January 6 insurrection: Biden says Americans should not forget the Capitol attack – but there will be no repeat this time

WASHINGTON– President Joe Biden is denouncing what he calls a “relentless effort” to downplay a mob of Donald Trump supporters invading the US Capitol in an attempt to block certification of the 2020 election – seeking to contrast the chaos of that day with what he promises to be an order. transition bringing Trump back to power for a second term.

In an opinion piece published Sunday in the Washington Post, Biden recalled January 6, 2021, writing that “violent insurrectionists attacked the Capitol.”

“We should be proud that our democracy has withstood this assault,” Biden wrote. “And we should be happy that we won’t see such a shameful attack again this year.”

Congress will meet in snowy Washington on Monday to certify Trump’s victory in the November election – in a session chaired by the candidate he defeated, Vice President Kamala Harris. No violence, or even procedural objections, are expected this time, marking a return to an American tradition that initiates the peaceful transfer of presidential power.

This, even as Trump continues to deny losing to Biden in 2020, already publicly considering staying beyond the constitutional two-term limit in the White House and promising to pardon some of the more than 1,250 people who have pleaded guilty or have been convicted of crimes. the siege of the Capitol.

In his opinion piece, Biden says of the certification process: “After what we all witnessed on January 6, 2021, we know we can never take it for granted again. » He does not directly mention Trump but asserts that “a relentless effort is underway to rewrite – even erase – the history of this era.”

“To tell us we didn’t see what we all saw with our own eyes,” Biden wrote. “We cannot allow the truth to be lost.”

He promised that “the election will be certified peacefully. I invited the new president to the White House on the morning of January 20 and will be present for his inauguration this afternoon”, even though Trump skipped the inauguration Biden in 2021.

“But that day we cannot forget,” Biden added. “We should commit to remembering January 6, 2021, every year. To remember it as the day our democracy was tested and prevailed. Remember that democracy – even in America – is not never guaranteed.”

The published article follows Biden telling reporters at the White House earlier Sunday that the history of what happened on January 6, 2021 “should not be rewritten” and added: “I don’t think not that it should be forgotten.”

Biden spent much of 2024 warning voters that Trump posed a serious threat to the nation’s democracy. And last week, the president awarded the Presidential Citizens’ Medal to Liz Cheney and Bennie Thompson, leaders of the Congressional investigation into the Capitol riot.

As he did with his opinion piece, Biden used his Sunday comments to reporters to emphasize that his administration is overseeing a peaceful transfer of power — unlike the previous one.

“I have worked to ensure a smooth transition,” Biden said of the new Trump administration. “We need to return to a basic, normal transfer of power.”

Asked if he still views his future successor in the White House as a threat to democracy, Biden replied: “I think what he did was a real threat to democracy. I hope that we are past that point now.”