Holding his predecessor Donald Trump responsible for rioting on Capitol Hill a year ago, President Joe Biden berated the instigators of the insurrection, saying they held a dragger a the throat of American democracy.
He disputed Trump’s contention that the November 2020 election was taken away from him, and termed the election as the most scrutinized, representing the will of the people.
“Those who stormed this Capitol and those who instigated and incited and those who called on them to do so held a dagger at the throat of America — at American democracy,” the president said, speaking on the anniversary of the January 6 attacks.
Trump’s supporters stormed Capitol Hill on January 6 as Congress was in session to certify Biden’s victory in the November 3, 2020 election. The mayhem on the symbol of American democracy shocked the nation and resulted in the deaths of police officers who tried to stop the rioters. The scuffles also injured many police officers.
Since then, the U.S. has prosecuted hundreds of rioters, who have admitted to violating the law on that day, which drew worldwide attention and, according to many observers, hurt America’s image as the beacon of democracy.
The former president and his supporters are trying to rewrite history, Biden said in his remarks on Thursday, as he criticized Trump for coming up with a “web of lies” about the November 2020 presidential election.
“They want you to see Election Day as the day of insurrection and the riot that took place here on January 6th as the true expression of the will of the people.
“Can you think of a more twisted way to look at this country — to look at America? I cannot.”
On the contrary, Biden said, the truth is that the election of 2020 was the “greatest demonstration of democracy in the history of this country.”
Over 150 million Americans went to the polls and voted that day in a pandemic — some at grea- — great risk to their lives, Biden noted, emphasizing that the Americans, who went to the polls, should be applauded, not attacked.
“He’s not just a former president. He’s a defeated former president — defeated by a margin of over 7 million of your votes in a full and free and fair election,” Biden remarked.
While condemning the rioters, the president underscored that the rioters were doing unprecedented damage to American democracy.
“Close your eyes. Go back to that day. What do you see? Rioters rampaging, waving for the first time inside this Capitol a Confederate flag that symbolized the cause to destroy America, to rip us apart.
“Even during the Civil War, that never, ever happened. But it happened here in 2021.”
Biden also recalled that the scenes of the mob breaking windows, kicking in doors, breaching the Capitol.
“American flags on poles being used as weapons, as spears. Fire extinguishers being thrown at the heads of police officers.
A crowd that professes their love for law enforcement assaulted those police officers, dragged them, sprayed them, stomped on them.
Over 140 police officers were injured.”
The president said the rioters menaced these halls, threatening the life of the Speaker of the House, literally erecting gallows to hang the Vice President of the United States of America.
He called out the former president for not stopping the insurrection.
“We didn’t see a former president, who had just rallied the mob to attack — sitting in the private dining room off the Oval Office in the White House, watching it all on television and doing nothing for hours as police were assaulted, lives at risk, and the nation’s capital under siege.
This wasn’t a group of tourists. This was an armed insurrection.
They weren’t looking to uphold the will of the people. They were looking to deny the will of the people.
They were looking to uphold — they weren’t looking to uphold a free and fair election. They were looking to overturn one.”
He said it is up to all Americans now to “we the People” — to stand for the rule of law, to preserve the flame of democracy, to keep the promise of America alive.
“That promise is at risk, targeted by the forces that value brute strength over the sanctity of democracy, fear over hope, personal gain over the public good.”
Make no mistake about it: We’re living at an inflection point in history.” Biden also criticized the Republican leaders who have not stood up against the insurrection and said he still believes in working with the Republicans who uphold the rule of law in a bipartisan manner to find shared solutions to problems where possible.
Meanwhile, former president Trump has continued to adhere to his stance on 2020 elections and is seen by political analysts, as trying to secure support for contesting the next presidential election.
Views and News staff in D.C. contributed to the report.
