977, and he was the last president to be sworn in on the east front of the capitol. it was ronald reagan in 1981 who moved it to the west front. i think i am right about that and if not i will be corrected very quickly. chris is an american living in spain. chris, where in spain are you? caller: i am in barcelona, the area in catalonia, which is also an area of secession. host: right. why are you in spain? are you living there, visiting? caller: it is ironic.

i was originally here to contract for a company here. i was in belgium for the last inauguration. i remember sitting in my room in belgium and being shocked, people being amazed we had elected donald trump. everywhere i went, people asked me, what about donald trump? it is a different feel. it is like we have had a different taste of this and america has maybe come to its senses, but now they are more scared after what happened on the sixth. the topic is now not so much that joe biden is being elected but that donald trump is no longer being president and what happened on the sixth may be a sign of worse is the feeling i get in europe. host: chris is an american living internationally.

are you asked quite a bit about american politics? caller: it is the first sentence of every conversation with everyone i meet. host: that is chris calling from barcelona. greta, what do you have from us? >> a look at some of the front pages around the country and a number of editorials. the anchorage daily news in alaska with the headline biden's inauguration will be unlike any in the nation's history. the baxter bulletin out of arkansas -- altered ceremonies is there headline. the arizona republic, path to a brighter future. and the philadelphia inquirer, "joe biden will be inaugurated today, but the damage of trump's presidency cannot be easily undone." that is their editorial today. the birmingham news out of alabama, "a transfer of power at a time like no other." from the dauphin eagle in

alabama, "biden's time," is there headline. -- their headline. "an inauguration day wish for strength, statesmanship for the new president." the deseret news out of california "big plans, big problems" is what they put on their front page. and the hartford current in connecticut "a new era begins." a final headline "why all americans should be rooting for joe biden'd success -- biden's success." there is international reaction to the election. boris johnson had this to say. [video clip] >> i'm sure all the members of the house would like to join me in congratulating president

biden on his inauguration later today. i look forward to working with him and his new administration, especially the partnership between our countries, and working on issues around climate change, building back better, and strengthening atlantic security. host: returning to your voices and calls. sean in dallas. good morning to you. caller: hey, good morning. how are you all? host: good. american unity is the theme of this year's inauguration. what would you like to hear? caller: i am looking forward to hear mr. biden say the things, the healing things of course, the things about us coming together as a group, a national cause together, as opposed to being at each other's throats. i'm looking forward to mr. biden saying those things. and i am looking forward to,

despite the heavy military presence, the ultimately peaceful transfer of power. i think that is a hallmark that can really go toward rehabilitating our image in the world after these last four years. host: sean, have you ever attended inauguration? -- an inauguration? caller: i have not. i think it would be an excellent lifetime event to have seen, with your own eyes to witness, but i look forward to it. my wife and i were big bernie sanders supporters, so before, we were making plans to be there. that was back before the pandemic. had bernie been elected. but we were also excited to see mr. biden be elected and ms. harris be elected and we would have made plans to attend their inauguration had not the pandemic had such a poor affect

on our area -- for effect on our area -- poor effect on our area here in texas. host: ajay louisiana. good morning. caller: good morning. host: what is on your mind? caller: i am 17, so i have not had a lot of them yet, but this is one of the greatest days of my life. it has taken three days for him to get to the oval office. i think the unity this administration is going to show is something we have not seen in the recent four years. i know it is difficult, considering none of the traditions will be in place, which is unfortunate for mr. biden, but i feel like he will be one of the greatest presidents in american history for a multitude of reasons. host: what is one of those reasons, aj? caller: he is just an honest man.

he is extremely transparent with the american people. somebody who is very religious. that shows a lot about his character, and character shows a lot about anybody, not just politicians. it is something we do not see a lot of in washington, so it will be good to see that. host: what are you hoping to study in college? caller: political science and criminology. host: thank you for calling in. roger is in albuquerque, new mexico. roger, what about past inaugurals? what have stuck with you, resonated with you? caller: to be honest, this will be the first one i've actually watched. having come from another country, honestly, these inaugural events have been kind of a show. i watched a little bit of the obama one and i kind of watched and laughed a little bit at the trump one.

and i did not really feel like it was a serious thing. it is odd. it really is odd, but -- so i am from the united kingdom. i am from scotland. and i came over just before 2001, just before 9/11, and i saw this huge partisanship gap open up, and it felt like a circus show from right about the time of 9/11. it is an awful thing to have happen, but i just felt there were people waiting in the wings to take sides, and i still feel that today, and it is -- i just

hope there is some kind of coming together that will happen. i do not know if it will. i really feel saddened for america, because i am not even a citizen in this country. i have lived here for 20 years. i have a green card. i just want so much for america to heal. i really don't feel it is going to happen. host: that is roger in albuquerque, new mexico, originally from scotland. the president, current president, is departing andrews air force base at about attic -- 8:00 a.m. for florida. that will be live on c-span. at about 9:00 a.m., president-elect biden will participate in a church service at saint matthews catholic church, joined by congressional

leadership. about 11:00 a.m. or so, inauguration begins. noon is when the inauguration happens. there are some afternoon events as well that we will be live with. there are some military reviews, ceremonies with former presidents that president biden will be participating in, all live on c-span. follow us on social media. @cspan is our handle for facebook, our website, and twitter. you can get updates there throughout the day. ahmad is in aurora, michigan. what would you like to hear from president biden this afternoon? caller: well, you know what? actually, i have been following the presidential thing since day

one, and i have been a biden-harris supporter, and i was even opal worker for his campaign -- even a poll worker for his campaign, so i'm 100% for biden and harris. i am just excited to be watching my new president. host: ahmad, the theme this year -- and, by the way, that is marine one coming to the white house to take president trump to andrews -- is american unity. what would you like to hear from president biden? caller: well, i would like to hear strength, peace, and just how can we bring more young people to politics, and also it

is about just uplifting spirits and just being a leader for everybody, especially people with disabilities. host: thank you for calling in and thank you for watching. those pictures you are seeing were from the top of the washington monument, which overlooks the white house. that is the south lawn of the white house, where marine one is no landing. -- is now landing.

and that is at the white house. there marine one helicopter landing. it is about a nine minute flight once the president gets on to go to andrews air force base. we will bring that to you live as well. charlie is calling from the united kingdom. charlie, are you in the london area or somewhere else? caller: i am in the southwest part of the u.k., and a place called dorset. -- in a place called dorset. host: thank you for calling in. how closely do you follow american politics? caller: i research extreme

political ideologies. i'm 23, but i research online discourse and how information impacts things around the world. host: the theme is unity from president-elect biden's inauguration. what would you like to hear? caller: it is important that america sets a standard for the world. we are seeing it everywhere in europe. it is important that biden tries to unite the world, not just america, being the person that is seen as the leader of the free world. trump almost ruining your reputation just by constantly making false accusations. it is important that biden and

kamala bring the world together and inspire some hope across the world ensure we have a peaceful -- world ensure we have a peaceful transfer of power. host: what is it like in dorset? caller: the u.k. has the highest death per capita in the world. we have a record of 1600 deaths just yesterday. dorset itself is locked down at the moment. it is seeing a spike in hospitalizations as well as deaths, unfortunately, and it is a great issue across the entire country. i think that has come from lack of mandates, legal proceedings, a one party system that we have. it has caused a problem.

