In his “State of the Union” address delivered before Congress and Americans nationwide late Thursday, President Joe Biden directly addressed the Republicans seeking to downplay the violence at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and its impacts. The president condemned these GOP leaders as out of step with the fight to secure democracy in the United States.
“January 6th and the lies about the 2020 election, and the plots to steal the election, posed the gravest threat to our democracy since the Civil War. But they failed,” Biden told the Congressional crowd. “America stood strong and democracy prevailed. But we must be honest the threat remains and democracy must be defended. My predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth of January 6th. I will not do that. This is a moment to speak the truth and bury the lies. And here’s the simplest truth. You can’t love your country only when you win. As I’ve done ever since being elected to office, I ask you all, without regard to party, to join together and defend our democracy!”
Biden also specifically denounced the idea of political violence, setting a contrast between himself and even former President Donald Trump, who has incessantly defended participants in the Capitol attack of early 2021. Trump characterizes detainees with criminal allegations originating in the day as “hostages,” alleging that political plots related to supposed conspiracies against his campaign lie behind court proceedings implicating them. Trump has proposed presidential pardons for Capitol riot participants if he regains the White House in 2025.
A group of House Republicans recently proposed a nonbinding resolution that if passed would denounce the idea that Trump himself engaged in insurrection at all, which some argue in connection with his lies’ role in inspiring the violent crowds at the Capitol in early 2021. The proposal, which would contrast with Colorado courts’ determinations that Trump did engage in insurrection, has garnered 70 cosponsors in the House!
