https://ift.tt/2kmUBVA. President Joe Biden will use the first anniversary of the January 6 Capitol riot to speak bluntly about the impact of the shocking event — and to lay responsibility at the feet of former President Donald Trump, the White House said Wednesday.
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In an excerpt released ahead of the address, Biden says the United States “must decide what kind of nation we are going to be.”
“Are we going to be a nation that accepts political violence as a norm? Are we going to be a nation where we allow partisan election officials to overturn the legally expressed will of the people? Are we going to be a nation that lives not by the light of the truth but in the shadow of lies?” the president plans to say, according to the White House. “We cannot allow ourselves to be that kind of nation. The way forward is to recognize the truth and to live by it.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki also previewed the speech in Wednesday’s briefing with reporters, saying she expects Biden to emphasize “the singular responsibility President Trump has for the chaos and carnage that we saw.”
“He will forcibly push back on the lie spread by the former president in an attempt to mislead the American people and his own supporters, as well as distract from his role in what happened,” Psaki said. “So, he will, of course, speak to the moment, to the importance in history of the peaceful transfer of power, of what we need to do to protect our own democracy and be forward-looking, but he will also reflect on the role his predecessor had.”
Vice President Kamala Harris will give remarks alongside Biden on Thursday morning. When asked if Biden would identify Trump by name during his speech to Congress, Psaki demurred.