the fact that trump was not exactly telling the truth all the time has enabled other politicians, especially boris and his cabinet, to do the same thing in the u.k. i think that led to an increase in deaths. we have a high number of people who do not believe in vaccines, do not believe covid israel. there are a number of people who believe qanon rising by the day. host: that is charlie calling from dorset, england. this is teresa in seattle. good morning to you. caller: good morning and thank you for having me. i had an opportunity, the awesome opportunity, to meet vice president harris when she came to seattle, but as far as the commentary, i want to make a brief analogy using humpty dumpty as far as the unity. humpty dumpty was on the wall,

fell off, in pieces. i use that as trump. he gained power. then everything fell apart. so the task for the biden administration is going to be -- and i believe they will be able -- pick up the pieces and move the country forward in the right direction as far as building trust with america and the global community. host: when you think about american unity, teresa, what does that phrase mean to you? caller: that unity needs to -- we are able to believe again. we are able to join hands again, and be free again. because we have been in chains.

so bringing us back together to believe again. and i wanted to say, when trump was in office it was like sitting between madness and sadness. and now we have the biden administration does the between goodness and mercy. host: that's teresa, in seattle. we have been looking at new sites and social media sites all morning. >> punch bowl news tweets this, biden's inauguration, he encapsulates it this way. two hours and 40 minutes, from 11:21 to 2:00 time -- 2:00, ceremony mask layer within 95, an indication, pledge of allegiance, a national anthem by lady gaga, music by jennifer lopez and upon by the poet laureate. that's joe biden's inauguration.

what does washington correspondent says the speeches expected to be between 20 minutes and 30 minutes, built around the themes of unity. he will speak about the need to bring the country together during an unprecedented moment of crisis, that's according to first sources. and this was tweeted out yesterday, chad spoke with the inauguration committee chair on security for inauguration. he said i feel good about where we are on security, but four years ago when i shared this, somebody asked what was your best moment of the inauguration, i say when everybody got back inside. many lawmakers will be attending today's celebration, some can bring guests as well. the hill newspaper reports this morning that steve scalise, the republican leader from louisiana is bringing donna brazil as his

guest. they say that scalise said he thought it would be inactive unity by bringing her and reaching out to donna brazile. she will be his guest today. host: greta mentioned that vice president-elect -- president-elect biden's speech is supposed to be about 20 minutes to 30 minutes. we don't how many words that is but it was in 1841 that william henry harrison delivered the longest inauguration speech to date, there was 8460 words come of course he lasted one month in office before dying. william howard taft and james monroe along with polk also deliver long speeches through the shortest was george washington's second inaugural, 135 words. recent inaugural addresses,

donald trump at 1430 three words, barack obama in 2013 with 2096 words. jerry, in milwaukee, what would you like to hear from president-elect biden today during his inaugural address? caller: one sentence, i will sign after the congress enacts the protecting the right to organize act. we in organized labor have been decimated and destroyed since the end of world war ii, starting with the amendments to national name -- labor relations act in 1947. we, in organized labor, got joe biden elected. 77 trade unionists, myself included, went between three states, wisconsin, michigan, -- host: we do have to leave it

there because we are concentrating on the inauguration today, history and the symbolism. what past inaugural addresses have stuck with the u.n. resonated with you? and given the theme of this year's inauguration, american unity, what would you like to hear? carrie is in lowell, oregon. caller: good morning. i have no doubt i'm going to hear what i want to hear from president-elect joe biden and kamala harris, i have no worries about that. i do have, and i think a lot of people have been looking for a bipartisan activity. i would like to hear about steve scalise's invitee being a democrat. i think a lot of that would help the country.

i have concerns about the divide , and the division in values. i moved to a more conservative area, i'm going to be on man out . i'm typically the odd man out anywhere i go so i'm not really excited by that. but i try to make a bridge, i sent lance morrow's video that c-span did the other day. he is the author of god and man. i love listening to him because he's in the middle anti-can see both sides of everything. -- and he can see both sides of everything there so much missing in the way that we communicate. as much as a democrat that i am and i know that i will hear what i want to hear, i worry about going in and sweeping away that

a large part of our population is concerned about, because i believe anger strengthens and doesn't really heal. i think conversations need to be deeper when it comes to abortion, policies, they cannot be i'm on the side and i'm on that side, the average american, including myself, we don't know the ramifications of most of what we get on board and root for and add to the circus. i am cautiously optimistic. host: has there been an inaugural address in the past that has stuck with you and address your concerns? caller: i'm not really a very plug-in person, of course obama was the one who spoke to me the most, that's my mindset.

i think the values in the way -- not that the other side come i hate to say side, has a lesser or lesser values, it's just such a different approach on how to get there. host: we will leave it there. thank you. president and misses obama, president and misses obama, president and missions bush, president and mrs. clinton will all be attending the inauguration and will be going to arlington cemetery to join the new president and misses biden -- dr. biden at a wreath-laying ceremony. and from rancho cucamonga, good morning. caller: good morning. i'm happy to see president-elect

biden's speech for unity. i'm 20 years old, there's only been two president inauguration that i remember. and jimmy carter's unity, especially after the watergate fiasco, knowledge and that america is based upon how we need to be united as well as lbj's inaugural speech on 1965, especially after jfk's murder. i believe this unity message that president-elect biden will be representing will be a fantastic one and will bring a sense of urgency to finally defeat the pandemic. especially when all of those who are attending this inauguration will see the memorial for covid

and the representation that so many americans have lost their lives and we need to come united -- become united to combat it. host: it sounds like you've done some research into presidents and inauguration addresses. >> i'm a history major at my community college. i'm happy to see dr. jill biden, the first lady of the united states in coming, she's a community college professor. i'm happy to see that in the first family. host: thank you for calling in this morning. jean, in fruitland park, florida. whose inaugural address in the past have you enjoyed or heard a message that you enjoyed? caller: i came of age during jfk

, so all of his speeches are memorable to me. it's alluring to those of us who are young, who wanted something new and wanted new help. and of course president obama. i look forward to joe biden. joe biden is going to be different kind of president. he's going to be like a father trying to calm the children that have gotten to the point where they can do nothing but scream at each other. i'm hoping to hear in his speech more than just unity, but peace. and beginning to listen to each other. and becoming americans again. i have never cried so much for my country as i have in the past four years. in the past week i've constantly cried, especially since january the sixth.

i've spent my time trying to explain to relatives how this was the most awful thing i've ever seen. i officiate the facts, but mr. biden has looked out for the children in this inauguration. these children have been traumatized by was going on in the united states lately. he's offering something in his inauguration, something for the children, to educate them about the president xi -- the presidency and the country. i have been teaching since 1969. i really appreciate that. host: that's jean, in fruman park, florida. damien is calling in from australia. where in australia? caller: i'm actually in brisbane. host: what do you think about all of this pomp and circumstance your scene from washington, d.c. this morning? caller: from the australian

point of view, we used to have a great relationship with america and it's gone downhill in the last four years. which has been sad. our former prime minister was very much wanting to get along with trump, but trump snubbed him. morrison is trying to build a backup but it's not been well received. hopefully with biden, not just australia but the rest of the world, we can work together. with the coronavirus who taken a different track and it seems to work and hopefully biden can work with the rest of the world to bring back unity. there is unity in america and in the rest of the world. america is known as the land of the free, that's in your national anthem. but it does not come across like that right now. host: did president trump make the daily news in australia?

caller: very much so. there was not a day were he did not make the news over here, with some things that were incredibly stupid that were said. i don't want to show disrespect, but with the coronavirus and other things. and some things he did smart, trying to make america great again by bringing back people tilting things in america and putting america first. i can report on my tv now that he's leaving the white house as we speak with the first lady. host: that's right, he's walking out with melania trump, the medias on the left, he might be making some remarks to them, the helicopter will take a 10 minute flight to andrews air force base, he is scheduled to make remarks there before he departs for florida on air force one.

damien, thank you for joining us from australia. i take it it's 8:00 in the evening in brisbane? caller: it's nearly midnight, probably turning in for bed soon, but i wake up and catch up later on. host: we will be here, dj, and sacramento, california, good morning. what would you like to hear from president-elect biden. caller: i've been voting since 1973, the first person i voted for was george mcgovern. i've never seen this country subdivided and it scares the daylights out of me. i have searched 20 years in the air force, i have never seen this. biden could bring this country together. he needs to get to it. host: 1973 was the first time? caller: first time i voted, i turned 18 and i got to vote.

it was an experience, it was great, i loved it. it was definitely not high-tech. host: dj, and sacramento. we are spending some time and watching the south lawn of the white house as the president parts. -- departs.

