Sitting President Joe Biden penned a column in The Washington Post to mark the Jan. 6 certification of President-elect Donald Trump's Electoral College victory, calling out the unpeaceful transition of power to him in Jan. 6, 2021.
"For much of our history, this proceeding was treated as pro forma, a routine act," Biden wrote in a rare opinion for a sitting president. "But after what we all witnessed on Jan. 6, 2021, we know we can never again take it for granted.
"Violent insurrectionists attacked the Capitol, threatened the lives of elected officials, and assaulted brave law enforcement officers.
"We should be proud that our democracy withstood this assault. And we should be glad we will not see such a shameful attack again this year.
"But we should not forget. We must remember the wisdom of the adage that any nation that forgets its past is doomed to repeat it. We cannot accept a repeat of what occurred four years ago."
Biden largely blamed Trump for the unpeaceful transition of power, but his column's timing during this transition of power appeared to be accusatory, as Biden long called Trump a "threat to democracy" before Trump was nearly assassinated July 13 and Biden ended his presidential reelection campaign just one week later.
"An unrelenting effort has been underway to rewrite — even erase — the history of that day," Biden wrote. "To tell us we didn't see what we all saw with our own eyes. To dismiss concerns about it as some kind of partisan obsession. To explain it away as a protest that just got out of hand.
"This is not what happened.
"In time, there will be Americans who didn't witness the Jan. 6 riot firsthand but will learn about it from footage and testimony of that day, from what is written in history books and from the truth we pass on to our children. We cannot allow the truth to be lost."
Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., issued a scathing Jan. 6 report last month denouncing the Democrat and anti-Trump forces in concocting a false narrative against Trump, issuing criminal recommendations against former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and concluding the "Jan. 6 Select Committee neglected or withheld evidence" in the House GOP oversight probe.
"Four years later, leaving office, I am determined to do everything I can to respect the peaceful transfer of power and restore the traditions we have long respected in America," Biden wrote, continuing to weaponize the narrative of Jan. 6 against his previous political opponent. "The election will be certified peacefully. I have invited the incoming president to the White House on the morning of Jan. 20, and I will be present for his inauguration that afternoon.
"But on this day, we cannot forget. This is what we owe those who founded this nation, those who have fought for it and died for it.
"And we should commit to remembering Jan. 6, 2021, every year. To remember it as a day when our democracy was put to the test and prevailed. To remember that democracy — even in America — is never guaranteed.
"We should never forget it is our democracy that makes everything possible — our freedoms, our rights, our liberties, our dreams. And that it falls to every generation of Americans to defend and protect it."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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