An Inauguration Day of ‘History and Hope’ Joe Biden is the 46th president; Kamala Harris is the 49th Vice President. WASHINGTON D.C.—On a crisp, cold day with occasional snow flurries and bursts of sunshine, Joe Biden was inaugurated the nation’s 46th president, calling the moment one of “history and hope.” “This is America’s day,” Biden, 78, said at the beginning of his 21 minute inaugural address. “This is democracy’s day.” The power shift unfolded peacefully as Biden and 49th Vice President Kamala Harris—the first woman, Black and Southeast Asian American to hold the nation’s second highest office—were sworn in on the west front of the U.S. Capitol building around noon on Wednesday, January 20.