[helicopter taking off]

[captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2021]

host: marine one departed from its usual path to andrews, and just blew up the national mall past the capitol, in about eight to nine minutes they will land at andrews air force base. and we are scheduled to bring that live to you as well. and president-elect biden is due to depart blair house this morning in the near term. that's right across from the white house he will depart there and had to st. matthew's catholic church along with congressional leadership for service as we get closer to noon, more and more events are picking up as we cover them live

. and taking your phone calls. cynthia, in sandpoint, idaho. american unity is the name -- theme of the inauguration this year. caller: good morning. i believe that's an excellent goal for all of us, no matter who the president is, and please forgive my voice, i've just recovered from two months of fighting covid and i'm 69 years old. i believe that politics divide us, but the american spirit is come i think if you ask every american, or most americans what they believe in, the answer will be the same. however our country is totally divided. the only way it will be unified is if everybody stops looking at the past, trying to vilify president trump, whom i admire, and not everything did he do did

i respect, and he was my candidate. i held my nose when i voted for him but i was pleasantly surprised. however if the politicians would stop trying to go backward, and look forward, everyone in america wants there to be peace, except for a few people. and i think most trump supporters are afraid to even express it, because if they do publicly, everyone is pretty angry with them. i have seen that in every election, when i was a child and for most of my early life i wanted to be the first lady president of the united states. when i got divorced i knew that would never happen at the time because a divorced woman would never become president. i think the only way for unity is for saul to look forward --

is for us all to look forward and leave the past behind, not trying to punish pete in the past, we need to go forward and know that this world is a dangerous place -- not try to punish people in the past, we need to go forward and know this is a dangerous place prayed i caught covid in the hospital when i was getting a cap scan -- cat scan. i was informed that i had been subjected to someone in the hospital who had been positive. even though i have used social distancing and masking there's a lot of close contact with the procedure. host: and what have the last two months been like for you? caller: it's been hell, frankly. i've attended as a guest of resident reagan the inauguration and i have been to several votes, democratic and republican. the minute someone is sworn in,

i put 100% of my faith in them, even if i don't believe that they are after the same thing i am. i think most americans feel that way, but there's so much anger and so much between covid. i don't think president trump could be held responsible for 400,000 deaths. he didn't infect them. we all know that covid originated in china. nobody talks about it being any responsibility. it's all president trump. i pray for peace, i know that most people who agree with me, and do think that trump did a lot of good things. but i do believe that this is the saddest inauguration i've ever watched.

i've never missed a minute of any of them. i've been up all night waiting, and i will for the rest of my life. host: thank you. that was vice president-elect kamala harris in her motorcade, i'm route to either blair house to meet up with the president or off to st. matthew. maybe greta knows. caller: -- >> as we are watching the video in the day unfold, we saw the president leaving the white house for the final time. there were reports for the white house, the president said it was the owner of a lifetime, trump tells us, thank you to the press, he says he just wants to say goodbye and we love the american people. host: joyce, in bakersfield,

california. american unity is the name for the inauguration. many in the passive had themes as well, do any stick with you? caller: good morning. i'm so excited to be able to speak with you this morning. and of course obama's inauguration was historic and i get teary-eyed when i think about what a huge step that was for america. just absolutely heartwarming. but i called in this morning because i would like to hear president biden's administration's plans to address those fringe groups who participated in the insurrection. host: do think he will address that in his inauguration? caller: i think you would miss

an opportunity if he does not say something about how he plans to listen to those people. we cannot have unity without somebody -- let me say it like this. we cannot have real unity with those people feeling smothered like those people are. i'm black, as a black person i couldn't understand why these white people, excuses racial tones, but wire those white people talking about they want to be free? free from what? and i listened to an interview where the news anchor asked a boogaloo member why he was participating in that insurrection? he said, it was a long is that

too many people feel oppressed. host: we will leave it there. here's the president arriving at joint base andrews. ♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪ [cheering] ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, please

welcome the president and first lady of the united states, donald j. trump and melania trump. [cheering] ♪ [cheering]

president trump: thank you very much. [chanting] president trump: thank you very much. and we love you. i can tell you that from the bottom of my heart, this has been an incredible four years, we have accomplished so much together. i want to thank my family and my friends and my staff and some of the other people for being here. i want to thank you for your efforts, hard work, people have no idea how hard this family works.

and they work for you. we could have had a much easier life, but we want to thank all of you, everyone, i want to thank mark meadows, who is here someplace. it has been something very special. we have accomplished a lot, are first lady has been a woman of great grace and beauty and dignity. and so popular with the people. would you like to say a few words? first lady melania: being your first lady was my greatest honor. thank you for your love and support, you will be in my thoughts and prayers, god bless you all. god bless your family. and god bless this beautiful nation. [cheering]

president trump: what else has to be said. and it's true, great job. what we have done has been amazing by any standard. we rebuilt the united states military, we created a new force called space force. that in and of itself would be a major achievement for a regular administration. we were not a regular administration. we took care of a 91% of approval rating. the vets have given us the v.a. and an approval rating mike has never been before. we took care of our vets. they were badly treated before you came along. we picked up the bill and they can go out and see a doctor, they don't have to wait long periods of time.

we got it so that we can get rid of people who do not treat the vets properly. so our vets are happy, our people are happy, our military is thrilled. we got the largest tax cut and reform in the history of our country. i hope they do not raise your taxes. but if they do i told you so. and if you look at the regulations, which i consider the regulation cuts to be even more important. that's why we have such good job numbers, which have been absolutely incredible. had we not been hit by the pandemic, already our numbers are the best ever. if you look at what happened until february a year ago, the

numbers were at a level nobody had seen before. and we really got hit. and we built it again, the stock market is actually substantially higher. so you could say that we built it twice, you will see incredible numbers coming in. if everything is left alone, be careful, very complex, be careful. you will see some incredible things happening. and remember us when you see these things happening, if you would, remember us, because i'm looking at elements of our economy that are sent to the rocketship up. we have the greatest country in the world, we have the greatest economy in the world, and as bad

as the pandemic was we were hit so hard, places that thought they got away with it did not get away with it. they suffering now. we did something that is really considered a medical miracle, they are calling it a miracle, that the vaccine. we got it developed in nine months instead of five years or 10 years, long time. it was supposed to take a long time. we have another coming almost immediately. it really is a great achievement. you should see some really good numbers. you will see those numbers skyrocket downward. i can only say this, we have worked hard, we left it all on the field.

