Biden: Remember Jan.6 Capitol Attack, Watch Peaceful Transfer This Year
Photo: Reuters/Ken Cedeno
WASHINGTON, DC (Reuters) – President Joe Biden, in an op-ed published on December 5 in The Washington Post, urged Americans to remember the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, emphasizing a collective obligation to preserve the truth of that day. His article comes nearly four years after a mob of Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol in a failed attempt to block the certification of Biden’s 2020 election victory.
“We should be proud that our democracy withstood this assault,” Biden wrote. “And we should be glad we will not see such a shameful attack again this year.” He reaffirmed that the upcoming certification of Trump’s election as president would proceed peacefully, marking a return to the tradition of a peaceful transfer of power.
Despite Trump’s continued denial of his 2020 election loss and promises to pardon individuals convicted for their roles in the Capitol siege, Biden stressed the importance of resisting efforts to rewrite history. “We cannot allow the truth to be lost,” he wrote.
Biden called for January 6 to be remembered annually as a day when democracy was tested and prevailed. “Democracy — even in America — is never guaranteed,” he warned, invoking the adage that a nation forgetting its past is doomed to repeat it.
Trump, set to begin a second non-consecutive term, has been federally indicted for efforts to overturn the 2020 election but does not acknowledge his loss as legitimate. He has promised widespread pardons for those convicted of crimes related to the Capitol attack, including assaults on law enforcement officers.
Biden, who made defending democracy a central theme of his presidency and re-election campaign, underscored the importance of passing down the truth of January 6 to future generations. “In time, there will be Americans who didn’t witness the riot firsthand but will learn about it from history books and testimony. We cannot allow the truth to be lost,” he concluded.
