The U.S. Presidency — Past and Future

Every four years, a U.S. president takes the oath of office in a ceremony that both affirms democratic traditions and calls on citizens to build on the past.

At the inauguration — always on January 20, before the Capitol building in Washington, DC — the president swears to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.”

This year, Joe Biden takes office at a critical, unprecedented moment in American history as the nation grapples with the deadly COVID-19 pandemic and dire economic circumstances.

The newly elected leader will preside over a polarized nation and succeed a one-term president who, for the first time in U.S. history, has refused to accept the results of the November election.

Join guest experts Gene Gibbons, a former White House correspondent who covered six U.S. presidents; Mark Weinberg, a former spokesman for President Ronald Reagan; and students from News Decoder’s partner schools at this exclusive webinar, just days ahead of Inauguration Day 2021.