Why Joe Biden Didn't Mince Words When Honoring The Capitol Police For Their Service

Those of us who witnessed the events of January 6 unfold at the U.S. Capitol aren't likely to forget the scenes of rioters forcing their way into the building while carrying flags which declared their support for Donald Trump. And while there have been attempts in the past few months to alter the narrative surrounding the day's events, there are those determined to make sure that doesn't happen. One of those voices belongs to President Joe Biden, who used his remarks at a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden to bring home the reality of what happened that day.

"It wasn't dissent. It wasn't debate. It wasn't democracy. It was insurrection. It was riot and mayhem. It was radical and chaotic, and it was unconstitutional. Maybe most important, it was fundamentally un-American," the President said as he signed legislation awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to police officers who had been on the front lines, trying to protect the Capitol and the lawmakers that worked in it. A number were hurt during the failed insurrection, and they finally cleared the building, allowing Biden to be declared winner of the November 2020 elections (via The Washington Post).

While the nation was united in both shock and horror on January 6 and immediately afterwards, it didn't take long for senior leaders within the House and the Senate to walk back their condemnation of the event and the groups behind it. Instead many Republicans doubled down and directed their efforts at protecting former President Donald Trump who was impeached a second time for his role in inciting the riot. Representative Elise Stefanik, who replaced Liz Cheney to become the third most powerful member of the GOP in Congress, has even chosen to blame Nancy Pelosi for the attack (via The Guardian).

One expert says there is a reason driving the revisionism involved in the Capitol attacks. "The GOP is thinking enough time has passed to somehow rewrite the history of events. They're hoping that it gets into the record, even if it's pointed out that it doesn't correlate with the facts, because once their version is out there in the media, then that's sufficient for it to become the raw material for shaping how history recounts things later on," Fiona Hill, a former White House expert on Russia, and who testified at Trump's first impeachment tells The Guardian.

Hill says the scenario is familiar, because it has been used by Russian President Vladimir Putin "It's fundamentally not about politics. It's nothing more than a massive con job, a scam, concocted to keep their own personal and collective power," she said.