President Biden to call Jan. 6 Capitol riot 'the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War'

Both President Biden and Sen. Tim Scott have sent out excerpts of the speeches they’ll be delivering Wednesday night, Biden before a joint session of Congress. It looks as though Biden will kick things off by claiming he inherited “a nation in crisis.” Along with the coronavirus pandemic and “the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression,” Biden will refer to the January 6th storming of the Capitol as “the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.”

Biden to refer to Jan 6 insurrection as “the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War” in speech tonight. pic.twitter.com/rW6L2ybDRQ

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) April 28, 2021

That’s reaching back quite a ways, though we certainly don’t condone what happened on January 6.

Joe Biden is a hateful, divisive, dishonest, dementia-addled buffoon controlled by delusional, left-wing Bolsheviks who hate America and are actively (and successfully, so far) doing everything in their power to destroy this country. Pass it on. https://t.co/MQjztmxzBo

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) April 28, 2021

Biden asserts riot was a worse attack than various bombings and deadly attacks on the Capitol, deadly Summer of Rage with its attacks on the WH and federal court buildings, four presidential assassinations, another five assassination attempts, Pearl Harbor, and 9/11. OK. https://t.co/1S7Hc0nsLW

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) April 28, 2021

The Washington Examiner’s Jerry Dunleavy has some contenders for worst attack on our democracy:

9/11 was an attack on our democracy. Flight 93 was headed for the U.S. Capitol, and if not for the brave actions of those on board, it's very possible the building would've been a smoking crater. Instead, it crashed in a field ~20 minutes from DC, & all 40 passengers & crew died. https://t.co/OsGkeXWa7m

— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) April 28, 2021

The terrorist attacks of 9/11 also successfully targeted the Pentagon – a prominent global symbol of our democracy's military might. The plane smashing into the side of the Pentagon killed the 59 passengers & crew on board the aircraft as well as 125 people inside the Pentagon.

— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) April 28, 2021

The Weather Underground LITERALLY detonated a bomb in the Capitol building. A Communist organization LITERALLY bombed near the Senate chamber. Not downplaying Jan 6, but the Capitol has seen LITERAL BOMBS blow up inside the building, @POTUS https://t.co/ucYKGJLSIB

— ⚾️ Mary #FlyTheW ? (@mchastain81) April 28, 2021

Senate bombing, 1983 pic.twitter.com/Wmu9AwZLbq

— Susan Ferrechio (@susanferrechio) April 28, 2021

Is someone making a list of worse attacks on our democracy since the Civil War, than Jan 6?

I’ll start.

1. JFK assassination
2. RFK assassination
3. Reagan assassination attempt
4. Congressional baseball assassination attempt
5. 9/11

That’s just some big obvious ones.

— Pudgê (@pudgenet) April 29, 2021

But I’ll add some more just in 2020:

6. CHOP/CHAZ
7. Regular attacks on federal buildings in Portland
8. Riots in Washington DC in June
9. Other miscellaneous 2020 attacks on police

Also:
10. Dallas PD shooter
11. Fort Hood shooter
12. LAPD shooter
13. Police bombings in 70s

— Pudgê (@pudgenet) April 29, 2021

Speech writer born after 2001?

— Cathi ?????? (@cathid4) April 28, 2021

Geezus ….

— Hank Stamper (@fen1der) April 28, 2021

This would be a false statement even if he'd said "the worst attack on our democracy since spring, 2020." https://t.co/QTYoSZqM6j

— Aldous Huxley's Ghost™ (@AF632) April 28, 2021

A Democratic campaign volunteer almost assassinated two dozen members of Congress, and would have if Scalise wasn't there. JFK was assassinated. Reagan was shot and almost died.

— You Should Have Voted For Jo (@colorblindk1d) April 28, 2021

Not a single gun brought into the Capitol by protestors.

The only person murdered was an unarmed protestor killed by a still-unidentified Pelosi guard.

Divisive and dishonest rhetoric by Biden’s handlers.

— Trump’s Doge (@trump_democrat) April 28, 2021

To say that it's the worst attack on our country is actually laughable. I mean, really stupid to say that. But his intent is to create more hate and division between the two parties. I think it's going to work out if that's his goal… I'm ready to divide the country. Seriously.

— Scarlet Justice (@ScarletJustice3) April 28, 2021

https://twitter.com/eggelbert/status/1387542801945071616

The man who won’t even admit Antifa is real is going to beat this stupid horse. I wonder if he’ll lie about Officer Sicknick. I give it 50/50 odds.

Goody.

— Okay. (@corrcomm) April 28, 2021

This is why the truth about Brian Sicknick’s death came three months too late to do any good. The lie served its purpose, establishing the Capitol Hill protest as uniquely egregious and deadly, and that line will be repeated even after all the facts supporting it are corrected. https://t.co/xHKTbdvdfL

— Helen Andrews (@herandrews) April 28, 2021

He says stuff like that because he has always and forever been a little man with a little brain and now he's trying to make up for 60 years of mediocre to poor governance by being the most radical @Potus in history.

He's been convinced this is his legacy. https://t.co/aqJABCDmwl

— BayAreaFrau (@bayareahausfrau) April 28, 2021

No wonder the Wash Post quit fact checking

— Mike U (@Ukes1414) April 28, 2021

We take the storming of the Capitol seriously, but the intent was much worse than the execution.

* * *

Update:

For the opposing view, we go to NBC News’ presidential historian, Michael Beschloss:

Joe Biden is absolutely correct in saying tonight that January 6 was “the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.”

— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) April 28, 2021

One thing the media and other partisans don't seem to get is that they actually do the opposite of what they intend when they make the reprehensible January 6 riot out to be dramatically worse than it was, either through outright lies (e.g. about Sicknick) or cartoonish hyperbole https://t.co/uQQs8QDaiu

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) April 29, 2021

except for the 1915 Capitol bombing, the 1954 shooting by Puerto Rican nationalists, the 1971 Weather Underground bombing, the 1983 M19 bombing, and the Sept. 11 attacks, this checks out. https://t.co/pWGaF9POKD

— tsar becket adams (@BecketAdams) April 29, 2021

Editor’s note: This post has been updated with additional tweets.

Related:

Rep. Jason Crow won’t let anyone forget that a mob killed a police officer at the Capitol January 6 https://t.co/e25RUb2xpk

— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) April 28, 2021