Meet Vinay Reddy, the first Indian American speechwriter in the history of the United States and it is his words that Joe Biden will read out after being sworn in as the 46th President of the United States on January 20th. The inaugural speech sets the tone for the incoming administration and it’s vision for the next four years in office as the President reaches out to people with promises to keep ‘America United’, the theme of the Presidential inauguration this year.
While some Presidents use a persuading tone, others choose to speak directly to the nation. The Capitol Hill riots by pro-Donald Trump supporters on January 6th where five people died, is likely to be an undertone in the speech.
Reddy is the director of The Office of Speechwriting, a presidential department in the White House, responsible for preparing the content of the President’s speech. This is not the Indian-American’s first time as Biden’s speechwriter, but infact he has been a speechwriter for the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris campaign ahead of the November 3rd 2020 election results. Reddy has also previously served as chief speechwriter from 2013 to 2017 for Biden as Vice President in Barack Obama’s second term.
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Reddy’s family hails from Pothireddypeta village in Telangana in India, though he was raised in Dayton city of Ohio. He has studied at the Ohio State University College of Law and holds a bachelor’s degree from Miami University and went on to major in political science and philosophy.
Mike Donilon who is a long-time adviser of Biden and Jon Meacham, the presidential historian and biographer are in charge of reviewing the content of Biden’s inaugural speech. The speech which will last 20-30 minutes is expected be forward looking and centered around the theme of unity.
The Biden administration is set to roll back several of former President Trump’s decisions on various subjects. These include decisions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, immigration policies and rejoining the Paris climate agreement to name a few.