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Biden calls on Trump to condemn mob violence at U.S. Capitol

President-elect Joe Biden called on President Trump to demand his backers end their siege on the Capitol on national television, saying the violence "borders on sedition and it must end now."

Driving the news: “President Trump, step up,” Biden said, speaking a little after 4p ET, after a mob of Trump supporters breached the U.S. Capitol to try to block lawmakers’ certification of Biden’s Electoral College win.

Why it matters: Biden stepped into the leadership vacuum left by President Trump, seeking to bring the nation together and bring an end to protests that threaten Democracy.

  • Biden planned to deliver remarks about the economy around 2:30pm. Instead he delayed his remarks and shifted gears to address the developing chaos.
  • "The scenes of chaos at the Capitol do not reflect a true America. Do not represent who we are," Biden said. "What we're seeing are a small number of extremists dedicated to lawlessness. This is not dissent. It's disorder. It's chaos. It borders on sedition. And it must end."

The other side: A White House official told Axios' Jonathan Swan that President Trump had been ranting about Vice President Pence's refusal to block certification of the Electoral College — which Pence has no constitutional authority to do — and was reluctant to issue a more forceful condemnation of his supporters.

  • Shortly after Biden's address, Trump released a one-minute video on Twitter reiterating his false claims that the election was "stolen," but telling his supporters that "we have to have peace."
  • "Go home. We love you. You're special," he added.

Go deeper

Jonathan Swan, Zachary Basu
Jan 21, 2021 - Politics & Policy
Off the Rails

Episode 8: The siege

Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photos: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Beginning on election night 2020 and continuing through his final days in office, Donald Trump unraveled and dragged America with him, to the point that his followers sacked the U.S. Capitol with two weeks left in his term. Axios takes you inside the collapse of a president with a special series.

Episode 8: The siege. An inside account of the deadly insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6 that ultimately failed to block the certification of the Electoral College. And, finally, Trump's concession.

On Jan. 6, White House deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger entered the West Wing in the mid-afternoon, shortly after his colleagues' phones had lit up with an emergency curfew alert from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.

Go deeper (11 min. read)Arrow
Jonathan Swan, Zachary Basu
Jan 16, 2021 - Politics & Policy
Off the Rails

Episode 1: A premeditated lie lit the fire

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Beginning on election night 2020 and continuing through his final days in office, Donald Trump unraveled and dragged America with him, to the point that his followers sacked the U.S. Capitol with two weeks left in his term. This Axios series takes you inside the collapse of a president.

Episode 1: Trump’s refusal to believe the election results was premeditated. He had heard about the “red mirage” — the likelihood that early vote counts would tip more Republican than the final tallies — and he decided to exploit it.

"Jared, you call the Murdochs! Jason, you call Sammon and Hemmer!”

Go deeper (6 min. read)Arrow
Jonathan Swan, Zachary Basu
Jan 19, 2021 - Politics & Policy
Off the Rails

Episode 6: Last stand in Georgia

Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Drew Angerer, Raymond Boyd/Getty Images

Beginning on election night 2020 and continuing through his final days in office, Donald Trump unraveled and dragged America with him, to the point that his followers sacked the U.S. Capitol with two weeks left in his term. Axios takes you inside the collapse of a president with a special series.

Episode 6: Georgia had not backed a Democratic presidential candidate since 1992 and Donald Trump's defeat in this Deep South stronghold, and his reaction to that loss, would help cost Republicans the U.S. Senate as well. Georgia was Trump's last stand.

On Air Force One, President Trump was in a mood. He had been clear he did not want to return to Georgia, and yet somehow he'd been conscripted into another rally on the night of Jan. 4.

Go deeper (4 min. read)Arrow