WASHINGTON (NewsNation Now) — President Joe Biden marked the first anniversary of the U.S. Capitol insurrection Thursday by delivering remarks tailored to the “singular responsibility” former president Donald Trump had in the deadly assault on the Capitol.
“We saw it with our own eyes,” Biden said at Statuary Hall. “For the first time in our history, a president not just lost an election, he tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob breached the Capitol, but they failed.”
“Democracy was attacked,” he added. “We the people endure. We the people prevailed.”
He encouraged Americans to recognize the truth and lies of the events of Jan. 6. In his speech, he criticized Trump’s role in the insurrection and the actions of those who participated.
“This was an armed insurrection. They were looking to deny the will of the people. They were looking to subvert the Constitution,” Biden said. “This is about making sure the past isn’t buried. That’s the only way forward.”
The president said the country is in “a battle for the soul of America” as he criticized Trump’s response to the Capitol attack.
“The former president created and spread a web of lies. He values power over principle. Bruised ego matters more to him than democracy. He can’t accept he lost,” Biden said, referring to Trump but not directly by name.
Biden vowed to protect the country and “allow no one to place a dagger at the throat of democracy.”
In remarks, Vice President Kamala Harris recalled her Jan. 6 experience and encouraged Americans to “unite in defense of our democracy.” She said the future of the nation’s democracy is at stake.
“They were assaulting the institutions, the values, and ideas that generations of Americans have fought, picketed and marched to establish and defend,” Harris said.
One year ago, hundreds of supporters of Trump stormed the Capitol after Trump’s rally while Congress was certifying the 2020 presidential election. Four people died on the day of the riot, and one Capitol police officer died the day after defending Congress. Dozens of police were injured during the event and four officers have since taken their own lives.
A series of remembrance events coordinated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will take place following Biden’s speech, including a moment of silence on the House floor and testimonials from lawmakers about the harrowing attack. Few Republicans were in attendance.
Trump canceled a scheduled news conference on Thursday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, citing what he called the “bias and dishonesty” of the House of Representatives probe of the attacks and the media.
More than 700 people have been charged in more than 45 states for their involvement in the insurrection. The Capitol attack has led to Trump’s second impeachment by the House of Representatives and launched one of the largest investigations in FBI history.
FILE – People listen as President Donald Trump speaks during a rally Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) 
FILE – President Donald Trump speaks to crowd before boarding Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., in this Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, file photo. Former President Donald Trump will find out this week whether he gets to return to Facebook. The social network’s quasi-independent Oversight Board says it will announce its decision Wednesday, May 5 on a case concerning the former president. Trump’s account was suspended for inciting violence that led to the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riots. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez, File) 
FILE: In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo rioters loyal to President Donald Trump storm the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP) 
FILE – In this Jan. 6, 2021 file photo, supporters of then President Donald Trump climb the west wall of the the U.S. Capitol in Washington. A New York mother and son have been charged with theft in aiding the disappearance of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s laptop during the Jan. 6 insurrection after the FBI initially raided a home 4,500 miles away in Alaska, looking for the computer. According to court documents, the FBI on Friday, Oct. 1 arrested Maryann Mooney-Rondon, and her son, Rafael Rondon, of Watertown, N.Y. Both also face other charges related to the riot at the Capitol. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) 
Supporters of US President Donald Trump clash with the US Capitol police during a riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. – (Photo by ALEX EDELMAN / AFP) (Photo by ALEX EDELMAN/AFP via Getty Images) 
Rioters loyal to then-President Donald Trump outside of U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. Even as the first of the more than 500 federal Capitol riot defendants have begun to plead guilty, scores of suspects remain unidentified, reflecting the massive scale of the Justice Department’s investigation and the grueling work authorities still face to track everyone down. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) 
FILE – In this Jan. 6, 2021 file photo, rioters try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington. People charged in the attack on the U.S. Capitol left behind a trove of videos and messages that have helped federal authorities build cases. In nearly half of the more than 200 federal cases stemming from the attack, authorities have cited evidence that an insurrectionist appeared to have been inspired by conspiracy theories or extremist ideologies, according to an Associated Press review of court records. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File) 
FILE – In this Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 file photo, Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington. Right-wing extremism has previously mostly played out in isolated pockets of America or in smaller cities. In contrast, the deadly attack by rioters on the U.S. Capitol targeted the very heart of government. It brought together members of disparate groups, creating the opportunity for extremists to establish links with each other. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.