Former United States President Joe Biden has said President Donald Trump should never escape responsibility for the 6 January 2021, attack on the US Capitol, declaring that the incident “should follow him to his grave”.

Mr Biden made the remarks in an excerpt from his forthcoming presidential memoir, Promise Me, America, published by The Atlantic on Monday.

In the book, the former president criticised Mr Trump for pardoning supporters convicted over their involvement in the attack, insisting that those who assaulted law enforcement officers should have faced prison sentences.

“The criminals who attacked law-enforcement officers that day didn’t deserve pardons. They deserved prison terms,” Mr Biden wrote.

He accused President Trump and his administration of undermining democratic institutions and deepening divisions in the United States.

Mr Biden also condemned Trump’s response to the violence, accusing him of ignoring the brutality suffered by police officers during the riot.

“You don’t get to turn a blind eye to cops being punched, speared, sprayed, and brutalised and call yourself a friend of law enforcement,” he wrote.

“What Trump did on January 6, 2021, should never be forgotten. It should follow him to his grave,” Mr Biden added.

What happened on 6 January?

The Capitol riot occurred after Mr Trump addressed supporters at a rally in Washington, DC, as Congress prepared to certify Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.

Following the rally, Mr Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to disrupt the certification of the election results.

The attack resulted in violence against law enforcement officers and widespread damage to the Capitol building.

After returning to the White House in January 2025, Mr Trump pardoned more than 1,000 people convicted over their involvement in the riot and commuted the sentences of a dozen members of far-right groups, including the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.

Mr Trump defended the pardons, saying those affected had “been destroyed”.

White House responds to Biden

Reacting to Biden’s comments in response to a BBC request for comment, White House spokesperson Lauren Bis described the former president as “the worst president in American history”.

Ms Bis also criticised Biden’s administration, accusing it of creating a border crisis, being soft on crime, contributing to high inflation and pursuing what she described as “America-Last policies”.

Biden recalls meeting with Trump

In another section of the memoir, Mr Biden recounted a lengthy meeting with Trump following the latter’s victory in the 2024 presidential election.

He said he was surprised when Trump reportedly told him, “If it weren’t for politics, I believe we’d be good friends.”

Mr Biden said the comment left him “too stunned to respond”.

He also recalled Mr Trump praising his record on job creation, describing his performance as “extraordinary”, and saying he was relieved not to have faced him in the election.

Mr Biden said he was uncertain why Mr Trump had made the complimentary remarks and subsequently redirected their discussion to issues requiring attention.

Memoir release and health update

The memoir, titled Promise Me, America, is scheduled for release on 17 November.

Mr Biden, who served one term as president, has limited his promotional activities for the book while undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.

In a social media post on Sunday, he acknowledged that his health had affected his ability to participate in as many promotional engagements as planned.

“Some days are better than others,” Mr Biden wrote. “It hasn’t stopped me. But sometimes it slows me down.”

He said he remained hopeful that the memoir would communicate his account of his presidency and the decisions made during his time in office.