Joe Biden warns that autocrats in China are gauging health of US democracy, on anniversary of January 6 attack on Capitol
- The US president uses his speech to condemn Donald Trump for provoking the deadly assault and for continuing to lie about it
- ‘From China to Russia and beyond, they’re betting America will become more like them and less like us. I do not believe that’
“From China to Russia and beyond … they’re betting America will become more like them and less like us,” Biden said on Thursday morning from the Capitol building, in a speech marking the first anniversary of the deadly January 6 attack.
“They’re betting that America is a place for the autocrat, the dictator, the strongman,” Biden said. “I do not believe that. That is not who we are. That is not who we have ever been. And that is not who we should ever, ever be.”
The anniversary comes as Washington and some of the nation remain divided over the meaning and legacy of the attack – and even the basic facts of what happened that day.
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In his speech, Biden furiously condemned Trump for not only provoking the assault but for continuing to lie about it to his millions of followers, some of whom are convinced that the attackers that day were merely strolling through the Capitol building like tourists.