President-elect Joe Biden got emotional on Tuesday, as he departed his home state of Delaware before making the trip across the Chesapeake Bay to Washington, D.C. ahead of his inauguration.
Quoting the Irish poet James Joyce, Biden said through tears that "when I die, Delaware will be written on my heart."
Biden has called Delaware home since the 1950s, when his family moved to the state from Scranton, Pennsylvania. Through seven terms as a senator — and even throughout his time as vice president — Biden lived primarily in his home state, choosing instead to make a long commute via Amtrak train.
Biden is expected to arrive in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday afternoon, hours before he will be sworn-in as the 46th President of the United States.
Upon his arrival in Washington, Biden will be greeted with a scene no other president-elect has faced ahead of their inauguration.
The area surrounding Capitol Hill and the White House is currently heavily fortified and full of federal law enforcement agents due to threats of violence prompted by the Jan. 6 pro-Trump riots at the U.S. Capitol.
On top of those threats of violence, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cripple America as the U.S. nears a death toll of 400,000. Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris will attend a memorial for victims of the virus at the Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday evening.
Biden originally planned to arrive in D.C. via train, but the plan was scrapped following the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. During his time as a senator and as vice president, Biden continually commuted to his home state every day via train, earning him the nickname "Amtrak Joe."
Prior to his departure from Delaware on Tuesday, Biden and his wife, future first lady Jill Biden, will deliver remarks from Wilmington — the city that was home to Biden's transition headquarters. Biden will then fly to Joint Base Andrews before making his arrival in Washington.