Biden-Trump debate: ‘Protecting democracy’ and Jan 6 riot most crucial points to watch out for

Ahead of the Joe Biden-Donald Trump presidential debate, it is expected that the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot and “threat to democracy” might take centre stage. Biden has said at various campaigns and public appearances that democracy will be at stake if Trump is elected president. Trump, obviously, believes otherwise.

Joe Biden’s stance

Earlier this year, Biden said during his State of the Union address, “Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault here at home as they are today.” During the debate, however, Biden will get an opportunity to confront Trump face-to-face for the first time and question him about his denial of the election results that led to the January 6 Capitol riot and other crucial issues.

Back in May, an ABC News/Ipsos poll revealed that "protecting democracy" was one of the top four issues for voters. It also showed that voters were evenly split on which candidate they believed would do that.

Both Trump and Biden are considering the January 6 riot as an incident central to their 2024 campaigns, but of course, in different ways. Biden’s reelection bid paints Trump as a person who is an existential threat to the country's founding principles. Democracy, under Trump, will be at stake, Biden believes.

Earlier this month, during a speech marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day, Biden said at Pointe du Hoc in Normandy, "American democracy asks the hardest things: to believe that we're part of something bigger than ourselves. So, democracy begins with each of us."

The Biden-Harris campaign recently released a short ad featuring imagery from the January 6 attack, with the narrator saying, “There is nothing more sacred than our democracy. But Donald Trump's ready to burn it all down."

Donald Trump’s stance

Trump, on the other hand, has tried to establish that Biden is the "threat to democracy.” He has accused the president of weaponizing the government in an attempt to prosecute a political opponent.

Trump has also consistently made claims of fraud in the 2020 election, which have been blasted as false. Officials of his own administration, including former Attorney General Bill Barr, have debunked his claims.

"I think the big thing we have to do is stop the cheating," Trump recently said in an interview with his former press secretary, Sean Spicer. "We have to stop the fraud."

Amid his various legal troubles, Trump has also told his supporters that he was indicted because “our enemies want to take away my freedom.” "I'm being indicted for you," he recently said at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's conference in Washington. "Never forget our enemies want to take away my freedom because I will never let them take away your freedom. They want to silence me because I will never let them silence you."

January 6 has been a kind of rallying cry in Trump’s campaign. He has told supporters that he would forgive some of the people who were convicted or charged, and even referred to them as “patriots,” “warriors,” and “hostages.”