Biden condemns right-wing rioters storming the U.S. Capitol

Biden condemns right-wing rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol

President-elect Joe Biden condemned the assault on the Capitol by Trump supporters on Wednesday.

Video Transcript

JOE BIDEN: At this hour, our democracy is under unprecedented assault unlike anything we've seen in modern times, an assault on the citadel of liberty, the Capitol itself, an assault on the people's representatives and the Capitol Hill Police sworn to protect them and the public servants who work at the heart of our Republic-- an assault on the rule of law like few times we've ever seen it, an assault on most sacred of American undertakings, the doing of the people's business.

Let me be very clear. The scenes of chaos in the Capitol do not reflect a true America, do not represent who we are. What we're seeing are a small number of extremists dedicated to lawlessness. This is not dissent. It's disorder. It's chaos. It borders on sedition, and it must end now. I call on this mob to pull back and allow the work of democracy to go forward.

You heard me say before in different contexts, the words of a president matter, no matter how good or bad that president is. At their best, the words of a president can inspire. At their worst, they can incite.

And therefore I call on President Trump to go on national television now to fulfill his oath and defend the Constitution and demand an end to this siege. To Storm. the Capitol, to smash windows, to occupy offices, the floor of the United States Senate, rummaging through desk on the Capitol-- on the House of Representatives, threatening the safety of duly noted officials, it's not protest. It's insurrection.

The world is watching. And like so many other Americans, I am genuinely shocked and saddened that our nation, so long the beacon of light and hope for democracy, has come to such a dark moment.