President Joe Biden will stress democracy is still a ‘sacred cause’ in a speech near Valley Forge

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will kick off his 2024 pitch to voters Friday, the day before the anniversary of the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, by posing the question of whether democracy is still a “sacred cause” worth sacrificing for.

Biden believes the upcoming election is largely about that question, according to a Biden adviser who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the Democratic president’s expected remarks. Whether or not the nation agrees may end up a central question of the 2024 race.

The president will speak from near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, where George Washington and the Continental Army spent a bleak winter nearly 250 years ago. And he’ll talk about how Washington spoke to his army about democracy as a “sacred cause.”

The Jan. 6 attack was a vivid reminder of how that democracy can be tested, Biden is expected to say, according to the adviser.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«Other news» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Other news </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Wisconsin’s Democratic governor says Trump should be on ballot, Biden must visit to beat him </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Biden administration announces $162 million to expand computer chip factories in Colorado and Oregon </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Second administration official resigns in protest of Biden’s support for Israeli war in Gaza </bsp-custom-headline> </bsp-list-loadmore>

Biden will also lay out then-President Donald Trump’s role in the attack, as