Biden's Call to Preserve Democracy Met with Harsh Political Realities
President Biden's plea to defend democracy faces a harsh reality as the threat of Trump's return looms The slow progress of justice for the insurrectionists highlights the need for accountability While the system has worked before, it is being undermined, making Biden's democracy argument alone insufficient (349 characters)
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President Joe Biden observed January 6 as a day of American infamy, acknowledging the third anniversary of the 2021 insurrection and urging Americans to stand with him in protecting US democracy from former President Donald Trump, who has indicated he will pardon the insurrectionists.
During a speech near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania on Friday, where the Continental Army endured the frigid 1777-78 winter, Biden expressed concern that the democracy those Americans fought for is currently at risk. "The most urgent question of our time is whether democracy is still America's sacred cause," he stated.
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'Trump did nothing': Biden reflects on January 6 insurrection
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He listed a series of Trump's extreme claims and remarks, comparing them to the rhetoric of Adolf Hitler and the undemocratic behavior of dictators.
When Trump laughed about a violent attack on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband Paul, Biden commented, "How disturbing," refraining from adding a more explicit term.
"Later on, Biden reflected, 'We are all familiar with Donald Trump. The true question we must address is, who are we?' And in case there were any doubts about the significance of this message to Biden's campaign for reelection, he boldly proclaimed in a polished campaign video released this week that the 'preservation of American democracy' is the 'central issue of my presidency'."
The hard democratic truth is Trump could win
There is evidence that a democratic majority of American voters wont mind that Trump tried to overturn the last election.
Three years after the attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters causing a delay in the counting of electoral votes to confirm Biden as president, there has been a desensitization to the outrage and a distortion of reality, leading to a potential validation of Trump's position.
Instead of being dismissed by Republicans, Trump is now the leading candidate for their presidential nomination for a third consecutive term.
The Supreme Court declared that it will consider arguments next month in a Colorado case regarding the exclusion of a candidate from primary ballots for violating the 14th Amendment's "insurrectionist ban."
Instead of distancing themselves from election denialism, the majority of Republicans have chosen to ignore the issue. Newly appointed House speaker, Mike Johnson, was involved in efforts to contest the 2020 election results, but evades questions about his involvement.
Instead of accepting the evidence presented in courts and by the House select committee investigating January 6, a third of Republicans and a quarter of Americans believe the unfounded conspiracy theory that the FBI played a role in coordinating the insurrection, as found by a recent poll conducted by the Washington Post-University of Maryland.
Looking beyond the presidential primaries, which kick off with the January 15 Iowa caucuses, a new analysis by David Chalian and Terence Burlij of CNN's political unit suggests that Trump has the upper hand in a general election matchup against Biden. They suggest that Trump currently has the advantage in enough states to secure a win in the election.
Accountability for the insurrection continues, slowly, through the US justice system
There have been more than 890 convictions in connection with the insurrection, according to the Department of Justice.
Special counsel Jack Smith is pursuing criminal charges against Trump for attempting to overturn the 2020 election. Despite Trump's efforts to undermine confidence in the justice system as part of his 2024 presidential campaign, he cannot avoid the fact that Smith was appointed to independently handle Trump-related prosecutions. Additionally, Trump will have to face the reality that the Supreme Court, which he has significantly influenced through his appointments, will ultimately determine the outcome of his prosecution.
Attorney General Merrick Garland seldom references Smith, but he did support the special counsel in a statement marking the anniversary of the insurrection.
"We are upholding the law without bias," Garland stated. "We are fulfilling our duty to safeguard the civil rights and liberties of all individuals in our nation."
One of Trump's attorneys, Alina Habba, contended this week that there would be no success in the attempts to disqualify Trump from running, as Justice Brett Kavanaugh essentially owes Trump his position and will "step up" to assist the former president.
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If elected again, Trump has promised to go in a new direction and use the FBI and Department of Justice against his political rivals.
The system worked the last time
The 2020 election results proved unchangeable for Trump due to the robust and intricate US government system, purposely established to prevent a monarchy, which proved too resilient for him to dismantle completely.
Despite indications that Trump may pursue a radical second-term agenda and has expressed a desire to act as a dictator for a day upon his potential re-election, American voters are left to question whether a president who has often appeared incompetent and caused a partial government shutdown under his own party's control can effectively manage the federal government. The possibility of Trump getting the opportunity to do so is becoming increasingly plausible, a development that former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger, now a CNN political commentator, admits he never would have thought possible three years ago.
Chipping away at what was normal
Kinzinger went against his party's stance by collaborating with Democrats on the special committee that examined the insurrection. He emphasized the need for individuals with differing political views on issues like immigration and taxes to set aside their differences in order to oppose Trump.
"Whenever norms in democracy are violated, they are never regained," Kinzinger told CNN's Jake Tapper on Friday.
"The fundamental agreement for self-governance is that we can vote, our votes count, and the winner prevails. He tarnished and eroded people's trust in that fundamental agreement when he convinced a quarter of the country or more that the election was stolen."
Biden needs more than his democracy argument
Following the 2022 midterm election in which Democrats lost control of the House, Pelosi stepped down from leadership. On Thursday, she appeared to recognize that simply pledging to save democracy will not be sufficient to preserve Biden's presidency.
CNN's Dana Bash inquired about the effectiveness of Biden's democracy argument with Pelosi. "We need to connect democracy to everyday life, to our people's personal experiences," Pelosi responded, emphasizing that January 6 is not the entirety of Biden's message.
She emphasized that the issues concerning the kitchen table drive us to work harder and win the election. Consequently, the upcoming election might focus more on the economy, inflation, abortion rights, and immigration rather than the preservation of democracy.
However, there is polling to suggest a criminal conviction for his efforts to overturn the election three years ago could have an effect on Trumps chances of winning the one in November.
