On the anniversary of the January 6th insurrection, President Joe Biden issued an epic smack down of his predecessor. In what will undoubtedly go down as one of the most important speeches in history, and without calling him by name, the president laid the blame for the uprising squarely at the feet of Donald Trump.
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When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Admiral Yamamoto immediately regretted the action, stating “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve” when it was revealed that the attack did not achieve its aim of totally obliterating the American Pacific fleet.
The same can be said of Joe Biden, who, in victory, called Donald Trump something he truly hates: A Loser! He called Trump defeated and someone who put “ a dagger to the throat of democracy”. He challenged the “Sleepy Joe” moniker by calling out Trump for watching television as the Capitol attacks continued.
In his speech, Biden not only attacked Trump, but he dared Republicans in Congress to launch a recount of their own elections. He said, if you really believe in the Big Lie, then how can you claim your own election is legitimate?
He slammed Trump by stating “his bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy or Constitution”, reflecting on Trump’s thin-skinned nature and refusal to acknowledge the facts. He repeatedly reminded Trump that, despite his unsubstantiated claims, he lost in a free and fair election.
He pointed to the hypocrisy of Republican leaders who condemned Trump in the days immediately following the insurrection, only to backtrack on these comments days later. Instead, they tried to re-write the events of that day.
The continual blare of misinformation has led many in the party to believe these “alternative facts”. In fact two-thirds of the party continues to believe the Big Lie, and therefore feel justified in defending Donald Trump’s actions on January 6th, while alternately claiming he wasn’t responsible for the horrific events of that fateful day.
Of course, Trump couldn’t remain silent. Despite the fact he cancelled a scheduled press conference; one he was forced to cancel because the media refused to cover it, he issued a lame, misspelled statement, that “Biden used my name today to try to further divide America“ .
Except, Biden never mentioned Trump by name.
True to from, Republicans responded by trying to change the narrative. In a statement by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky), he asserted that while January 6th was indeed “a dark day for our country“, he also accused Democrats of trying to “exploit this anniversary to advance partisan policy goals”.
In her remarks, Vice President Kamala Harris compared January 6th to Pearl Harbor and 9/11. Like December 7th, January 6th will certainly go down as a “date that will live in infamy”. And like the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, the continuing attacks on democracy have awakened a sleeping giant.
It is said, “Be careful what you wish for”.
“Sleepy Joe” is wide awake and he is pissed!