Democracy Won On Jan. 6, Pelosi Declares

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had a singular message for Americans and the world on the eve of the anniversary of the horrific attack on the Capitol: “Democracy won.”

Photo Insert: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was one of the primary targets of Trump supporters who raided the Capitol.

In an interview with Lisa Mascaro of the Associated Press (AP) on Wednesday(Jan. 6 in Manila), steps from where a mob loyal to Donald Trump laid siege to the building, Pelosi said it’s time for the country to turn to its “better angels,” draw from history and ensure a day like Jan. 6 never happens again.

“Make no mistake, our democracy was on the brink of catastrophe,” Pelosi told the AP. “Democracy won that night,” she said. “These people, because of the courageous work of the Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police and others, they were deterred in their action to stop the peaceful transfer of power. They lost.”

The speaker will lead Congress on Thursday in a day of remembrance at the Capitol, with President Joe Biden speaking in the morning, and historians and lawmakers sharing remembrances throughout the day — though few Republicans are expected to attend.

The deadly insurrection stunned the country, and the world, as rioters ransacked the Capitol, some in hand-to-hand combat with police after a defeated President Trump exhorted them to fight as Congress was certifying the Biden’s election.

Pelosi said no one could have imagined a US president calling for an insurrection, but there’s now an “enormous civic lesson learned as to what a president is capable of,” she said. “I think now people are alerted to the fact that there can be rogue presidents.”

The California congresswoman, who made history 15 years ago as the first female speaker of the House -- and has become one of the most powerful leaders ever to have held the gavel -- said she bears “absolutely no sense of responsibility” for the current divisions in Congress, or the country.

After having twice led the House to impeach Trump, she said her message to those who assaulted the Capitol — and the millions of Americans who backed Trump and may support him again — is that they were lied to. Countless court cases and investigations have shown no evidence of voter fraud that could have tipped the election, as he claims.

“They may have thought that was right,” she said. ”But they were lied to by the president of the US.” For that, she said, “he should be ashamed.” Trump canceled his planned Jan. 6 press conference after getting booed in his rallies and slammed left and right for his clear role in instigating the insurrection. He may yet face prosecution.

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