Inauguration 2021: Watch All the Performances from Lady Gaga, Foo Fighters and More
On 1/21/21 at 5:05 AM EST
The inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States and its subsequent celebration concert may not have had a full audience due to COVID-19 restrictions, but that did not stop some of the biggest stars from performing in support of Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris.
Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez performed during the ceremony itself, while acts like Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Katy Perry and John Legend performed during the Tom Hanks-hosted Celebrating America inaugural ball that followed.
Photos: Highlights of Inauguration Day 2021 Share Updated: 8:00 AM CST Jan 21, 2021 Courtenay Tucker
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Former President Trump and former First Lady Melania Trump depart from the White House on Marine One
Former President Donald Trump and former First Lady Melania Trump departed the White House on Marine One. The couple took in an aerial view of Washington D.C., before flying to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland to address supporters. Trump s decision to leave several hours ahead of the inauguration ceremony makes him the first president in more than 150 years to refuse to attend the inauguration.
PHOTO: Eric Thayer
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Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman speaks at the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
We ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it,
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.
And this effort very nearly succeeded.
But while democracy can be periodically delayed,
It can never be permanently defeated.
President Biden s inauguration concluded with The Hill We Climb, National Youth Poet Laureate Amada Gorman s beautiful poem written for the ceremony, which includes the lines above, written after the storming of the Capitol. As recently as yesterday, I could barely allow myself the sort of hope and resolve these lines communicate; I was awash, like so many others, in a miasma of anger, confusion, anxiety and fear.
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Joe Biden greets Jesuit Fr. Leo O Donovan during Biden s inauguration as the 46th president of the United States at the U.S. Capitol in Washington Jan. 20, 2021. (CNS/Reuters pool/Patrick Semansky)
Wednesday, Jan. 20, was a very Catholic day. It began with the president-elect bringing the political leadership of the nation to Mass. Joe Biden walked into my old parish, the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, followed by the vice president-elect, the speaker of the House, and the majority and minority leaders of both chambers of Congress. After four years of a president incapable of not patting himself on the back in every public moment, it was a welcome change to see a president who is not afraid to go to Mass, where we begin by begging pardon and finish by receiving the gift of eucharistic grace.