从白宫出来“向总统致敬”，总统乔·拜登在他的政府的最大事件上发表声明:“在这个国家，我们可以说美国正在团结起来。”

“今年，七月四日是一个特殊的庆祝日。因为我们正从岁月的黑暗中走出来。一年的流行病和隔离。一年的痛苦、恐惧和令人心碎的损失。回想一下这个国家一年前的样子。回想一下一年前你在哪里。想想我们已经走了多远，”拜登在1000名军人家庭和重要工作人员的掌声中说。

彭博通过盖蒂图像

乔·拜登总统在白宫东厅的入籍仪式上发表讲话...

在他的讲话中，拜登试图将一年前的美国和今天的美国形成鲜明对比，赞扬美国人民卷起袖子接种疫苗，帮助控制了病毒——尽管是在全国范围内没有达到让70%的美国人接种疫苗的目标到7月4日至少注射一剂新冠肺炎疫苗。

虽然拜登用夸张的言辞来庆祝该国迄今取得的成功，但他强调战斗还没有结束，他提到了令医学专家担忧的病毒三角洲变异体，因为在疫苗接种率低的地区，病例激增。

“由于我们英勇的疫苗努力，我们已经在对抗这种病毒上占了上风。我们可以过自己的生活，我们的孩子可以回到学校，我们的经济正在飞速发展。别误会我。新冠肺炎没有被征服。我们都知道像德尔塔变种这样强大的变种已经出现，”拜登说。

“但是对抗这些变异的最好办法是接种疫苗。我的美国同胞们，这是你们能做的最爱国的事情。所以拜托，如果你没有接种疫苗。动手吧。现在就做。为了你自己，为了你爱的人，为了你的社区，为了你的国家。你知道，这就是我们如何领先于这些变种，保护我们来之不易的进步。”

“我们再也不想回到一年前的今天，”他摇着手指补充道。“所以今天，虽然病毒还没有被消灭，但我们知道:它不再控制我们的生活。它不再使我们的国家陷入瘫痪。我们有能力确保它永远不再发生。”

亚历克斯·布兰登/美联社

乔·拜登总统乘坐空军一号抵达位于纽卡斯尔的特拉华空军国民警卫队基地...

拜登从口袋里掏出一张卡片，读着美国新冠肺炎迄今为止的死亡总数:603，018人因病毒丧生，他语气阴沉，并向死者致敬。

“他们每个人对他们留下的人来说都意味着整个世界。经历过这一切的人都知道，要想痊愈，你必须记住。我们必须记住他们。我们会的。我们承诺永远记住他们。这就是我们要做的。”

虽然党派分歧也导致了疫苗接种观点的分歧，但拜登试图传达一个团结的信息，敦促全国团结起来，继续控制病毒，回到正轨。

“你知道，历史告诉我们，当我们站在一起，当我们团结在共同的事业中，当我们不把自己视为共和党人或民主党人，而是作为美国人，那么我们所能取得的成就就没有限制。没有。今天，我们看到了目标一致的结果。我们正在打造的统一目标——我们是我们的国家，”拜登说。

“因为我们一起战胜了病毒，”他继续说道。“我们一起为我们的经济注入活力。我们将一起把我们的人民从分裂和绝望中解救出来。但是我们必须一起去做。在过去的一年里，我们经历了一些最黑暗的日子。现在我真的相信，我保证，我们即将看到我们光明的未来。”

周日早些时候，美国副总统卡玛拉•哈里斯和第二位绅士道格·埃姆霍夫，以及众议员特德·柳和他的妻子贝蒂，拜访了洛杉矶的一些消防队员。

“让我们花一分钟时间来反思一下，在过去的一年半里，你们都做了什么，坚持不懈，没有停下来。你没有能力呆在家里。你在那里服务。所以这也是一个重要的日子来反思——反思好的一面，对吗?战斗，以及我们对它的承诺。所以谢谢大家，”她说。

罗宾·贝克/普尔/法新社通过盖蒂图像

副总统卡玛拉•哈里斯在布伦特伍德街区的LAFD第19消防站会见消防员...

