Capitol attack: Biden to stress Trump?s ?singular responsibility? on anniversary

It was a day that shook America. Joe Biden will lead sombre commemorations on Thursday to mark one year since the US Capitol insurrection that left five people dead and the nation's democracy wounded, and is expected to lay out the "singular responsibility" that Donald Trump has for the "chaos and carnage" of that day.

In a speech, Biden will directly address the former president's role in the attack and his attempts since to distract from or downplay events, the White House said.

Biden has been "clear-eyed" about the "threat the former president represents to our democracy", the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said in a briefing on Wednesday. Biden has repeatedly stated that Trump "abused his office, undermined the constitution and ignored his oath to the American people in an effort to amass more power for himself and his allies", Psaki said.

"President Biden will lay out the significance of what happened at the Capitol and the singular responsibility President Trump has for the chaos and the carnage that we saw," she added. "He will forcibly push back on the lies spread by the former president in an attempt to mislead the American people and his own supporters, as well as distract from his role in what happened."

The president is also set to praise the bravery of outnumbered police officers on the scene and outline the unfinished work that America needs to do to heal, the White House said.

Defeated in the 2020 presidential election, Trump incited his supporters to storm the Capitol and interrupt certification of Biden's victory. Scores of police were beaten and bloodied and congressional offices were ransacked in the worst ever domestic attack on the seat of US government.

Trump this week cancelled his own anniversary event - a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida that had been scheduled for the evening of 6 January - reportedly at the urging of advisers.