Biden to decry democracy ‘recession’ at White House summit
By AAMER MADHANI and LISA MASCARO
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden plans to urge participants at the first White House Summit for Democracy to reverse an ongoing “recession” of democracy. The two-day virtual summit has already drawn backlash from some of the United States’ adversaries and nations that weren’t invited. Ambassadors to the U.S. from China and Russia wrote a joint essay describing the Biden administration as exhibiting a “Cold-War mentality” that will “stoke up ideological confrontation.” The summit comes as U.S. democracy faces challenges to its institutions and traditions. States are passing laws that make it more difficult to vote. The Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol has left many Republicans clinging to Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen election.