该小组参观了位于加利福尼亚州布伦特伍德的洛杉矶消防局19号站，哈里斯和埃姆霍夫都指出这是他们的邻居站。

“这对我们来说是私人的，”埃姆霍夫说。“这是我们的邻里站，所以感谢你为我们的邻里、我们的邻居所做的一切。我知道我们已经疏散过几次了，你们已经准备好保护我们的家人了。我们真的很感激。”

'We've lived through some of our darkest days': Biden reflects on 4th of July, COVID

Emerging from the White House to "Hail to the Chief," PresidentJoe Bidenaddressed the largest event of his administration to declare: "All across this nation we can say America is coming back together."

"This year, the Fourth of July is a day of special celebration. For we are emerging from the darkness of years. A year pandemic and isolation. A year of pain, fear and heartbreaking loss. Just think back to where this nation was a year ago. Think back to where you were a year ago. And think about how far we've come," Biden said to applause from the crowd of 1,000 military families and essential workers.

Throughout his remarks, Biden sought to draw a sharp contrast between where the country was a year ago, and today, praising the American people for helping to get the virus under control by rolling up their sleeves to get their vaccination shots -- though the nationmissed his goal of having 70% of Americans vaccinatedwith at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by July 4.

While Biden used soaring rhetoric to celebrate the country's success so far, he stressed the fight is not over, referencing the delta variants of the virus that have concerned medical experts, as cases spike in areas with low vaccination rates.

"Thanks to our heroic vaccine effort, we've gained the upper hand against this virus. We can live our lives, our kids can go back to school, our economy is roaring back. Don't get me wrong. Covid-19 has not been vanquished. We all know powerful variants have emerged like the Delta variant," Biden said.

"But the best defense against these variants is to get vaccinated. My fellow Americans, it's the most patriotic thing you can do. So please, if you haven't gotten vaccinated. Do it. Do it now. For yourself, for your loved ones, for your community, and for your country. You know, that is how we'll stay ahead of these variants and protect the hard-won progress we've made."

"We never again want to be where we were a year ago today," he added, with a wagging finger. "So today, while the virus hasn't been vanquished, we know this: It no longer controls our lives. It no longer paralyzes our nation. And it is within our power to make sure it never does again."

Pulling a card from his pocket, Biden stuck a somber tone as he read the total number of U.S. COVID-19 deaths to date: 603,018 people who lost their lives to the virus, and paid tribute.

"Each of them meant the world to someone they left behind. And those of you who have been through all this, know that to heal, you have to remember. We have to remember them. And we will. We commit to always remember them. That's what we'll do."

While partisan divisions have also caused a split in the vaccination views, Biden sought to pitch a message of unity, urging the country to come together to continue to get a handle on the virus and get back on track.

"You know, history tells us, when we stand together, when we unite in common cause, when we see ourselves not as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans, then there is simply no limit to what we can achieve. None. Today we see the results of the unity of purpose. The unity of purpose we are forging -- we're our nation," Biden said.

"For together we're beating the virus," he continued. "Together we're breathing life into our economy. Together we will rescue our people from division and despair. But together we must do it. Over the past year, we've lived through some of our darkest days. Now I truly believe, I give my word, we are about to see our bright future."

Earlier Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff paid a visit to some firefighters in Los Angeles, along with Congressman Ted Lieu and his wife, Betty.

"Let's take a minute to also reflect on what you all did during that last year and a half to keep pushing and you didn't stop. You didn't have the ability to stay at home. You were there to serve. So it's an important day to also reflect on -- on the good, right? And the fight, and our commitment to it. So thank you all," she said.

The group visited Los Angeles Fire Department Station 19 in Brentwood, California, and both Harris and Emhoff noted that it is their neighborhood station.

"It's personal to us," Emhoff said. "This is our neighborhood station, so thank you for everything you do for our neighborhood, our neighbors. I know we've been evacuated a couple of times, and you guys were ready to protect our family. And we really appreciate it."