we don't have to come and say we will never say in a month when we are sitting in florida, we will not be saying if we had worked a little harder. we went through the obstacles, we just got 75 million votes, that's a record in the history of sitting presidents. that's an all-time record by a lot. in this history of sitting presidents, it's been an honor. one of the things we are proud of is the selection of almost 300 federal judges and three great supreme court justices. that's a big number. that's a record-setting number, we have done a lot. there are still things to do. the first thing we had to do was pay our respects and our love to

the incredible people and families who suffered so greatly from the china virus. it's a horrible thing that we put onto the world. we all know where it came from but it's a horrible thing. so be careful. be very careful. we want to pay great love to those who have suffered, including families. with that, you are amazing, this is a great country. this is my greatest honor and privilege to have been your president. [chanting usa]

[chanting] president trump: i will always fight for you. i will be watching, i will be listening, and i will tell you that the future of this country has never been better. i wish the new administration great luck and great success. i think they will have great success. they have the foundation to do something really spectacular. we have put it in a position like it's never been before, despite the worst plague to hit since 1917, over 100 years ago. despite that, the things we have done have been incredible.

i could not have done it without you. so goodbye, we love you, we will be back in some form. [cheering] and again, i want to thank our vice president, mike pence, and karen. i want to thank congress because we worked well with congress, at least certain elements of congress. but we really did, we've gotten so much done that nobody thought would be possible. and i want to thank all of the great people of washington, d.c. . all of the people we worked with to put this miracle together. have a good life. we will see you soon. thank you thank you very much. thank you very much. ♪

♪

♪

♪

♪ ♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

>> [indiscernible] lord, have mercy. lord jesus, you heal the wounds, christ have mercy. >> christ have mercy. >> lord jesus, you intercede for us with your father. lord have mercy. forgive us our sin and bring us to everlasting life. amen. let us pray. [indiscernible]

>> the biden's are now at saint matthews catholic church about two blocks north of the white house. they are attending a service along with congressional leaders there. the president departed andrews air force base on air force one with closing remarks and also the music selected by the trump

folks. by the time he lands in west palm, he will still be president. it is a two hour flight. he has three hours left him run presidency. soon you will see people coming into the capital. a lot of security in d.c. we want to continue to hear your voices as we watch the events of today. coming up, the next thing we will probably watch is the departure from saint matthews and then the arrival at the capital and some of the vip's showing up at the capital. a full schedule of events including a ceremony at arlington cemetery with president and ms. biden and former presidents bush, clinton and obama as well attending. cathedral of matthew the apostle pres. trump: cathedral of matthew the apostle -- 202 202 is the area code.

we are hearing from our international callers as well today. if you would love to send a text message, we would love to hear from you. including your first name name -- your first name and city. this is the 59th time in our country's history that there has been a transfer of power from one president to another that is occurring today as we speak. joe biden will be the 36th president. kamala harris will be the 49th vice president. let's hear from michael in new jersey. you are on c-span. american unity is the theme of the biden and inauguration -- biden inauguration. what do you think? caller: good morning to yourself

and all of the viewers. i did have a chance to type this so if i sound like i am reading, i am. i am looking forward to the normalcy of the biden administration and presidency. trump, in my opinion, was 100% toxic, meaning yes, he did accomplish things but his accomplishments were tarnished by the way he conducted himself and by his extracurricular activities. host: let's go off script. giving your opinion, -- given your opinion, how do you think you would like to hear joe biden address your views in his inaugural address? caller: that is a really good question. i think that he needs not do much.

we all know what was outgoing. i think what is important is for him to state or restate his goals so that we can see as an american public what a real, genuine man. a politician, a professional, will conduct the office of the presidency quite differently. this was an experiment that went badly wrong. we need change and i think it is going to be drastic and swift. i think that is the requirement here, that he do everything that he intends to do and do it quickly. host: we are going to leave it there and hear from xavier in singapore. greetings to you.

caller: a really interesting set of events. i hope we can move forward from what has happened so far. host: before we hear anymore, tell us about yourself. caller: i'm in singapore. [indiscernible] host: that is xavier watching us in singapore. esther is in new york. esther, has there been an inaugural address that has stuck with you or an inauguration that you admired? caller: well, i am old.

jfk, of course. what i am looking for from biden, i am in brooklyn, new york. my children are lacking something that every american child should have and that is hope. i need for him to address the blatant, explicit racism that we have heard over the last four years. my children need to feel the way i felt when i was their age, that anything they want in this country is possible for them, no matter what they look like, no matter who they love, no matter the choices they make about their lifestyle, but that everything that this country has to offer is open to them. trump did us a favor.

so much was hidden before that we all came to see on the surface. i feel like i was pollyanna before about where we were as a nation and moving forward past the racism, sexism of the past. trump showed us that it is still there to an extent that many of us did not realize. host: esther in baldwin, new york. we have been looking at social media all morning. >> dinner for jacobs who covers the white house for bloomberg has -- jennifer jacobs who covers the white house for bloomberg. sources tell her trump never came to the oval office but the letter was left for the oval and the vice president mike pence left a note for vice-president

elect kamala harris. president-elect joe biden will be sworn in to office. some details about the bible. huffington post reports the 127-year-old family heirloom has many important dates inside. the new york times has a picture of the bible. take a look at this. it is from 1893. it is five inches take and has a cross on the culture -- is five inches thick and has a cross on the cover. hipaa stephen colbert during the interview that biden's father's family has a list and irish roots. the president-elect told colbert that every has been described in this bible including the times he has been sworn in as center -- senator and vice president. the biden family bible has emerged during important moments

in the president-elect's political career. soon after he was elected as a sender, a car crashed claimed the lives of his wife and 30-month-old daughter and injured their two sons. not wanting to leave his son in the hospital, biden ended up being sworn in with the family bible from a hospital room. decades later, he use the same bible to swear in a delaware attorney general. he died in 2015. here is the photo of the then senator elect joe biden beans one in 1972 from that hospital room. kamala harris will be sworn in by a justice in using thurgood marshall's bible for her swearing in. some other details about today's passenger he. -- today's pageantry. dr. jill biden will be wearing a

designer today. specifics are unknown. you just saw the outgoing first lady melania trump at the fair where that's at the farewell ceremony. -- at the farewell ceremony today. host: several live events today and this afternoon. of course, the inauguration ceremony itself begins at 11:30. a few people are coming in. there is nobody allowed on the national mall. a few invited guests and members of congress on the steps of the west front and this afternoon, there will be a wreath-laying ceremony at arlington set -- arlington cemetery. there will be a military path in review and president biden will be out there to see that. there will be a short military escort this afternoon from 15th street to the white house later this afternoon in louisville the

parade that usually happens -- in lieu of the parade that usually happens. chris, are you old enough to have ever attended an inaugural or is there one that stakes out -- sticks out? caller: i am a conservative. right now 70 million people are screaming that he was not wearing a mask when he got off the plane and got on the plane. we are divided. i wish every president good luck. we hope that he does a great job. back to politics as usual. maybe we need a breather from this administration. i will be get -- glad to see politics as usual. nothing compared to president trump. he was a 24 hour news service

himself. host: when you say that we are divided, the theme of the inauguration is american unity. what would you like to hear from president-elect joe biden? caller: i feel like his comments will be short. i do hope he gets some time for a nap. he is a pretty elderly fellow as all of our leaders are, mcconnell, schumer, pelosi, all of them are over 75 years old. i hope everybody just takes a breath. let's get going again. we have a new guy in office. you have to wish the president luck because our country needs leadership. i hope he gives it and if he cannot, i hope kamala can. we are america and we always

