Joe Biden Blames Donald Trump Over Jan. 6 - Rolling Stone

During his speech on Capitol Hill to commemorate the anniversary of the attempted insurrection, US President Joe Biden attacked Donald Trump.

“A year ago today, in this hallowed place, democracy was attacked,” Joe Biden launched from the Hall of Statues at the Capitol, in a speech marking the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. . The president did not mince his words regarding the person he holds responsible for the riot.

“For the first time in our history, a president had not just lost an election: he tried to prevent a peaceful transition of power as a violent mob descended on Capitol Hill,” Biden said. But they failed. On this day of remembrance, we must ensure that such an attack will never happen again. We have seen with our own eyes rioters threatening these places, threatening the life of the Speaker of the House, literally erecting gallows to hang the Vice President of the United States of America. What haven't we seen? We haven't seen a former president who just rallied the crowd on the attack, sitting in a private dining room near the Oval Office in the White House, watching it all on TV and doing nothing for hours. as police were assaulted, lives were endangered, the nation's capitol was under siege. It was not a tour group. It was an armed insurrection. »

Former White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham told CNN that Trump watched "with joy" as the riot unfolded, exclaiming, "Look at all these people who are fighting for me." .

Biden continued to attack Trump and his theory that the 2020 presidential election was rigged. “My fellow Americans, in life there is truth and, unfortunately, there are lies. Lies designed and disseminated for profit and power. We need to be absolutely clear about what is true and what is false, and here is the truth: The former President of the United States of America created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election. did because he values ​​power over principle, because he considers his own interests to be more important than those of his country. Because his bruised ego means more to him than our democracy or our Constitution. He cannot accept having lost, even though 93 US senators, his own vice president, governors and state officials in every state have said so. He lost. That's what 81 million of you did by voting for a new path. He did what no president in American history, in all the history of this country, has ever done. He refused to accept the election results and the will of the people. »

For Joe Biden, Trump's lies have brought the nation to a turning point: "Now we have to decide what kind of nation we are going to be. Are we going to be a nation that accepts political violence as the norm? Are we going to be a nation that allows partisan election officials to overrule the legally expressed will of the people? Are we going to be a nation that lives not in the light of truth but in the shadow of lies? We cannot afford to be that kind of nation. The way forward is to recognize the truth and live by it. »

Biden then pointed the finger at the former president's supporters "who are trying to rewrite history": "They want you to think of election day as the insurrection, and the riot that took place here on January 6 as the true expression of the will of the people. Can you imagine a more twisted way of looking at this country, looking at America? I can not. »

Referencing Trump again, Joe Biden said he was “not just a former president,” but a “defeated former president,” and defended the 2020 election results, pointing out that Trump had failed. in each of its electoral procedures. He also pointed to the hypocrisy of Trump and his supporters who "could never explain why they accepted the other results of the elections that took place on November 3: the gubernatorial, United States Senate , of the House of Representatives, elections in which they closed the gap in the House. They did not dispute any of these results.

“The former president, who lies about this election, and the mob that attacked this Capitol could not be further from core American values,” the president concluded. This is a battle for America's soul, a battle we will win. Believe me, I know how difficult democracy is. I am acutely aware of the threats facing America, but I also know that our darkest days can lead to light and hope. I will stand in this breach, I will defend this nation and I will not allow anyone to put a knife to the throat of democracy. »

During Joe Biden's speech, former President Donald Trump released a statement accusing Biden of "destroying our nation with senseless policies of open borders, corrupt elections, disastrous energy policies, unconstitutional mandates and government shutdowns. devastating schools. The president, Trump said, “used my name today to try to further divide America. However, while Biden did refer to the former president on several occasions, he never said his name.

Peter Wade

Translated by the editor