WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� In the , Republican skimmed over the , shifted blame for the violent mob siege and declined repeatedly to state unequivocally that he will accept the results of this year鈥檚 .
And , who has said the work of his presidency is to restore the soul of the nation, , failing to forcefully confront, contradict and hold Trump, the indicted former president, accountable for the attack on the election 鈥� and democracy.
It is an extraordinary moment, or lack of one, that is alarming to democracy advocates, the far-reaching effort to overturn the 2020 election and the subsequent insurrection that defined the Trump presidency fading from view during the opening debate of the general election campaign.
Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, the Democrat who chaired the House鈥檚 Jan. 6 committee investigation in the last Congress, said it is a deeply unfortunate situation.
鈥淲e could have a Jan. 6, 2.0,鈥� Thompson said Friday outside the Capitol.
The outcome underscores the choice Americans face this fall as the riot over the 2020 election remains fundamental to the 2024 campaign, but also obscured by it, despite the against for working four years ago in the run-up to the violent siege and despite the convictions of more than 1,000 people in the Capitol attack.
It comes as the is weighing cases involving Jan. 6, including a for some rioters to contest their charges and convictions, and another on whether Trump can claim immunity in the federal election case.
All told, what seemed politically untenable, as the defeated Trump departed Washington downcast on Biden鈥檚 inauguration day on Jan. 20, 2021, is now within reach as the president who tried to overturn an election is the Republican Party鈥檚 presumptive nominee, edging toward an Oval Office return.
鈥淲e are four months away from the first presidential election since a violent attack on our Capitol. ... And the man responsible for that 鈥� Donald Trump 鈥� is currently the leading candidate,鈥� said Ian Bassin, executive director of the advocacy group Protect Democracy, which works to counter authoritarianism.
鈥淵ou鈥檇 think that alone would be disqualifying, or at a minimum would be the central focus of the election,鈥� he said.
And yet, Bassin said, the topic was 鈥渞elegated to an afterthought鈥� in the debate, 鈥渁nd the current president is struggling to press the case on why this issue should be of existential importance.鈥�
The forum itself is not necessarily to blame. The , asking Trump not once, but repeatedly, whether he would commit to not having another Jan. 6 and accepting the results of the election this time.
Trump insisted he had 鈥渧irtually nothing to do鈥� with the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6 and tried to shift blame to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., repeating his about the delay in sending in the National Guard.
Biden, whose underwhelming debate performance of stunted answers and trailing thoughts has sent the Democratic Party into turmoil, struggled to deliver a cohesive response, despite having given high-profile speeches about Jan. 6, including on the first anniversary.
鈥淟ook, he encouraged those folks to go up on Capitol Hill,鈥� Biden said on the debate stage.
Thompson, whose committee produced a lengthy, 1,000-plus page report on its investigation into Trump鈥檚 monthslong attempt to overturn the election and the storming of the Capitol, said Biden missed a 鈥済olden opportunity鈥� to set the record straight as millions of people watched the debate.
It was left to the people who actually experienced Jan. 6, the lawmakers who fled to safety as the mob of Trump supporters approached, to respond. Rioters, many wielding flag poles and with tactical gear, engaged in brutal, bloody hand-to-hand combat, fighting the U.S. Capitol Police to gain access to the building.
鈥淛anuary 6 was a dark day,鈥� said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on social media.
鈥淭rump-inspired insurrectionists sought to obstruct the peaceful transfer of power,鈥� he said. Schumer decried Friday's 鈥渟hameful decision鈥� from the Supreme Court that he said "will embolden anti-democracy radicals and make it harder for our judicial system to try insurrectionists."
Pelosi said Trump presented 鈥渁nother pack of lies鈥� during the debate. 鈥淗ow dare he place the blame for January 6th on anyone but himself, the inciter of an insurrection?鈥�
On Friday, the Supreme Court limited a federal obstruction law that has been used to charge Trump, alongside hundreds of Capitol riot defendants. While the ruling is certain to cause a reconsideration of some cases against the rioters, it is unclear how it will impact Trump's indictment, which includes other charges.
Trump, during a rally Friday in Chesapeake, Virginia, said a 鈥済reat thing鈥� just happened in response to the decision in the obstruction case, to the roar of 鈥淯SA!鈥� chants from the crowd.
鈥淭hey should be immediately released 鈥� immediately,鈥� Trump said about the defendants he called 鈥渢he J6 hostages.鈥�
A more energized Biden, at his own rally in the swing state of North Carolina, said 鈥渢he choice in this election is simple. Donald Trump will destroy our democracy. I will defend it.鈥�
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Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
Lisa Mascaro, The Associated Press
