On the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 United States Capitol building attack, President Joe Biden gave a speech on the day that supporters of Donald Trump raided through the halls of Congress after Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential election.
In a very pointed and specific speech, President Biden asked the audience if democracy is still the “sacred cause of America” that George Washington declared to be in 1777. There is a meaningful difference in the democratic sentiments Biden proclaims in comparison to the attempted power grab by Trump.
Biden’s campaign speech on democracy marked the kickoff for the 2024 presidential election, which is sure to be contentious. In the speech, Biden notes that the preservation of democracy is a foundational element of his campaign.
Both Republicans and Democrats have made bids to convince voters that they are the stewards of democracy. Some politicians argue that the opposing party is a threat to democracy. This was exemplified during the 2020 presidential election, during which Republicans insisted that they were protecting democracy from voter fraud. These claims were ultimately disproved.
Democrats have been greatly concerned about overzealous voter ID laws, uncredible accusations of voter fraud and Trump’s attempts to attain immunity protections.
At a federal appeals court argument, one of Trump’s lawyers claimed that Trump as a former president would be essentially immune from prosecution for any of his political actions. The lawyer claimed that a prosecution against Trump could only happen if an impeachment took place.
Many argue that Trump’s claims of immunity are a major threat to American democracy.
Biden’s speech focuses on three major topics, the Jan. 6 riot, Donald Trump’s endorsement of the riot and Donald Trump’s tacit endorsement of political violence in America.
While Biden is making democracy a priority campaign issue, Republican frontrunner Trump looks to avoid discussion of his democratic values.
In a recent Town Hall event on Jan. 10, Trump addressed a largely sympathetic crowd. Trump addressed many issues but there were two topics addressed that related to Biden’s speech on democracy and political violence.
One of the two Town Hall hosts Bret Baier asked Trump how much of his second term would be retribution for past grievances.
“First of all a lot of people would say that’s not so bad, look at what they did. Russia Russia Russia hoax, The FBI Twitter hoax, the 51 intelligence agents hoax. All of these different hoaxes that they did, I mean you know a lot of people would say that’s probably quite normal. I’m not gonna have time for retribution, we’re gonna make this country so successful again, I’m not gonna have time for retribution,” Trump said in response to Baier’s question on retribution.
Baier asked Trump if political violence is ever acceptable in response to Biden’s Jan 6. speech against political violence within the country.
“Well, of course, that’s right and of course, I’m the one who had very little of it, take a look at wars, again I wasn’t involved in wars, we beat the hell out of ISIS.”
Regardless of the validity of this claim, his response did not address the issue of political violence within the U.S. which was addressing the attack on Jan. 6. Trump’s uncertain answer on political violence and retribution is sure to unnerve many people who are looking for a strong and committed stance on upholding democratic values.
While Biden waits to see who his Republican presidential rival will be, Trump must make his case to the Republican voter base first. He will have to make his case in the upcoming New Hampshire election on Jan. 23 and in the upcoming debates if he joins them or hosts more separate town hall events on Jan. 18 and Jan. 21.
