Advertisement

Biden tells crowd: 'I don't care if you think I'm Satan reincarnated. The fact is you can't look at that television and say nothing happened on the 6th.'

U.S. President Joe Biden reacts to shouted questions from reporters as he walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on July 21, 2021 in Washington, DC.
  • President Joe Biden was asked at a town hall whether he was confident US lawmakers could cooperate.

  • A committee set up in June to investigate the Capitol riot is having trouble finalizing its members.

  • On Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected two Republicans picked by GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy.

  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

President Joe Biden had strong words for people questioning the seriousness of the January 6 Capitol insurrection.

"I don't care if you think I'm Satan reincarnated," he said Wednesday at a CNN town hall in Cincinnati. "The fact is you can't look at that television and say nothing happened on the sixth and listen to people who say this was a peaceful march."

Biden was responding to the moderator Don Lemon's question on whether he had confidence Republicans and Democrats could work together, given that the two sides were having trouble establishing a bipartisan investigation into the Capitol insurrection, per the Associated Press.

A 13-member House committee - consisting of both Democrats and Republicans - was mooted last month to investigate the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier Wednesday rejected two Republicans nominated by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to be on the committee.

Pelosi questioned whether the two nominees - Reps. Jim Banks of Indiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio - would compromise the integrity of the inquiry. In the hours after the Capitol insurrection, the two voted to overturn election results. They are also vocal supporters of former President Donald Trump.

"With respect for the integrity of the investigation, with an insistence on the truth and with concern about statements made and actions taken by these members, I must reject the recommendations of Representatives Banks and Jordan to the Select Committee," Pelosi said in a statement seen by the AP.

In response, McCarthy said Republicans would not participate in the investigation if Democrats did not accept the people he picked.

Biden also had strong words for GOP legislators pushing voting restrictions and changes to the way elections are run, calling it "Jim Crow on steroids."

"I stand by what I said," Biden told Lemon. "Never before has there been an attempt by state legislatures to take over the ability to determine who won - not count the votes, determine who won."

Read the original article on Insider