Joe Biden delivered a "measured and inclusive speech" when he was sworn in as the 46th president of the US in the early hours of Thursday morning.
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But, according to a University of Wollongong political expert, only time will tell whether the new US President can unite the "polarised" nation.
UOW's Associate Professor Markus Wagner said President Biden wouldn't be at fault if he couldn't unite a country which just this month saw Donald Trump supporters attack the US Capitol building in Washington.
"If Biden is not capable of reaching out, then I don't think it is necessarily his fault," Prof Wagner said.
"He is by default a bipartisan politician. Now the country is polarised and some people in the country are so polarised that they may not be reachable.
"My impression is he will try to reach out as much as possible. His speech showed that he is trying to bring the country together."
One of the first things President Biden said during his speech was "I will be a president for all Americans".
He also said "This is America's day. This is democracy's day. A day of history and hope, of renewal and resolve....Today we celebrate that, not of a candidate, but of a cause, the cause of democracy."
President Biden later signed a slew of executive orders after taking over at the Oval Office. Donald Trump had already left by this stage. He had done away with the usual custom of the outgoing president inviting the incoming president on the morning of the inauguration to come to the White House.
Mr Trump did however write a letter to the new president. Mr Biden said it was a "very generous letter".
The day also saw history made when Kamala Harris was officially installed as the US's first female, and woman of colour vice-president.
"Kamala is the first but likely not the last on all these counts. I think it is a long overdue sign of the times that we have a female vice-president," Prof Wagner said.
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