Today marks one year since the deadly Capitol insurrection
AMN / WASHINGTON —
U S A President Joe Biden described the men and women who stormed the US Capitol one year ago today as dangerous threats to American democracy.
“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,” Biden said. Biden added that those people “didn’t come here out of patriotism or principle.”
“They came here in rage. Not in service of America, but rather in service of one man,” Biden said, alluding to former President Donald Trump. “Those who incited the mob, the real plotters who were desperate to deny the certification of this election, defy the will of the voters.”
Earlier in his speech, Biden said Americans can’t just love their country only when it’s convenient.
“You can’t love your country only when you win. You can’t obey the law only when it is convenient. You can’t be patriotic when you embrace and enable lies,” he said.
In his remarks on the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection, President Biden said the American people and lawmakers must decide what kind of nation they will be.
“At this moment, we must decide what kind of nation are we going to be. Are we going to be a nation that accepts political violence as a norm? Are we going to be a nation where we allow partisan election officials to overturn the legally expressed will of the people? Are we going to be a nation that lives not by the light of the truth, but in the shadow of lies? We cannot allow ourselves to be that kind of nation. The way forward is to recognize the truth, to live by it,” he said on Thursday.
Criticizing the Republicans for supporting former President Trump in pedaling baseless claims about election fraud, he said:
“Some courageous men and women on the Republican Party are standing against it, trying to uphold the principle of that party. Too many others are transforming that party into something else. They seem no longer to want to be the party, the party of Lincoln, Eisenhower, Reagan, the Bushes. Whatever my other disagreements are with Republicans to support the rule of law and not the rule of a single man, I will always seek to work together with them. To find shared solutions where possible, because we have a shared belief in democracy, then anything is possible. Anything.”
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Biden made an impassioned appeal to Americans and defended the values of democracy on the first anniversary of the stunning insurrection attempt that Biden said tested the nation’s identity.
“Are we going to be a nation that accepts political violence as a norm?” Biden asked. “Are we going to be a nation where we allow partisan election officials to overturn the legally expressed will of the people?”
During the violent Capitol riot of Jan 6, 2021, a mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump overpowered police, breached the Capitol and attempted to stop lawmakers from formalizing Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. Biden urged Americans to choose how they define themselves.
“Are we going to be a nation that lives not by the light of the truth but in the shadow of lies? We cannot allow ourselves to be that kind of nation. The way forward is to recognize the truth and to live by it,” he said.
And, he said, the events of that day reverberate well beyond the shores of the United States.
“From China, to Russia and beyond, they’re betting that democracy’s days are numbered,” he said. “They actually told me, democracy’s too slow, too bogged down by division, to succeed in today’s rapidly changing, complicated world. And they’re betting, they’re betting America will become more like them and less like us. They’re betting that America is a place for the autocrat, the dictator, the strongman. I do not believe that. That is not who we are. That is not who we have ever been. And that is not who we should ever, ever be.”
The U.S. Capitol is seen at sunset, Jan. 5, 2022, in Washington. Thursday marks the first anniversary of the Capitol insurrection, a violent attack that has fundamentally changed Congress and prompted widespread concerns about the future of American democracy.
President Biden never mentioned former President Donald Trump by name, although he repeatedly said Trump’s failed quest to overturn his election loss is damaging American democracy. “You can’t love your country only when you win,” he said.
Shortly after Biden spoke, Trump released a statement accusing Biden of trying to divide the country with his remarks.
“Biden, who is destroying our Nation with insane policies of open borders, corrupt elections, disastrous energy policies, unconstitutional mandates, and devastating school closures, used my name today to try to further divide America,” Trump wrote. “This political theater is all just a distraction for the fact Biden has completely and totally failed.”
Vice President Harris, speaking ahead of Biden, used her platform to push for voting rights legislation. In the past year, Trump has leaned on sympathetic lawmakers to pass legislation that some critics say restricts voting rights.