Biden: Jan. 6 is a reminder that democracy "is never guaranteed"
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
President Biden at the White House on Sunday. Photo: Leigh Vogel/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images
President Biden said in a Washington Post op-ed on the eve of the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack's fourth anniversary there's an "unrelenting effort" under way to "rewrite — even erase — the history of that day."
Why it matters: President-elect Trump has suggested he might pardon the rioters who took part in the assault on the Capitol when he takes office, claiming they're "hostages" who've been "wrongfully imprisoned" for their actions on Jan. 6, 2021.
Driving the news: Biden wrote in the WaPo article that efforts to explain the attack away "as a protest that just got out of hand" and to "dismiss concerns about it as some kind of partisan obsession" do not reflect what happened on Jan. 6.
- "Violent insurrectionists attacked the Capitol, threatened the lives of elected officials and assaulted brave law enforcement officers," Biden wrote.
- "We should be proud that our democracy withstood this assault. And we should be glad we will not see such a shameful attack again this year," added Biden, who noted that Vice President Harris would on Monday "preside over the certification of her opponent's victory in the November election."
- "But we should not forget. We must remember the wisdom of the adage that any nation that forgets its past is doomed to repeat it. We cannot accept a repeat of what occurred four years ago."
Zoom in: The president said the U.S. should commit to remembering Jan. 6, 2021, every year to remember it "as a day when our democracy was put to the test and prevailed" and to "remember that democracy — even in America — is never guaranteed."
Biden said the truth of what occurred four years ago cannot be lost because in time, "there will be Americans who didn't witness the Jan. 6 riot firsthand but will learn about it from footage and testimony of that day, from what is written in history books and from the truth we pass on to our children."
- Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment in the evening.
Go deeper: Reagan-appointed judge slams "preposterous" claims about Jan. 6 "hostages"
