Biden Decries Trump’s ‘singular Responsibility’ for The Capitol Riot

Biden Decries Trump’s ‘singular Responsibility’ for The Capitol Riot

President Joe Biden joined Democrats in a vehement rejection of Donald Trump’s attempt to sabotage the 2020 election on Thursday, urging Americans to maintain their institutions and reject the political violence that consumed Congress one year ago.

During the Capitol brawl, Biden stood in a corridor overtaken by pro-Trump rioters and stated that the former President had “sole responsibility” for the attempted coup that drove Vice President Mike Pence and legislators running for safety — and wounded more than 140 police officers.

Without identifying Trump, Biden said of him, “His damaged ego means more to him than our democracy, our Constitution.” He went on to argue that Donald Trump is “not just a former president,” but “a former president who was beaten in a free and fair election by more than seven million of your votes.”

Biden’s words set the tone for a gloomy day in the House, with legislators lining up in a House office building to recount their own experiences escaping the pro-Trump crowd. Among the visitors was the family of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died of a stroke the day after the assault.

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The gathering served as a reminder of the danger to a peaceful transition of power, as well as a homage to the law enforcement personnel who averted it — and, more importantly, a reminder of Republicans’ efforts to disassociate themselves from it. Only Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo. ), vice head of the select committee investigating the assault, and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, strolled the corridors throughout the day.

In his comments, Biden defended the 2020 election’s integrity and openly disputed Trump and his supporters’ long-running campaign to cast doubt on the vote. The President again pushed back against Republican calls for Democrats to put the insurgency behind them and concentrate on the future.

Biden said, “This isn’t about being trapped in the past.” “It’s about making sure the history doesn’t get lost.” This is something that great nations do. “The truth has not been hidden.”

Biden’s change in tone in criticizing Trump and his Republican friends is remarkable. He’s mainly avoided explicitly engaging an adversary he may face again in 2024 since becoming an office. On Thursday, though, Biden stuck to one of his post-election conventions: he didn’t mention Trump by name while condemning the previous President.

After the address, Biden told reporters, “I didn’t want it to devolve into a modern political war between me and the [previous] president.”

Trump retaliated with a rambling speech in which he chastised Biden for “using my name today to attempt to further divide America” and criticized Trump’s policies on inflation, Afghanistan, and immigration.

One of the former President’s most ardent opponents, on the other hand, chose a very different approach. The Cheneys had tough remarks for their party after attending a moment of silence in the House.

When asked how Republican leaders were handling the Capitol assault, the former vice president said, “It’s not a leadership that reflects any of the guys I knew when I was here for ten years.”

The two, who had been the only Republicans on the floor during Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s comments, were afterward embraced by virtually every Democrat in the chamber with handshakes. Even the older Cheney was greeted warmly by Democrats, a picture that few top Democrats could have expected 15 years ago when their party won the House majority after years of hammering him as the face of then-President George W. Bush’s foreign policy.

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Apart from Cheney, the only Republicans in attendance in the Capitol on Thursday were Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) held a news conference to promote unproven conspiracy theories about the attack’s cause.

Even though the House was not in session, roughly 30 Democrats journeyed to Washington to mark the one-year anniversary of the attack. The majority were members of Congress who were imprisoned in the House gallery when rioters broke into the building on Jan. 6, 2021. A small gathering of legislators, workers, and others heard politicians’ poignant speeches on Thursday afternoon, including the parents of Sicknick, the Capitol Police officer who died a day after the assault.

Pelosi scheduled a series of activities on Thursday to concentrate on people who were victims of the Capitol assault rather than those who perpetrated the atrocity. Democrats also conducted an evening prayer vigil on the Capitol steps, where members gathered in near-freezing conditions for a final reflection of the day, in addition to the minute of silence and member testimonies.

As she pondered on what Jan. 6 means for the state of democracy, Pelosi said Thursday that the Capitol event served as a reminder to always be vigilant — and that democracy is still a work in progress.

“[Democracy] isn’t dying,” Pelosi claimed in a Thursday night Capitol interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “However, it requires care.”

Pelosi also conducted a private gathering earlier in the day, thanking building employees for their efforts in safeguarding the Capitol and its constituents. Following that, personnel, including Capitol Police officers, were treated to a meal prepared by renowned chef and philanthropist José Andrés, which was generously given by him. Several Democrats who had been in the chamber during the incident served the food.

Though a vote was not planned and many members were in Atlanta for the burial of Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson, Senate Democrats spent part of Thursday mourning the Jan. 6 assault with a series of remarks and a minute of quiet.

“I was within 30 feet of these vile, racist, bigoted insurrectionists,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in his floor address, recalling the moment a police officer grabbed his collar and told him he was in danger.

“One of them allegedly remarked, ‘There’s the big Jew, let’s get him,'” Schumer added afterward.

While the emotional fallout in the Capitol remained a major focus, Biden and many Democrats also attempted to highlight the obvious difference between their party and the Republican Party, which is still dominated by Trump supporters. GOP leaders have pushed their members to spend the day focusing on the Capitol’s security deficiencies rather than engaging in any direct affirmation of the riot’s horrific impact.

A smaller number of Republicans in the House, notably those of the ten who voted with Democrats to impeach Trump for instigating the riot last year, continued to criticize the former President.

“On that day, any rational person might have anticipated the possibility for violence.” Our President, on the other hand, did nothing to safeguard our nation or put an end to the carnage. Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC), one of the ten Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, stated in a statement that the President’s actions on Jan. 6 were “nothing short of disgusting.”

Mitch McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader who stated the mob was “provoked by” Trump in the wake of the disturbance, issued a statement on Thursday that did not mention Trump by name.McConnell termed the Capitol assault a “disgraceful spectacle” that was “antithetical to the rule of law,” but he also chastised Democrats for seizing the opportunity to advocate for election reform.

In her speech on Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris referred to this theme, urging the Senate to pursue voting rights legislation.

“A choice will be made here, in this very building, on whether we maintain the freedom to vote and assure a free and fair election,” Harris added. “We can’t afford to be on the sidelines.”

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