have disagreements. this is no new thing. we have been in wars for 200 years of the 240. these things just happen and it is unfortunate how trump presidency ended -- trump's presidency ended. the capital -- it was pretty terrible. portland, they have had insanity the last year. i don't think those were conservative values. i don't run on the capitol is conservative values. we are living in strange times. this is social media stuff. the news covers stuff -- now with us in this pandemic, we are listening to this news 24 hours a day and it is making people crazy. would you agree with that? host: that is chris in

washington. let's hear from misty in arkansas. caller: thank you. i appreciate you taking my call. it took me 176 calls to get through. i have been trying for almost two hours. this unite, they can throw that down the toilet. there are too many people like me who have seen callings were impeachment for president trump the day he was elected. we have seen our agency, state department, the justice department work actively to impeachment. now we have everything conservative, everything republican, people are getting fired. we have seen riots and black lives matter -- host: we are trying to stick

with the inauguration. what would you like to hear from joe biden? caller: i don't think there's going to be any unity. i don't think there's anything you can say that will make me convinced that the collection -- that this election was not stolen and that donald trump was been set up all four years, it is so obvious. host: that is misty in arkansas. i want to show you a picture taken by tammy who was on the staff at c-span, one of our producers. she took that through a fence looking up at the capital. it looks like she took it from the house side and there is the botanical gardens in the foreground. it is all blocked off, it is difficult to maneuver around here right now. tony is calling from india. where in india are you? caller: i am in calcutta on the eastern side of india. host: right.

why are you watching c-span today? caller: i don't know. america has been interesting for some time. host: do follow american politics closely? caller: not really but since 2016. host: you have heard about president trump in calcutta? caller: yeah, i have. he made a visit -- host: he made a visit to india. caller: the previous year. host: what did you think of that? caller: i thought many things. let's not go there. i just want to say this, even

though recent events have not been great, american democracy remains an inspiration all over the world. there have been policies on the top of mind of american presidents at this moment, the league of democracies that they have been talking about -- i am pretty sure this will not get to anybody important. i don't know. host: before we let you go, will you tell us about life in calcutta during the pandemic? caller: yes, there is a lack of

information about the numbers and the government regulations. i don't know, i just stay-at-home and i'm lucky i don't have any financial difficulties. i only go out to get groceries and i wear a mask when i am out. at this time of evening, right now it is about 7:50 in the evening, at this time i would be out but instead, i am watching c-span. host: we are glad you are watching c-span in calcutta, tony. let's return and talk with greta brawner. >> the washington post sends this tweet with details about what the president-elect will be wearing today.

joe biden is expected to wear a navy suit and overcoat both by ralph lauren according to transition officials and dr. jill biden is wearing them to ocean blue wool coat and rest by alexandra o'neill -- dressed by alexandra o'neill. also some pictures from up on the platform. making sure the chairs for members of congress are six feet apart. you can see somebody measuring. take a look at this image, the senator-elect from georgia will get a designated seat today and a seat for a guest. this is from philip crawford reports for the associated press. he and senator elect rev. warnock getting a seat. fox news reports on the other side of the capital, he takes this photo noting, most inaugurations were held here until reagan moved into the west

front in 1981. a new poll from cbs news shows that 3-1 americans see kamala harris's history-making moment as a good thing. also some well wishes from senator tom carper from delaware , a longtime colleague of joe biden, saying that today represents a new beginning for the country and marks the beginning of healing, unifying and coming together to get through this crisis and build back better. there will also be several governors attending today and one of them is the arizona governor, republican. he says he is proud to represent arizona at our nation's 59th presidential inauguration with his son and honor a peaceful transition of power. the wall street journal, this from one of the colleagues on capitol hill, the former speaker

paul ryan has been spotted at today's inauguration as well. finally about security, capitol police is informing reporters that any member of the press trying to go through security screening with a bullet-proof vest today will be denied entry. reporters are told they cannot wear vests, gas masks or helmets. dean phillips, a congressman, he response to that tweet saying, this is totally unacceptable to preclude reporters from wearing vests to the inauguration when members of congress and dana tarries are being advised to do so -- dignitaries are being advised to do so. host: this is the 59th time in our nations history that there has been a transition of executive power. the pageantry of big inaugurations and parades happened in vermont when calvin

coolidge became president when warren harding died. it happened on air force one when lbj was sworn in on november 22, 1963 as president gerald ford at the white house -- they have taken very different forms this year. it has a very different feel to it. there is a live picture from the washington monument looking east toward the capital and the theme of this inaugural is american unity. eliza, tampa, florida, what would you like to hear from president-elect joe biden? caller: good morning, thank you for having me. unity, i think it is incredibly important. you said the word unity much earlier this morning. i was reflecting on 9/11 and how we had all of the flags in the

car windows and all of the cheering for the fire department and police vehicles as they drove by. there were no party lines. we were simply americans and we were banding together and it almost felt like the entire nation was hugging each other. over the last four years i have watched in shock and sadness at the pandering to those with either negative intent and/or undeserved loyalty and it has been painful. i almost feel now with this unity vision coming into the new presidency, it feels like i left a seriously abusive relationship. tears of relief. i feel like we have spent four years of being divided. if you forget about the party lines and any positive things

that were done during the trump administration have been completely overshadowed unfortunately by actions and behaviors that were completely un-presidential. i think this is a ray of hope and i am hoping we can get back -- 9/11 was an incredible, horrible tragedy. but the unity when we came together, i really hope -- and i am saying this as a democrat within a republican state. host: you have made your point but how do you think joe biden should address that in his inaugural address? caller: i truly hope he addresses each and every american as an american and not as a democrat or a republican and i think he will. host: thanks for calling in.

john is calling from southern california. where in southern california, john? caller: i am just inside of l.a. host: are there past inaugurals that have caught your attention or anything that you want to hear from president biden today? caller: as someone who studies political science, i really hope that he -- he has a big burden with the prospect of unifying our country. division is not just something political. it is a reckoning that we can thank trump for acknowledging and bringing out. there are certain parts that we cannot deny and that is what happened in charlottesville was a small portion and what happened on the sixth was different because we had people

that were not on the fringe. host: how would you like to see president biden address that? caller: well, i don't have the panacea for that but i hope he does because the future republic really does depend on it. he is going to have to bring together the adults in the republican party and help the republican party not succumb to their own division so that we can see true success. host: thank you very much. hudson in south korea. tell us about yourself. caller: i am an american living in south korea and i work here and for the past four years, it has been hard to hold my head up high is an american. i feel as though i can finally do that. i feel as though a chakra is passing. in regard to american unity, i don't know how it is going to

happen, but i do believe the american heart needs a recalibration. it is one of the few countries where you can actually go and try to make something of yourself, to better yourself. americanness is not by blood, it is something we can aspire to. i really hope he speaks to us, all of us, including the 70 million who also voted for donald trump. i don't know how he is going to do it and we have a lot that he has to do and the burden on his shoulders has to be incredibly heavy. i think he is the guy to point us in that direction, to recalibrate the american heart. host: can you tell us what kind of work you do in south korea? caller: i teach at a university, i teach english. host: are you in seoul?

caller: yes. host: was president trump a daily news item in seoul? caller: for me, as an american, yes. but for the common south korean, i think not. with some of the bigger stories, you would hear them in the korean press. for us ex-pats, i think we thought about american politics a lot. host: in general, south koreans follow american politics closely? caller: i don't know if i can even say that. although there was a huge ripple when he went and met with kim jong-un. regardless of what side of politics you are in, that was a momentous moment although nothing really came of it.

