Biden Hosts Historians to Discuss Defending Democracy Ahead of Jan. 6 Speech
• President Biden hosted historians at the White House to discuss threats to democracy in the US and abroad. Attendees included Eddie Glaude Jr., Sean Wilentz, Annette Gordon-Reed, Beverly Gage, Heather Cox Richardson, and Jon Meacham.
• The historians bluntly warned about the slow creep of authoritarianism globally and urged Biden to forcefully call out the threats to democracy.
• The meeting comes ahead of Biden's speech on Jan. 6, marking the anniversary of the attack on the Capitol. He sees the stakes as higher now than when he first ran for president.
• Biden has periodically met with historians to discuss his legacy and existential threats to the country.
• Biden hopes his warnings about anti-democratic forces will rally support, as he feels it did during the 2022 midterms. He'll revisit the theme in his upcoming speech at the site of George Washington's Continental Army headquarters.