Former President Donald Trump has canceled his planned press conference set for Thursday, the first anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
In an emailed statement Tuesday afternoon, the former president said he made the decision because of the dishonesty of congressional Democrats and the mainstream corporate media.
“In light of the total bias and dishonesty of the January 6th Unselect Committee of Democrats, two failed Republicans, and the Fake News Media, I am canceling the January 6th Press Conference at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday,” he said.
Mr. Trump “instead will discuss many of those important topics at my rally on Saturday, January 15th, in Arizona — It will be a big crowd!” he said.
The former president, who was banned from most social media after the Jan. 6 attack on Congress by his supporters, said a press conference would be a useless exercise because reporters would not report it fairly and accurately.
“What has become more and more obvious to ALL is that the LameStream Media will not report the facts that Nancy Pelosi and the Capitol Sergeant-at-Arms denied requests for the D.C. National Guard or Military to be present at the Capitol. Their emails and correspondence with the Department of Defense exist, but the media won’t ask for this evidence, or report the truth!” he maintained.
Mr. Trump’s plan to hold a press conference on the anniversary of the storming of the Capitol building had been widely criticized as grossly insensitive by media outlets that blamed him for stoking the rioters and/or remaining indifferent to it as it was unfolding.
“At the time of a Capitol prayer service on Jan. 6, Trump will deliver remarks doubling down on the ‘Big Lie.’ The riot at the Capitol briefly looked like it had broken Trump’s hold on the GOP. Instead, he has reaffirmed his dominion over the party,” advised Politico in a two-part headline.
“The cruelty of Trump’s Jan. 6 press conference,” noted a headline from The Hill, heralding an op-ed on the subject by Douglas MacKinnon, a former White House official.
“Trump’s ‘tone-deaf’ plan for Jan. 6 press conference slammed by Republicans [and] former aide,” noted Newsweek, citing a quote from Alyssa Farah, a former communications aide to Mr. Trump.
“He’s still getting terrible advice from folks around him. This would be a wise day for him to stay silent, to let those who were victims on Capitol Hill talk about that very important and solemn day,” Ms. Farah said.
• Jennifer Harper contributed to this report.
