3 years after the Capitol Hill riot, US President Biden warns of risks if Trump is elected

According to DW, US President Joe Biden gave a speech on the third anniversary of the attack on the US Capitol building on January 6, 2021, warning of the threat posed by a second presidential term under Donald Trump.

Mr Biden, 81, and Mr Trump, 77, appear to be heading for a presidential rematch in November, with national polls showing the two candidates neck-and-neck in public support.

Biden's speech came on the eve of the anniversary of the January 6 riot, which saw Trump supporters storm the Capitol building as lawmakers were certifying Biden's election victory.

Biden: "I won the election, and he lost"

The US president said Mr Trump's campaign was driven more by self-interest than by helping the American people and that the former president would "sacrifice democracy" if it meant returning him to the Oval Office.

“I won the election, and he lost,” Mr. Biden said. “He has one more act left, and that is the violence on January 6.”

The incumbent US president has said the riots at Capitol Hill were the day “we almost lost America”.

Speaking from Valley Forge, Mr. Biden discussed the threats to democracy after inviting historians and scholars to the White House for a conversation on the topic. Mr. Biden said Mr. Trump had glorified the violence on January 6, which left at least nine people dead during or after the riots.

Biden asserted that by "trying to rewrite the facts of January 6, Mr. Trump is trying to steal history in the same way he tried to steal the election."

“Donald Trump’s campaign is about him,” Biden said, referring to his plans to exact revenge on Trump’s political enemies if he wins the White House. “Not America. Not you. Donald Trump’s campaign is obsessed with the past, not the future. Democracy is about the vote. Your freedom is about the vote,” Biden said.

Round 2 of the Biden-Trump confrontation

It remains to be seen whether Biden’s warnings will have any impact on American voters as the presidential campaign season begins. In 2020, Biden defeated Trump with 51.3% of the vote, but rising inflation and concerns about the president’s age have raised concerns even among his supporters.

For his part, Mr. Trump plans to hold a campaign rally in Iowa on January 7 – the first state to hold the Republican nomination race, and where the former US President is leading by a large margin.

Mr Trump is also facing multiple court cases, including a trial over his alleged involvement in the January 6 riots, allegations of interference in the 2020 election in Georgia and allegations of mishandling classified documents found at his home.

Courts in the states of Colorado and Maine have barred him from running in primaries because of his involvement in the insurrection.

Late on January 5, the US Supreme Court agreed to take up Mr. Trump’s appeal of the Colorado election ban. Three of the current Supreme Court justices were appointed by Mr. Trump.