Biden laid out Trump’s role in the Capitol attack, as a mob of the Republicans’ supporters overran the building while lawmakers were counting electoral college votes that certified Democrat Biden’s win.
More than 100 police officers were bloodied, beaten and attacked by the rioters who overwhelmed authorities to break into the building.
“What’s Trump done? He’s called these insurrectionists ‘patriots’ and he promised to pardon them if he returns to office,” Biden said. He excoriated Trump for “glorifying” rather than condemning political violence
At least nine people who were at the Capitol that day died during or after the rioting, including several police officers who took their own lives, a woman who was shot and killed by police as she tried to break into the House chamber, and three other Trump supporters who authorities said suffered medical emergencies.
“By trying to rewrite the facts of January 6, Trump is trying to steal history the same way he tried to steal the election,” Biden said.
Trump, who faces 91 criminal charges stemming from his efforts to overturn his loss to Biden and three other felony cases, argues that Biden and top Democrats are themselves seeking to undermine democracy by using the legal system to thwart the campaign of his chief rival.
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“Donald Trump’s campaign is about him,” Biden said, adding it was Trump’s aim to get retribution on his political enemies.
“Not America. Not you. Donald Trump’s campaign is obsessed with the past, not the future.”
He said: “There’s no confusion about who Trump is or what he intends to do.”
Before his remarks, Biden, joined by his wife Jill, took part in a wreath-laying ceremony at Valley Forge National Arch, which honours the troops who camped there from December 1777 to June 1778. He also toured the home that served as George Washington’s headquarters.
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Donald Trump, 18 others indicted in Georgia for alleged bid to overturn state election results
Donald Trump, 18 others indicted in Georgia for alleged bid to overturn state election results
Biden invoked Washington’s decision to resign his commission as the leader of the Continental Army after American independence was won – and the painting commemorating that moment that hangs in the Capitol Rotunda – to cast Trump as unworthy of Washington’s legacy.
“He could have held on to that power as long as he wanted,” Biden said of Washington. “But that wasn’t the America he and the American troops of Valley Forge had fought for.
“In America, our leaders don’t hold on to power relentlessly. Our leaders return power to the people – willingly.”
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Although the chaos of January 6 came down on members of both political parties, it is being remembered in a largely polarised fashion now, like other aspects of political life in a divided country.
In the days after the attack, 52 per cent of US adults said Trump bore a lot of responsibility for January 6, according to the Pew Research Centre.
By early 2022, that had declined to 43 per cent. The number of Americans who said Trump bore no responsibility increased from 24 per cent in 2021 to 32 per cent in 2022.
A Washington Post-University of Maryland poll released this week found that about 7 in 10 Republicans say too much is being made of the attack.
Just 18 per cent of Republican supporters say that protesters who entered the Capitol were “mostly violent” which is down from 26 per cent in 2021, while 77 per cent of Democrats and 54 per cent of independents say the protesters were mostly violent, essentially unchanged from 2021.
Biden said that “politics, fear, money” have led many Republicans to abandon their criticism of Trump after the January 6 attack.
“These MAGA voices who know the truth about Trump and January 6th have abandoned the truth and abandoned democracy,” Biden said, referencing Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan.
“They’ve made their choice. Now the rest of us – Democrats, Independents, mainstream Republicans – we have to make our choice. I know mine. And I believe I know America’s.”
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On the first anniversary of the January 6 attack, Biden had stood in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall, a historic spot where the House of Representatives used to meet before the Civil War. On January 6, rioters filled the area, some looking for lawmakers who had run for cover.
“They weren’t looking to uphold the will of the people,” Biden said of the rioters. “They were looking to deny the will of the people.”
On the second anniversary, Biden presented the nation’s second highest civilian award to 12 people who were involved in defending the Capitol during the attack.
Friday’s appearance included supporters and young people motivated by the attack to get involved in politics, campaign advisers said.