Joe Biden's Plea for History

We can't let cowardly revisionists whitewash the truth about Jan. 6 and how close we came to losing our country

Jan 06, 2025

We will not see a repeat of this scene today when Congress convenes to validate the Electoral College vote and formally names Donald Trump the next president of the United States.

But we must not forget Jan. 6, 2021.

We cannot allow revisionists to rewrite our history, to minimize how close an insane mob, urged on by a liar claiming election fraud, almost cost us our democracy.

In a statement to the American people, President Joe Biden exhorts us to never forget.

Here what he says:

On this Jan. 6, order will be called. Clerks, staff and members of Congress will gather to certify the results of a free and fair presidential election and ensure a peaceful transfer of power. Capitol Police will stand guard over the citadel of our democracy.
The vice president of the United States, faithful to her duty under our Constitution, will preside over the certification of her opponent’s victory in the November election.
It is a ceremony that for more than two centuries has made America a beacon to the world, a ceremony that ratifies the will of the voters. For much of our history, this proceeding was treated as pro forma, a routine act. 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.
An unrelenting effort has been underway to rewrite — even erase — the history of that day. 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.
Thousands of rioters crossed the National Mall and climbed the Capitol walls, smashing windows and kicking down doors. 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.
As president-elect that day, I spoke to the country and called for peace, and for the certification to resume.
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. 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.

J.C. Bruce is an award-winning journalist and author of The Strange Files series of mysterious novels (available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, other online booksellers, and at selected libraries). He holds dual citizenship in the United States of America and Florida. His latest novel, Strange Timing, has been named Book of the Year in the Royal Palm Literary Awards.