Biden speech viewers rage ‘what about 9/11?’ after he calls Capitol riot ‘worst attack on our democracy since Civil War’ – The Sun

PRESIDENT Joe Biden called the January 6 riots at the Capitol the "worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War" – causing a right-wing backlash across social media.

Some Twitter users were quick to point out other historical events that, they felt, were much more severe attacks on U.S. democracy.

The examples included the September 11 terrorist attacks, presidential assassinations, the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Oklahoma City bombing.

Journalist Glen Greenwald tweeted: "January 6 was worse than 9/11? Or Pearl Harbor?"

He continued in a second tweet: "Or the Oklahoma City bombing? Or the dismantling of civil liberties in the name of the Cold War and War on Terror? Or the mass surveillance program secretly and illegally implemented by NSA aimed at US citzens (sic)?"

Greenwald, dubbing Biden a "drama queen" then added: "How about the War on Drugs, mass incarceration and Jim Crow? Were those worse "attacks on democracy" than the 3-hour Capitol riot on Jan. 6?

TWITTER REACTS

"The assassination of JFK? The interference in domestic politics by the CIA? The list of worse attacks than Jan. 6 is endless."

Biden made the remark during the early stages of his speech, as he looked to paint a picture of the previous presidency.

The president, who did not reference Donald Trump directly in his speech, said: "I inherited a nation in crisis. The worst pandemic in a century. The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

"The worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War… after just 100 days — I can report… America is on the move again. Turning peril into possibility.”

Biden's speech was an address to a joint session of congress, talking through not only his first 100 days in office, but outlining his economic plans for the future.

These plans, Biden said, would focus on have two main focal points: infrastructure and families.

Having passed a coronavirus relief bill in March, Biden has since released a $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, known as the American Jobs Plan, and a $1.8 trillion families plan, dubbed the American Families Plan and release on Wednesday before the speech.

As well as Biden's Civil War comment, another moment during the evening caught Twitter users' attentions, too.

A little over an hour into the president's speech, a camera cut appeared to show Republican Senator Ted Cruz fighting back sleep.

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