Biden decries January 6 riot in Washington Post op-ed: 'We cannot accept a repeat'
President Biden called on Americans in a Washington Post op-ed to remember the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, and decried efforts to "erase" that day, without directly naming his successor, President-elect Donald Trump.
"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 for the Washington Post as he prepares to leave office. "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."
Biden has repeatedly warned that Trump is a threat to democratic institutions in the U.S., calling him a "genuine threat to democracy" in comments from the White House on Sunday.
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"We cannot accept a repeat of what occurred four years ago," Biden wrote.
"Thousands of rioters crossed the National Mall and climbed the Capitol walls, smashing windows and kicking down doors," he wrote. "Just blocks away, a bomb was found near the location of the incoming vice president, threatening her life. Law enforcement officials were beaten, dragged, knocked unconscious and stomped upon. Some police officers ultimately died as a result."
Biden's essay, released on Monday, the fourth anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol when Trump's supporters stormed the building and disrupted election certification proceedings of Biden's win, focused on his promises to respect the peaceful transition of power.
"As president-elect that day, I spoke to the country and called for peace, and for the certification to resume," Biden said of his statements on Jan. 6.
"But on this day, we cannot forget," he wrote. "This is what we owe those who founded this nation, those who have fought for it and died for it."
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"And we should commit to remembering Jan. 6, 2021, every year," the president continued. "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."
Later on Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris will preside over certification of Trump's victory over her in November. Trump is only the second president in history to win non-consecutive terms.
Trump has said he will be "acting very quickly" to pardon Jan. 6 defendants, although it's unclear what that will look like and how sweeping any pardons will be once he takes office.