Biden Holds Trump Responsible in Jan. 6 Speech

WASHINGTON — President Biden denounced erstwhile President Donald J. Trump and his allies connected Thursday for holding “a dagger astatine the pharynx of America” by promoting lies and unit arsenic the nation’s superior fractured into sparring camps a twelvemonth aft the Jan. 6 mob battle connected Congress.

In his astir sustained and scathing repudiation of his predecessor since taking office, Mr. Biden utilized the day of the Capitol siege to condemn Mr. Trump for waging an “undemocratic” and “un-American” run against the legitimacy of the predetermination system, overmuch arsenic autocrats and dictators do, each to debar admitting defeat.

“The erstwhile president of the United States of America has created and dispersed a web of lies astir the 2020 election,” Mr. Biden said, lasting successful the National Statuary Hall, which had been invaded by throngs of Trump supporters a twelvemonth ago. “He’s done truthful due to the fact that helium values powerfulness implicit principle, due to the fact that helium sees his ain interests arsenic much important than his country’s interests and America’s interests, and due to the fact that his bruised ego matters much to him than our ideology oregon our Constitution. He can’t judge helium lost.”

The president’s code began a commemoration that, alternatively of showcasing American unity against threats to democracy, lone underscored conscionable however riven the state remains a twelvemonth aft rioters equipped with hockey sticks, shot bats, crutches, flagpoles, occurrence extinguishers, carnivore spray and stolen constabulary batons broke into the Capitol to disrupt the counting of the Electoral College votes ratifying Mr. Trump’s defeat.

Democrats, informing of the undiminished dangers posed by Mr. Trump and his followers, marked the day with a time of events, including speeches, idiosyncratic testimony, a sheet of historians, videos, moments of soundlessness and a candlelight vigil, portion Republicans by and ample stayed away and refused to participate.

No Republican senators showed up connected the level for a league of remarks recalling that day. Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, 1 of Mr. Trump’s astir vocal critics, was the lone elected subordinate of her enactment to articulation a infinitesimal of soundlessness successful the House chamber, bringing on her father, erstwhile Vice President Dick Cheney.

The disparate approaches to the day made wide that Jan. 6 has go just different barometer of America’s partisan divide. Democrats presumption the storming of the Capitol arsenic an existential onslaught connected the Constitution dissimilar immoderate successful modern times. Most Republicans would alternatively absorption connected thing else, with immoderate convinced that Democrats are exploiting it arsenic a limb against them portion others fearfulness crossing Mr. Trump, who continues to predominate the party.

While the elaborate fencing astir the Capitol has travel down and the National Guard has gone home, galore were connected borderline arsenic the day approached and information forces were connected guard. Federal officials saw an uptick successful online threats, including a video calling for a wide hanging of lawmakers, but cited nary new, credible grounds of organized plots, according to a memo obtained by The New York Times.

Online chatter astir celebrations and rallies by right-wing groups protesting what they telephone the persecution of the hundreds of rioters who person been arrested did not construe into large-scale events, and the time passed peacefully successful Washington.

But emotions were precocious for Democrats who recalled the fearfulness and dread of that time arsenic lawmakers were rushed retired of their chambers by overwhelmed constabulary officers who could not incorporate rioters chanting “Hang Mike Pence” and hunting for Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California.

Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont paused to constitute himself arsenic helium remembered the constabulary serviceman who took his limb and vowed to support him. Representative Colin Allred of Texas, a powerfully built erstwhile National Football League player, described shedding his coat, expecting to person to physically defender his colleagues.

To stress the value of the event, Ms. Pelosi hosted a treatment led by Carla Hayden, the librarian of Congress, with the historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meacham, who talked astir different moments of peril, similar the years starring up to the Civil War. The sheet was introduced with a video specially produced by the formed of “Hamilton,” performing a opus from the deed philharmonic astir the founding of the country.

“In my lifetime, this is the hardest infinitesimal for democracy,” said Ms. Goodwin. Mr. Meacham, who helped constitute Mr. Biden’s speech, called this infinitesimal “democracy’s hr of maximum danger” and said “it’s either a measurement connected the mode to the abyss oregon it is simply a telephone to arms, figuratively, for citizens to prosecute and accidental no, we are much important” than “the whim of a azygous antheral oregon a azygous party.”

The lack of Republicans indicated that 1/6 volition ne'er beryllium remembered similar 9/11, arsenic a infinitesimal to travel together. The surreal scene of Dick Cheney, himself a erstwhile subordinate of the House, being welcomed cordially successful the enclosure by Ms. Pelosi and different Democrats who erstwhile deemed him a warfare transgression illustrated however overmuch Mr. Trump has transformed the governmental dynamics of the country.

“It’s not a enactment that resembles immoderate of the folks I knew erstwhile I was present for 10 years,” Mr. Cheney said, erstwhile asked astir apical Republicans and their effect to the riot.

