President Joe Biden condemned political violence during his State of the Union address on Tuesday, including the “heinous” attack on Paul Pelosi last year.
The President told lawmakers from both chambers of Congress to create a record and a vision for the future, including efforts to address climate change, fight cancer and rebuild the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic. But Biden ended his speech with a passionate call to defend a democracy he said was “threatened, under attack and at risk.”
“Only a few months ago, unintentionally by the ‘big lie’, an attacker launched political violence in the house of the chairman of the House of Representatives. Using the same language as the rebels who surrounded the hall on January 6,” said Biden. “Tonight in this room is a man who has been scarred by that brutal attack, but tough and strong and resilient. My friend, Paul Pelosi.
Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was brutally attacked by a hammer-wielding man in October after the suspect broke into his San Francisco home. Officials said the man repeatedly asked: “Where’s Nancy?”
Paul Pelosi was seriously injured in the attack and spent six days in hospital with a fractured skull.
The alleged attacker, David DePape, is charged with attempted murder, parental abuse and kidnapping. He called a local California television station from his jail cell last month and said he didn’t regret his actions, telling reporters that “I’m sorry, I didn’t get more.”
Many lawmakers condemned the attack on Paul Pelosi at the time, but some Republicans, including Donald Trump, mocked the victims and promoted unfounded conspiracy theories instead of denouncing the violence.
Biden called on Republicans to work with Democrats to reject the MAGA politics of their predecessors, but the party continues to embrace far-right conspiracies and dog whistles in the Trump era.
Biden on Tuesday said an attack on Pelosi “will never happen,” urging lawmakers to speak out against political violence and “decide the course of this nation and the world for decades to come.”
“In America, we must protect the right to vote, not diminish that fundamental right,” Biden said. “We respect the results of the election, we do not destroy the will of the people. We must uphold the rule of law and restore confidence in our democratic institutions. And we must give hate and extremism in any form, no safe harbor.