people were looking. host: thanks for calling in. thanks for watching us in south korea today. recently we spoke with a former president obama speech writer about what goes into making a good speech. >> my advice to him would be my advice to anybody who is giving a speech which is, what is the one true thing that you can say and to speak to this particular moment in the most honest way that you possibly can. >> and john mcardle, your advice? >> kcs yes for an answer. you are the president -- take yes for an answer. the country is looking to you with great expectations, great goodwill. this is not a country obsessed with politics. this is a country that has a lot of problems and a nasty tone in its politics.

none of that has to be reflected in the inaugural address. you are the president. look forward, look ahead, tell the country where you want to go, what you want to do. it is not about your adversaries, it is not about who you defeated. it is about you and you are probably not going to run for office again so just be every inch of the president of the united states. host: and that was from last weeks q&a program on c-span. a reminder that president-elect joe biden and vice president-elect harris are at st. matthew's catholic church right now in downtown washington. they are at a service along with congressional leadership including speaker pelosi, majority leader mcconnell, minority leader chuck schumer. after that, the capital will become the focus for the next

several hours of what is going on on inauguration day. people are already starting to arrive and sit down on the west front and once the ceremony begins at 11:30, noon is the constitutional time that the office needs to change over. that will happen and then there will be some events in the capital afterwards, a signing ceremony, a military passing review on the east front. president biden will be joined by former presidents clinton, bush and obama at a ceremony at arlington cemetery and there will be a short parade, semi-parade from 15th street to the white house. that is all happening today live on c-span. a reminder, follow us on social media to get updates, to be away from your tv, @eastbound for --@

c-span. have you been around long enough to witness previous and i gray shins and if so, -- previous inauguration's? caller: i got strong vibes for martin luther king. everybody is an individual. they have their own opinions. what i would really love to see amongst all americans is to unite together, no matter who you represent, republican or democrat. i would like to go fishing with anybody, white, black, red, whatever. i want people to unite. you have your opinion about what

is going on but i know everybody knows the difference between right and wrong. i would like for everybody to lean toward the right so we can have unity. host: how should joe biden address that in this inaugural address? caller: i think he should speak on us being peaceful toward each other and unite so we can re-create america again. this is -- i would not want to be anywhere else besides in america. the places i have been in the people i have met, it has been a wonderful experience across my life. i just want people to get along together no matter what their beliefs are behind what this president has done, what this president is doing and things of that nature.

i want everybody to put their personal opinions aside and let the president and all of the cabinets do their job to make everybody satisfied in america. host: you are 55 years old. what kind of work do you do in dallas? caller: i am an engineer by trade. unfortunately i am disabled. host: if you are 55, you remember past inaugurations. do you intend to watch -- do you tend to watch these every four years? caller: i am an independent. whatever has happened in the past is in the past. i have never paid attention to the inauguration but this last president we had, trump, his competency was a lot of

incompetence to me. he did not act like a president for the united states and his followers, i would like for them to relax. america is america, one of the greatest places in the world. i want them to relax. no civil wars, things of that nature. i just want everybody to accept by -- accept biden and let him do his job peacefully. host: as eric in dallas and marsha is in detroit. -- that was eric in dallas and this is marsha in detroit. good morning. caller: my first experience was when kennedy became president. i am a democrat socialist and i voted for trump for 2020 but i

think the biggest thing here is censorship. if we don't have the right to say what we want and give our opinions, i don't think there will be peace in this country. i hope president biden realizes that -- how important it is to have rights and free speech. i hope he realizes that. i am very sorry that president trump did not release julian assange and snowden. but i am very happy that he released our mayor in detroit. years ago, i asked the president to pardon lame kilpatrick -- kilpatrick. i wish for the whole country to be peaceful. i don't think that the president

thought that the insurrection on the capital was going to happen and i don't hold him responsible for that. you have your children go out here and commit crimes. republicans stand for law and order. i don't think that was his fault . this present administration, i hope they tackle twitter, facebook, deactivate accounts. i am a bernie-crat. i voted two times for bernie sanders. in 2020, i could not have voted for biden and kamala harris because of their previous record of the injustice of the 1994 crime bill. that is the reason i did not vote for them and i voted for trump. host: that is marsha in detroit and president trump yesterday along with other pardons and

commutations commuted kilpatrick's, the former mayor of detroit, sentence. i am not recalling what that crime is for. marissa is in luxembourg. good afternoon. caller: thanks for having me. host: why are you watching c-span today? caller: i am watching because i'm interested in american politics and i have been following the last four years with interest and i am happy that today joe biden gets to be inaugurated as president. host: did you just start watching american politics over the last four years because of donald trump or have you watched casually in the past? caller: i think i started watching more closely when obama took office because i think it was a big achievement in a

country like america to have the first black president. i had seen and i followed american politics before that. honestly the last four years have been infuriating for people in europe because i think in america, things are better. host: are there a lot of conversations that go on about american politics in your circle? caller: there are conversations going on. trump got to be in the news a lot of times, i would say on the -- on a daily basis. the company i work for has offices in the u.s., in chicago and so we got to exchange with american correspondence. this is something i was always interested in. host: what do you think is important?

what does america represent to you? caller: i think for a normal european person like me, we have seen america growing up, all of the movies of all of the tv series and the music usually comes from america and i think most of us learn to see america like a beacon of hope and an example of democracy. i think most of us got more interested in politics because the last two years were completely the opposite of what we were accustomed to. that is why i am feeling really hopeful for today and i hope that america can go back to be an open multicultural country and to be an example for everyone. host: marissa in luxembourg, thanks for your time. greta, what do you have for us? >> the l.a. times sends this

tweet noting that the nuclear codes, called the nuclear football in d.c. is flying to florida with president trump while president-elect joe biden was in d.c. set to receive another one at noon. you can read more from the l.a. times on how trump's avoidance of inauguration has complicated matters and upended tradition. alexander who writes for the associated press, two of the biden administration communication officials are describing the incoming presidents inaugural address as a forward-looking sweet that will make little to no mention of his predecessor. a little history for you today, rick scott, the former governor of florida says, i will be attending the inauguration of president-elect joe biden and harris today. this ceremony represent the peaceful transfer of power to

our people and the world. many members of congress, republicans and democrats attending. also, alexander reports that the vice president-elect is wearing christopher john rodgers and sergio hudson. christopher is a young designer from baton rouge and lives in new york city. sergio is a black designer from south carolina. emhoff is wearing a ralph lauren suit. finally, a little history from the white house history association. thomas jefferson was the first president to take his oath in the new national capital. his inauguration was modest compared to most but he established two important traditions. jefferson's second inauguration in 1805 gave birth to the other station. after the swearing in ceremony, the president made his way home down pennsylvania avenue. host: thomas jefferson, when he was inaugurated, was living in a

boardinghouse up by the current library of congress which is just to the right on the far side of the capital. aubrey is in coventry, connecticut. what would you like to hear from president-elect joe biden as far as his theme of american unity? caller: i want to see biden take care of the younger generation. in and 22 years old. i believe -- i am 22 years old. the younger generation is the future of america. you said that the dame was unity and i feel like we have regressed significantly. i feel like trump has divided us as a nation due to the misinformation, hatred, immaturity, i feel like he has not set a great example for the younger generation. host: what kind of work do you

do? are you a student? caller: yes, i am. host: what are you studying? caller: veterinary medicine. host: good luck to you. tom is in ontario, canada. what kind of message are you looking for today? caller: good morning. contrary to what some callers have said, we should all be proud of our republic and the peaceful transition of power. in canada i'm a are transitions are based on a commonwealth where there -- our governments are beholden to the crown and not the people. we still do not even elect our head of state and senators. host: that said, what is the message that you would like to hear coming from washington today and president biden? caller: i would say unity and to

put america's stamp back on the world. host: this is leslie in norwalk, connecticut. good morning to you. why are you watching c-span and are you planning on watching all day? caller: good morning. i am waiting for the results of a test. i am home and i will be watching all day. thank you so much for c-span. it is my favorite part. to your question about what i want to hear, when i first told the screener, i will be grateful to have an adult in the room. i rethought myself and i said, we've got to start with ourselves. not seeing things -- saying things like adult in the room and i would like to hear him talk to everyone, to stop the

rhetoric and start with ourselves and correct ourselves. host: have you found yourself being guilty of maybe sewing disunity? caller: from time to time, the words i use. it is difficult to not use that and not get riled up about the verbiage. i hope to hear him say, we all have to check ourselves. host: that is leslie in connecticut. are you waiting on: results? -- are you waiting on covid results? caller: yes. host: have you been exposed? caller: i have some symptoms.

