Biden Blames Trump for Insurrection at US Capitol

“At best, the words of a president can inspire. At worst, it can incite.”

Adam Schultz/ZUMA

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

President-elect Joe Biden called upon Donald Trump to appear on national television and tell the mob of his supporters that violently stormed the US Capitol on Wednesday afternoon to stand down. “The words of a President matter, no matter how good or bad that president is,” Biden said. “At best, the words of a president can inspire. At worst, it can incite.”

The president-elect had initially planned to deliver remarks on the economy Wednesday afternoon but changed his plans as news of a pro-Trump mob of terrorists stormed the Capitol to stop Congress from certifying Biden as the next president. Biden, an institutionalist with reverence for rituals like Congress’ counting of the electoral votes, deemed the insurrectionist throng an affront to “the most sacred of undertakings: the doings of the people’s business,” he said. Its actions were an “unprecedented assault” on democracy, Biden said, and “an assault on the citadel of liberty—the Capitol itself.”

Biden condemned Trump for fanning the passions of his supporters, but did not blame what happened during today’s joint session on anyone besides the president and “a small number of extremists dedicated to lawlessness.” Instead, he reflected on themes he often calls upon in dark moments like this one: What Biden calls America’s true character, made up “of democracy, of respect, of decency.”

“Let me be very clear: The scenes of chaos at the Capitol do not reflect a true America,” he said. “America is so much better than what we’ve seen today.”

“The work of the moment and the work of the next four years must be the restoration of democracy and the recovery of respect for the rule of law, and the renewal of a politics that’s about solving problems,” Biden added, “not stoking the flames of hate and chaos”

At the conclusion of his remarks, reporters asked the president-elect whether he was concerned about his own safety or whether his inauguration would happen as planned. “I am not concerned about my safety, security, or inauguration,” he barked. “The American people are going to stand up, stand up now. Enough is enough is enough!”

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate