Vice President Kamala Harris is receiving blowback after comparing the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the attack on Pearl Harbor.
During a speech on the one-year anniversary of the riot, Harris said, “Certain dates echo throughout history, including dates that instantly remind all who have lived through them — where they were and what they were doing when our democracy came under assault.”
“Dates that occupy not only a place on our calendars but a place in our collective memory. December 7th, 1941. September 11th, 2001. And January 6th, 2021,” she added.
Watch the video below:
In her remarks on the one-year anniversary of January 6th, Kamala Harris compares the day to Pearl Harbor and 9/11. pic.twitter.com/TI17jNfDfo
— MRCTV (@mrctv) January 6, 2022
Later in her remarks, Harris said, “On January 6th, we all saw what our nation would look like if the forces who seek to dismantle our democracy are successful. The lawlessness, the violence, the chaos.”
“What was at stake then, and now, is the right to have our future decided the way the Constitution prescribes it: by we, the people — all the people,” she added.
However, her comparison to the attack on Pearl Harbor and the 9/11 terrorist attacks sparked anger from some who noted the disparity in the death toll between those attacks and the riot.
Four people who participated in the riot died, and five police officers who helped defend the Capitol died.
Check out some of the reactions below:
December 7, 1941: 2,300 Americans killed
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 6, 2022
September 11, 2001: 3,000 Americans killed
January 6, 2021: 1 American killed (Ashli Babbitt) https://t.co/QgMqOxhkGi
Kamala Harris right out the gate with “1/6 is now in the pantheon with Pearl Harbor and 9/11” so you know this isn’t going to be a political speech.
— Jeff Blehar is *BOX OFFICE POISON* (@EsotericCD) January 6, 2022
https://twitter.com/RealKyleMorris/status/1479094400160522245
I was in New York on 9/11/01
— Andrew McCarthy (@AMcCarthyNY) January 6, 2022
I was in DC on 1/6/21
Have some respect and stop making comparisons.
Jan 6 was far more like Fort Sumter than it was 9/11 or Pearl Harbor. I thought that was obvious.
— Sarah Isgur (@whignewtons) January 6, 2022
What a gross and incredibly out of touch thing to say.
— Abigail Jackson 🇺🇸 (@abigailmarone) January 6, 2022
Worst part is this line likely went through levels and levels of approval in the WH and every single person who looked at it thought it was an ok thing to say. https://t.co/zQlx6p8r1o
VP Kamala Harris just equated the riot on January 6th to the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
— John R. Whitmer (@JohnRWhitmer) January 6, 2022
These people are so asinine!
During remarks on Thursday, President Joe Biden blamed the riot on former President Donald Trump, who he said “has created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election.”
“He has done so because he values power over principle because he sees his own interest as more important than his country’s interest, America’s interest, and because his bruised ego means more to him than our democracy and our Constitution. He can’t accept he lost,” Biden added.