President Joe Biden addressed the National Prayer Breakfast on Wednesday morning, a tradition dating back to Dwight D. Eisenhower, where he spoke of the many challenges addressing Washington, including political extremism and white supremacy, the pandemic, and the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

"For so many in our nation, this is a dark, dark time," Biden said. "Where do we turn? Faith. It shows the way forward"

"We still have in front of us many difficult nights to endure, but we'll get through them together," Biden said, in a call for unity.

"In this moment we can not be timid or tired," Biden said of the challenges this country faces, echoing his calls for swft, bold action on his proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill.

He also spoke of the need to "confront political extremism" and denounced white supremacy.

The 46th President said that he was "grateful for the predecessors" who participated in the breakfast; former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama filmed messages for the virtual presentation, and Jimmy Carter sent a letter, but former president Donald Trump did not take part.

The breakfast has sparked controversy in the past, particularly when then-President Trump used the 2020 installment to slam his political opponents and question their faith. Some liberals have viewed the event warily because of the conservative faith-based group that is behind it.

The breakfast will gave the nation's second Catholic president a chance to talk about his vision of faith. Prior to the breakfast, Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), a close ally of Biden's, said the event would be "an inclusive and positive event" that "recognizes the teachings of Jesus but is not limited to Christianity."

"There have been significant changes in tone and focus from President Obama to President Trump to what I hope and expect will be a different tone and focus under President Biden," said Coons, an honorary co-chair of this year’s gathering.

Every president has attended the breakfast since Eisenhower made his first appearance in 1953. The event is virtual this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Coons suggested that Biden would appear via taped remarks.

The breakfast comes at a time when the nation's capital is facing a series of historic crises. Biden is struggling to win significant support from congressional Republicans for a coronavirus response package, raising the likelihood that he will rely only on Democrats to pass the legislation.

Many in Washington are still navigating the aftermath of the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last month. Trump faces an unprecedented second impeachment trial in the Senate next week over his role in inciting the riot.

Biden's message was a stark contrast to Trump's; during the 2020 breakfast, Trump singled out Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who had voted to convict the president during the first impeachment trial. Trump even held up a newspaper with a headline reading “ACQUITTED” over his own picture.

The breakfast has drawn pushback from gay and civil rights activists since President Barack Obama’s administration, with much of the opposition focused on the Fellowship Foundation, the conservative faith-based organization that has long supported the event. Religious liberals mounted a protest outside Trump’s first appearance in 2017, criticizing his limits on refugee admissions to the U.S., and a Russian gun rights activist convicted of acting as an unregistered foreign agent attended the breakfast twice during his administration.

Norman Solomon, co-founder and national director of the progressive activist group RootsAction, warned Biden not to “reach across any aisle to bigotry.”

“We don’t need any unity with bigotry,” Solomon said. “I fear a subtext of this engagement is, ‘Can’t we all get along.’ But that’s not appropriate in this case given the well-known right-wing and anti-gay background of the event’s sponsors.”

Solomon said Democratic presidents have continued a tradition of attending an event where their Republican counterparts often felt more comfortable because they feared being labeled as “anti-religious or nonreligious.” He said that Biden, a devout Catholic who attends Mass every week, could better send a unifying message by skipping the event and instead attending one that is truly bipartisan.

“God knows there are many religious leaders and gatherings that are devout and affirm human equality,” he said. “This isn’t one of them.”

Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, agreed that “there are far better ways” than the breakfast for Biden to connect with people on the basis of shared spiritual beliefs.

“We would love to work with the administration to figure out a way to change the sponsorship of an event like this and to make it a place for Americans of all different religious beliefs,” Laser said.

Yet Democratic leaders, aware of Biden’s devout Catholic faith and calls for healing, have largely refrained from public comment on the event this year. Florida Rep. Val Demings, once on the short list to be Biden's running mate, has delivered the closing prayer at the event in the past and is one of several Democratic members of Congress planning to attend.

Both Laser and Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons, a fellow in the faith initiative at the liberal Center for American Progress think tank, pointed to the Christian symbolism seen during last month’s Capitol riot as an opening for Biden to offer pluralistic, open language about faith.

“I hope President Biden recognizes we’re in a new moment," Graves-Fitzsimmons said, "and that the Christian nationalism threat is a threat to both the sacred religious pluralism of the U.S. and to Christianity.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.