Reporter Asks Biden ‘Why Didn’t You Say President Trump’s Name?’ After Searing Jan. 6 Speech

Moments after President Joe Biden concluded a searing speech on the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection incited by his predecessor, a reporter asked why he didn’t utter former President Donald Trump’s name during the address.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris delivered speeches at the Capitol Thursday morning to mark the anniversary of the Capitol insurrection, and the president’s speech contained blistering criticism of Trump.

But not once did Biden utter Trump’s name, a fact that immediately drew attention.

As Biden departed the Capitol following the speech, he spoke briefly with reporters, and the first question he was asked as he walked out was “Mr. President, why didn’t you say President Trump’s name?”

The reporter asked a second time, and Biden stopped and said “Look, I think we just have to face the facts. What happened. Draw a clear picture for the American people. It’s not about me. It’s not about vice president.”

After reinforcing the point a bit more, Biden appeared to address the question by saying “I did not want to turn it into a contemporary political battle between me and the president, it’s way beyond that. It’s way beyond that.”

Biden was then asked “Does calling him out divide more than it heals?”

“Look, the way you have to heal, you have to recognize the extent of the wound. You can’t pretend. This is serious stuff,” Biden said, adding that “You’ve got to face it. That’s what great nations do. They face the truth. Deal with it and move on.”

As illustrated by these exchanges, the two most talked-about aspects of the speech were withering commentary on Trump’s role in the attack and the fact that Biden never said Trump’s name. As CNN analysts repeatedly pointed out, there were 16 references to “the former president” in Biden’s speech, but not a single utterance of his name, which many saw as an attempt to diminish Trump.

Watch above via C-Span.