A year after rioters stormed the Capitol, President Joe Biden gave a speech condemning former president Donald Trump for his attempt to destroy American democracy. After blaming Trump for inciting the insurrection, Biden vowed that it would never happen again.
“For the first time in our history, a President had not just lost an election. He tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob reached the Capitol,” Biden stated in his speech this morning. He continued, “But they failed. They failed. And on this day of remembrance, we must make sure that such an attack never, never happens again.”
Sean Rayford/Getty Images
On January 6th, 2021, Trump egged on a mob of his supporters to storm the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the election results. Following an announcement from the vice president that he would not aid Trump in reversing the results, a violent crowd of pro-Trump supporters rushed the building, making their way into various areas of the building including the Senate Rotunda. One rioter was shot and killed while some suffered medical emergencies. The violent riot led to Trump’s second impeachment.
During his thirty-minute speech, Biden did not hesitate to throw shots at Trump, “his bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy or our Constitution, he can't accept he lost.” For the majority of his presidency, Biden has played fair and avoided addressing the former president, but his speech confronted Trump for his election lies, post-presidency behavior, and inciting a violent mob to storm the capitol.