host: thanks for calling in. chauncey in california, have you been around long enough to observe other inaugurations and which ones are memorable? caller: i have not observed that many. good morning to you. the first one private watching was obama in 2008. i do not believe i watched in 2012. i watched trump's inauguration in 2016. that was a much different affairs than obama, fanfare for the common man, there was a lot of elegance to that presentation and obama's speech, we got to get a taste of his oratory skills. the inauguration in 2016 starkly contrasted that. i am not going to repeat what

george bush junior said from his speech, but it was uncanny, it was eerie, it seemed pointed as if he was deliberately trying to create an individual america that he could manipulate and used to manipulate his base, unfortunately. host: this is american unity. what do you want to hear from joe biden? if you were writing a speech, what is the line that you put in there or that word? caller: i think something that he should allude to is restoring faith in american news institutions and media outlet. s. i think that took a hit during

the trump presidency and it continues to stoke tensions. i think that will go a long way, if not, directly addressing the lack of unity -- that would be a place to start. if we could be on the same page about what is real and what is not and most importantly, if he could signal a departure from the trumpian misinformation. i think most americans will breathe a sigh of relief. host: that is chauncey in california as we continue to watch the arrivals at the capital. let's check in with greta. >> president-elect joe biden tweeting this morning, "it is a new day in america." and barack obama tweeting, "congratulations to my friend, president joe biden. this is your time."

up on capitol hill, cnn notes that george w. bush and laura bush have arrived at the ceremony and kamala harris, the incoming vice president, "i'm here because of the women who came before me." here is a scoop from vivian who notes that a scheduled since -- sent shows more than three dozen members of the incoming security staff plan to be in place by midday when the president is sworn in. she notes that the schedule shows some of the staffers were in place at 10:00 a.m., two hours before the swearing in, a sign that the work could begin from the first minute president-elect joe biden takes office. reporting from jennifer epstein, joe biden will take office today and begin a flurry of negative actions including stopping border wall construction, revoking the keystone pipeline permit, rejoining the paris

agreement and the welfare of -- the world health organization and a federal mandate on property. host: the next call is catherine in new jersey. what would you like to hear from president-elect joe biden today? caller: good morning. speaking to the america united name, i would love a recognition of before there can be healing for the nation as a whole, there needs to be healing within the individual factions that exist in our country. i am calling you as an independent evangelical christian who has recognized -- i can identify with one of your previous callers who said there is a fear to speak up. evangelicals are not cookie cutter's who all believe the same thing. it has broken my heart to see the violence that has erupted

with flags waving in the name of jesus. that is not who we are, it is not we are called to be. often times, those of us who oppose such behaviors have had to be silent because we are afraid of repercussions on the other side. specifically to evangelicals, i would just ask everybody to put down their guns and get on their knees and pray and get back to the business of being jesus' hands and feet and trying to reach a hurting world that is terrified of this pandemic right now so that we can have true healing as a nation. president biden and president trump have my prayers every day. i also want you to know on january 6, my heart was with everyone at c-span and you guys were being thought of and pray for from my house. thank you so much for what you do for the public and for america. host: is catherine in new

jersey. -- that is catherine in new jersey. ka is calling from tokyo. did i say your name correctly? caller: almost. host: thank you so much. why are you watching c-span today? caller: is my cash this -- this is my first time. [indiscernible] i have experience with vice

president. host: how do you feel about president-elect biden being sworn in? caller: so many countries are very divided, especially japan. we are very -- [indiscernible] host: mr. abe and mr. trump seemed to be good friends, didn't they? have you been to the united states? caller: yes. i was a university student in

the late 80's. host: thank you for calling in today and i hope you continue to watch us. what channel are you watching us on? caller: on youtube. host: on youtube, ok. i'm glad you found us. sarah in washington. hi, sarah. caller: hi. sorry about that. host: what would you like to say about today's inauguration? caller: i don't normally care much for politics. 2020 was a rather terrifying year for a lot of people. there is a lot of problems that need to be dealt with and fixed. i just wanted to wish

president-elect biden and vice president-elect kamala the best of luck in their presidential journey. host: what would you like to hear from president biden today in his inaugural address? caller: i would just like to hear that he is going to try his best. it is like my mom says, there are certain things that are going to get worse before they can get better. i just want to hear that he is going to try. host: what do you do in washington? caller: i currently am jobless, unfortunately. all i really do is make paintings and sculptures. host: good luck to you. richard is in colorado.

we are about two hours away from a new president of the united states. what do you think about that? caller: just fantastic. i'm looking forward to this administration. i am hoping his speech, i don't know how it can be about unity, but i think civility would work to get towards unity, people just need to be using common sense and choose civility. when unity, it's tough when you come in as president and you are going to remove a lot of things that people that are supporters of trump aren't going to like you removing those things. i'm just hoping, you want unity,

federally legalize marijuana. that will bring unity the country. host: that's richard from colorado. thomas in schenectady, new york. are you looking forward to noon today? caller: i'm looking forward to hear the inauguration. if you're not excited by any presidential inauguration i think you are missing the point of what is going on. to answer your question in terms of what i'd like to hear today, i expect to hear him talk about unity. i want to hear him speak about personal responsibility. what i would like to hear him say is that there is a responsibility on all sides as it relates to the media in not continuing to make people fearful, not dividing people. such a big piece of unity is related to what people are being fed, if you will when they are

watching media whether it be fox or cnn, regardless of where you get your news. the people i know who are not watching 24/7 cable news are far more unified, certainly far more likely to be unified than those who do. i would certainly as a career politician i don't think he will bite the hand that feeds him. in an ideal world in his speech today what i would like to hear is for him call for responsibility among those who shared the news or spread the news as c-span does, to let people get the full story and judge for themselves as opposed to a talking head's interpretation of what happened that day. host: we've heard from several viewers this morning about the personal responsibility aspect and the need to reach out to all

sides. caller: 330 million odd people in this country and only 150 million voted. we can puff out our chest and talk about how voter turnout was the highest it ever was, it still wasn't unanimous. there were many people who chose not to vote. there is a large contingency in this country, myself included, who are disgusted by politics. we also don't blame mitch mcconnell or nancy pelosi for the problems in our lives. if we have issues in our marriage or with ourselves, health-related if you are putting on more weight than you would like or not eating the right things, if you are having an issue as it relates to your job -- i think that often times far too often we don't look at ourselves the way that we ought to end the

news is certainly making it easier to look at somebody else. host: each inauguration is different, some have been on the backs of airplanes, some have been in the white house. this one is on the west front of the capital. ronald reagan was the first president to hold it on the west front of the capital, it had been on the east side prior. this is the 59th time in our history that a transition of executive power has happened. several vips arrived at the capitol for the ceremony and former president's as well. it looks like michelle obama and -- the obamas, the clintons, and the bushes will all be attending a wreath-laying ceremony and arlington cemetery with the new

