President Biden warned Americans not to forget the violence that took place at the Capitol four years ago, saying President-elect Donald J. Trump and his supporters will “rewrite and even erase the history of that day.” They accused him of doing so.
Since Election Day, Mr. Biden has focused on ensuring a smooth and orderly transition of power, something Mr. Trump, who leaves office at the end of his first term, has refused to do. But on the eve of the anniversary of the Jan. 6 attacks, Biden addressed the issue directly.
“To tell you that we didn't see what we all saw with our own eyes,” he wrote in the Washington Post. “To dismiss concerns about it as some kind of partisan obsession. To explain it away as protests that have gotten out of hand.”
“This is not what happened,” he wrote.
At a reception for members of Congress Sunday night, the president cited his own paper in a speech, said democracy is “literally being tested,” and spoke about the challenges of defending democracy.
This wasn't the first time Biden has called on the nation to remember what happened on that violent day.
In 2022, a year after the Capitol attack, Biden stood in the building's Statuary Hall and denounced the marauding mob who tried to stop the certification of his victory. On the same day, he condemned Trump's actions as president.
“At this moment, we have to decide: What kind of country are we going to be?” Biden declared.
In November, Americans got their answer: three years after Biden's speech, Trump's return to the presidency is expected to be approved by Congress on Monday. In his final days in office, Biden is coming to terms with the reality that Trump's repeated warnings about the threat to democracy went unheeded by many voters.
Until Sunday night, Mr. Biden had not repeated his warnings about the fate of democracy if Mr. Trump retakes the White House. Two days after the election, the president offered a more optimistic assessment of the future. He said he congratulated Trump on his victory but did not reiterate his concerns about what it would mean for the country.
“The American experiment will continue. We will be fine,” Biden said.
The following week, Mr. Biden met with Mr. Trump for two hours in the Oval Office. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president had told his staff to do what Trump refused to do four years ago: behave civilly.
“You'll hear me say it over and over again: the importance of a smooth transition, the importance of an orderly transition,” Jean-Pierre told reporters. “The president respects the will of the American people and wants to make sure that happens.”
The vote is expected to be certified on Monday in the same process that was disrupted during the 2021 riots. Vice President Kamala Harris will oversee the certification, and Mr. Biden will be in New Orleans during the vote to offer solace to the victims. A terrorist attack occurred in the city on New Year's Day.
