Biden Inauguration Chair Says Ceremony Will Be Mostly Virtual In Order To Lead By Example

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) speaks during a hearing on September 23, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)
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President-elect Joe Biden’s leading inaugural committee chair Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), who also serves as House majority whip, said on Tuesday morning that Biden’s inauguration on January 20 will be a largely virtual event amid the pandemic.

“Look, we know what we’re in, and Joe Biden has made it very clear that he is going to lead by precept and example,” Clyburn told MSNBC. “And so we will be setting an example with this inauguration.”

Biden will take the oath “in the traditional way,” but “all of the inaugural festivities are going to be 80% what you call virtual,” according to the committee chair.

Clyburn said the committee was planning on using the 2020 Democratic National Convention’s (DNC) virtual format as a template for the inauguration.

“I think the American people, especially those who looked in on our convention, saw what kind of connections could be made virtually,” he said. “I thought the convention went extremely well, and that’s what we’re going to do here: run this pretty much like we did our national convention.”

Watch Clyburn below:

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