president and his wife this afternoon. that will be live on c-span. @cspan is our handle for twitter, facebook, web, youtube. grace is in fayetteville, north carolina as the music starts on the west front. grace, you are on c-span. caller: hello, how are you? host: how are you? caller: good. host: did you want to say anything? caller: i am from fayetteville, north carolina, this is my first time washing the inauguration. i'm watching it right now in class with everyone in my ap government class, there are 20 of us in here. i just wanted to say to everybody watching this morning and to have a woman of color in office and hopefully biden brings healing and peace our

nation. host: grace, how many people in your class, is it being held by zoom? caller: we are actually in person, we are social distancing right now. there are about 20 of us in class. host: who is your teacher? caller: stephanie eastman. host: miss eastman? what school do you go to? caller: freedom christian academy. host: can all the kids hear me? [all responding] let's hear, how many people supported joe biden during the campaign? caller: everyone raised their hands in support. host: who supports joe biden? caller: there are about nine people in my class. host: and those who supported

donald trump? caller: who supports trump? we are counting. about nine who support trump, so about even. host: pretty even. i am sure miss eastman has talked about this extensively, but the peaceful transfer of power that this nation has, what do you think about that? caller: she is actually right here and would love to speak on that. miss eastman: hello, i miss eastman. we have talked at length about that and how it has happened since the revolution of 1800 with thomas jefferson and this is the bedrock of our democracy that we are watching today. i'm honored to be here with my students watching this. host: we are honored to have you

call in and honored that you are watching us. thank you, miss eastman, and thank grace and all the ap class at freedom christian in fayetteville north carolina. let's return to greta. greta: we showed our viewers earlier the bible that president-elect joe biden will use when he is sworn in. here is the image from the new york times. it's five inches thick from 1893 and has been in the biden family and has a cross on the cover. we also noted that this bible was used when the then senator elect was sworn in in 1972, that image taken in the hospital when that deadly car crash happened with his wife and daughter. you can see in the foreground one of his sons who was injured in that car crash. a reporter for the washington

post notes this morning "lord god the whys of life and destiny are often -- a swearing in in a hospital in 1973. now life and destiny have converged again in another moment of crisis. and a link to his piece on inauguration day. host: president-elect biden and misses biden are still in st. matthew's church in downtown washington. a lot of the other congregants have left already, participants have left already. the president elect is still inside saint matthews, that's eight blocks north of the cap of the white house and the next stop will be the capital where a lot of people are arriving. we will continue to show you everything that is going on while we hear your voices about what you would like to hear with regards to american unity which

is the theme of this inauguration or if you want to talk about a past inauguration as several viewers have we would love to talk about that. tom is in toronto, go ahead. caller: good morning, thanks for having me on. host: what do you want to talk about? we are listening. caller: i think that ultimately we are going to hear biden touch on the issue of unity. what i would like to hear that i'm not too hopeful about is three issues. the first is the debt of the united states, the second being trust not just in the media in the united states but in the government itself. the third one would be our role on the world stage which i think in past years has been diminished with trump's go it alone approach. host: was donald trump a fixture in the toronto news? caller: [laughter] quite a bit. for better or for worse.

as a canadian i'm interested in canadian politics, but a lot of american politics spillover into our country. in order to be politically engaged here in many ways you have to be politically engaged in the u.s. politics. host: what do you do in toronto? caller: i'm a teacher. i teach english, history, science, math. host: is today an off day? caller: today is a zoom or google meet day depending on who you ask, but it's online teaching. we either do morning classes are afternoon classes. host: have you returned it to any in-person classes in toronto? caller: at the start of the semester we did have in person classes, recently we have had more lockdowns that switched us back to online for the foreseeable future it looks like we will be online. host: that is tom in toronto. as the capital fills up we are going to watch.

[street noises and a helicopter overhead] ♪ [indistinct conversation and helicopter noises]

♪ [footsteps and indistinct conversation]

[indistinct conversation] >> ok great. ♪

[orchestral music plays] [indistinct conversation] [indistinct drill orders]

[helicopter overhead] [indistinct conversation] >> how far out? [indiscernible] [indistinct conversation]

[street noises] [orchestral music plays] ♪

[upbeat orchestral music plays]

♪ announcer: ladies and gentlemen, the marine band will present the world premiere of three new fanfares written by american composers in honor of the 59th inaugural ceremony. fanfare for democracy by james stephenson, fanfare polity, and fanfare for tomorrow. [marine band plays

orchestral music] ♪

[indistinct voice on loudspeaker] [indistinct conversations]

[orchestral music plays]

♪

[indistinct conversation and helicopter overhead]

♪ [street noises]

[indistinct conversation and street noises]

[indistinct drill orders] [helicopter overhead] [indistinct conversations]

[indistinct drill orders] [street noise and indistinct conversations]

[indistinct conversation and footsteps] [indistinct conversations]

>> members of the united states senate and -- ♪ >> the bilateral chiefs joined by the acting dean of the diplomatic corps, his excellency -- ♪

[upbeat orchestral music] ♪

[indistinct conversation and street noises] [hail to the chief plays] [orchestral music plays]

announcer: ladies and gentlemen please direct your attention to the inaugural platform. the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, mark milley. ♪

[upbeat orchestral music plays] [upbeat orchestral music continues] ♪

[indistinct conversation and crowd noise] [upbeat orchestral music plays]

announcer: ladies and gentlemen leadership of the united states house of representative, republican stevens co. police and minority whip the honorable james clyburn. -- republican stevens sc alise and minority whip the honorable james clyburn. ♪ [orchestral music continues]

♪

announcer: ladies and gentlemen, leadership of the united states senate. the honorable patrick lahey and misses marcia lahey. democratic whip the honorable dick durbin. majority whip the honorable john thune and misses kimberly thune. democratic leader the honorable charles schumer and misses ira schumer. president pro tempore of the senate the honorable chuck grassley. and misses jennifer heinz. [indistinct conversations and crowd noise] ♪

[indistinct marching orders] [soldiers marching]

[orchestral music plays] ♪

[vast drumbeat leading into horns] --[fast drumbeat leading into horns]

[drums and horns play] announcer: ladies and gentlemen, the former vice president, the honorable dan quayle. [orchestral music plays] ♪

-- [footsteps and indistinct conversation] [drumbeats into horn and orchestral music] [orchestral music plays] announcer: ladies and gentlemen the 42nd president of the united

states, the honorable william j clinton and the honorable hillary rodham clinton. [orchestral music plays] ♪

[fast drumbeats into orchestral music] [drill orders] [orchestral music continues]

announcer: the 43rd president of the united states the honorable george w. bush and laura bush. [orchestral music continues] [applause] ♪

[indistinct crowd noise] [fast drumbeat into orchestral music] ♪ announcer: ladies and gentlemen the 44th president of the united states the honorable barack obama and misses michelle obama. [applause] [orchestral music continues with

applause] ♪

announcer: the chief justice of the united states, the honorable john roberts junior and the associate justices of the supreme court. [orchestral music continues] ♪

announcer: the children of vice president-elect harris and mr. douglas emhoff. [applause] [orchestral music continues] ♪

[footsteps and crowd noise]

announcer: ladies and gentlemen, the children of joseph biden. also the grandchildren of the president-elect. [applause] [orchestral music plays] [applause continues]

[footsteps] ♪