President Joe Biden accused his predecessor Donald Trump of continuing to threaten American democracy with a web of lies on Thursday.
On the anniversary of the deadly U.S. Capitol attack by Trump supporters attempting to overturn his 2020 election defeat, he slammed Trump in a fiery speech.
Biden said that Trump's bogus assertions that the election was stolen from him through widespread electoral fraud might unravel the rule of law and harm future elections while speaking at the white-domed structure that was the scene of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.
"We need to be quite clear about what is true and what is not." The truth is that a previous president of the United States of America has concocted and disseminated a web of lies concerning the 2020 presidential race. He's done so because he prefers power to principles," Biden explained.
The speech was a change for Biden, who has spent his first year in office focusing on his own agenda rather than looking backward.
However, Democrats, a few Republicans, and a number of independent observers have warned that the damage Trump caused before the riot – in an incendiary speech to supporters in which he repeated his false election claims and exhorted them to go to the Capitol and "fight like hell" to "stop the steal" – is still being felt.
"One year ago today, democracy was assailed in this precious site. "It was just an attack," Biden remarked. "The people's will was being thwarted." The Constitution, our Constitution, was put in jeopardy."
"For the first time in our history, a president not only lost an election, but also attempted to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power," Biden said.
Biden chastised Trump for "doing nothing for hours" while watching the brawl on television.
According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, 55% of Republican voters believe Trump's fraudulent assertion, despite the fact that it has been refuted by dozens of judges, state election officials, and members of Trump's own administration.
Four individuals died during the hours-long mayhem, one police officer died the next day after combating rioters, and four more committed suicide subsequently. A total of 140 police officers were hurt.
Sergeant Harry Dunn of the Capitol Police, one of the policemen on the scene, said the attack was emotionally draining.
"You can't get away from January 6 no matter how hard you try. In a phone conversation, Dunn added, "It's everywhere, especially if it's your place of work." "Accountability must be sought, regardless of who it is sought from."