Earlier successful the morning, his daughter, who serves arsenic vice chairwoman of the House prime committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot, castigated chap Republicans for “looking the different way” alternatively than confronting the import of the Capitol attack.

“All of my colleagues, anyone who attempts to minimize what happened, anyone who denies the information of what happened, they ought to beryllium ashamed of themselves,” Ms. Cheney said connected the “Today” amusement connected NBC. “History is watching, and past volition justice them.”

In the Senate chamber, Democrats assailed Mr. Trump, “the worst president successful modern times,” arsenic Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic bulk leader, enactment it.

“It was Donald Trump’s large prevarication that soaked our governmental scenery successful kerosene,” Mr. Schumer said. “It was Donald Trump’s rally connected the Mall that struck the match. And past came the fire.”

But with bipartisanship elusive and Washington stalemated, Mr. Biden dispensed with the restraint and gave the benignant of full-throated denunciation nary sitting president different than the voluble Mr. Trump has issued against a predecessor successful modern times.

Without utilizing Mr. Trump’s name, the president goaded him by referring to him arsenic the “defeated erstwhile president.” He assailed Mr. Trump for encouraging supporters and past “doing thing for hours arsenic constabulary were assaulted, lives were astatine risk, and the nation’s superior nether siege.”

Key Figures successful the Jan. 6 Inquiry

Mr. Biden rejected efforts since past to rewrite past and formed the attackers arsenic patriots. “Is that what you thought erstwhile you looked astatine the mob ransacking the Capitol, destroying property, virtually defecating successful the hallways, rifling done desks of senators and representatives, hunting down members of Congress?” Mr. Biden asked. “Patriots? Not successful my view.”

“Those who stormed this Capitol and those who instigated and incited and those who called connected them to bash so,” helium added, “held a dagger astatine the pharynx of America, astatine American democracy.”

He repeated the imagery successful vowing to safeguard the system: “I volition basal successful this breach. I volition support this nation. And I volition let nary 1 to spot a dagger astatine the pharynx of our democracy.”

Mr. Biden offered his astir extended rebuttal of the mendacious assertion that the 2020 predetermination was stolen, noting that aggregate recounts, tribunal battles and inquiries had turned up nary meaningful fraud. He pointed retired that Republicans had not challenged Republican victories for Congress and governorships based connected the aforesaid balloting they assertion was illegitimate successful the statesmanlike race.

Mr. Biden besides touched connected voting rights authorities stalled successful the Senate, though helium has a abstracted speech connected the taxable scheduled for adjacent week. Vice President Kamala D. Harris, who spoke earlier Mr. Biden, said, “We indispensable walk voting rights bills that are present earlier the Senate.”

Republicans accused the White House and Democrats of politicizing the onslaught to beforehand authorities meant to payment their ain party, and rejected Mr. Biden’s indictment of Mr. Trump. “What brazen politicization of Jan. 6 by President Biden,” Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina wrote connected Twitter.

Mr. Graham himself broke with Mr. Trump connected that time a twelvemonth ago, saying, “All I tin accidental is number maine out, capable is enough.” But it did not instrumentality agelong for him, similar astir Republicans, to autumn successful enactment down the erstwhile president again.

In a bid of tweets connected Thursday, Mr. Graham decried the unit connected Jan. 6 but not Mr. Trump. “President Biden and Vice President Harris’s speeches today,” helium wrote, “were an effort to resurrect a failed presidency much than marking the day of a acheronian time successful American history.”

Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the House Republican whip, said Mr. Biden and Democrats person a “mass obsession” with Mr. Trump and were distracting from their ain failures. “They conscionable privation to proceed talking astir Donald Trump and thing other different than the problems they created,” he said connected Fox News.

Still, adjacent arsenic Republicans went aft Mr. Biden and Democrats, nary elder enactment leaders offered immoderate existent defence of Mr. Trump. The erstwhile president was near to beryllium defended lone by immoderate of his astir faithful fringe allies, similar Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, who is under national probe for enactment trafficking, and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a onetime QAnon follower who asserted that a California wildfire was started by a abstraction laser controlled by a Jewish banking family.

The 2 lawmakers offered conspiracy theories blaming the riot connected Democrats and national authorities astatine a quality league and connected a podcast hosted by Stephen K. Bannon, a erstwhile advisor to Mr. Trump who himself is nether indictment for contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with the House investigation.

“We’re ashamed of nothing,” Mr. Gaetz told Mr. Bannon. “We’re arrogant of the enactment we did connected Jan. 6 to marque morganatic arguments astir predetermination integrity.”

On the steps of the Capitol, Democrats ended the time with a solemn candlelight vigil, featuring supplication and patriotic opus and tributes to the constabulary officers who defended them and successful immoderate cases mislaid their lives. What the federation did not extremity the time with was a consensus, either astir what happened past oregon what volition hap now.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Emily Cochrane and Catie Edmondson contributed reporting.