Joe Biden called on Americans not to forget the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying his predecessor and successor, President Donald Trump, incited his supporters to carry out the attack. He repeated his declaration that it was a threat to his principles.
On the eve of the fourth anniversary of what was widely seen as a violent insurrection, the outgoing president told reporters he forgot about attempts by Trump’s supporters to overturn Biden’s loss in the 2020 election. He warned of the dangers of thinking about it, or dismissing it as a trivial matter now. Trump was about to return to the White House.
“I don’t think it should be rewritten,” Biden said. “I don’t think we should forget.”
Mr. Biden said he was determined to lead the peaceful transfer of power, which Mr. Trump (who falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen) rejected when he took office.
“As you may be aware, I stepped in to make sure there was a smooth transition of power,” Biden said. “We have to get back to basic, normal transfers of power. I don’t think we should pretend that (January 6) never happened.”
Mr. Biden emphasized that he would recall Mr. Trump, who defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the November election, to the White House, telling him “welcome home” in front of television cameras. It was a courtesy for President Trump not to touch on Biden as his successor after the 2020 presidential election.
But Biden has made clear he believes his previous warning that Trump is a “threat to democracy” still stands.
“I think his actions were a real threat to democracy, and I’m hopeful that we can rise above that,” he said.
Biden’s remarks included a heated exchange with journalists in which he appeared to take issue with a reference to his 82-year-old age.
Ironically, in November, at age 78, Trump became the oldest president ever elected.
Footage from the White House event signing the Social Security Fairness Act shows Biden saying, “I’m the oldest president, so I know more world leaders than anyone I’ve ever met in my life.” The act was captured.
Biden’s preoccupation with events from four years ago came to light as a joint session of the House and Senate was scheduled to certify Trump’s victory at the Capitol. Democrats have indicated they will refrain from posing sharp, even symbolic challenges to President Trump’s electors aimed at underscoring the importance of a peaceful transfer of power. are.
It will be up to Ms. Harris to certify the results of the election she lost.
The president reinforced his message in an opinion piece published in the Washington Post on Monday, saying that American democracy “should be proud” of having withstood the assaults of 2021 and that “such shameful… We should be glad that such attacks will not be seen again this year.” year”.
But he warned against historical amnesia, adding: We must remember the wisdom of the adage that a nation that forgets its past is doomed to repeat it. We cannot accept a repeat of what happened four years ago. ”
He accused Republicans of trying to downplay the significance of the events of January 6 or misrepresent their nature.
“There is a continuing effort to rewrite and even erase the history of that day,” Biden said. “I can tell you that we didn’t see what all of us saw with our own eyes.”
He noted that the assailants stormed the Capitol, smashing windows and kicking in doors, and punching law enforcement officers knocking them out. A bipartisan Congressional report linked the attack to several deaths, including the suicide of a police officer.
President Trump has repeatedly promised to pardon convicted participants as one of his first acts upon returning to office. More than 1,000 people have been convicted of crimes related to the attack.
Mr. Biden wrote that he would attend Mr. Trump’s inauguration, a contrast to Mr. Trump’s deliberate disrespect for Mr. Biden.
The Associated Press reports that a 2022 law in Congress that would have required plaques to be displayed at the Capitol memorializing the officers who responded to the attack has not been enacted, and the incident is being erased from historical memory. There is growing concern among Democrats that this could happen.
“It’s been erased,” Democratic Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont told The Associated Press. “The winners write history, and Trump won. And his interpretation is that it was a peaceful rally, which is obviously completely false.”
