One former aide to Donald Trump believes he is receiving “terrible advice” from members of his inner circle as he plans to move ahead with a press conference on the one year anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Alyssa Farah, the White House’s director of strategic communications under Trump believes Jan. 6 would be a day for the former president to stay quiet especially since she expects he will continue to push lies about the election that led to his supporters storming the Capitol in the first place.
“The former president has also announced he’ll be hosting a press conference that day which, I think if anything proves he’s still getting terrible advice from folks around him,” Farah told CNN. “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.”
Five people died as a result of the riot on Jan. 6 including Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, and more than 700 people have been arrested and charged in connection to the insurrection, many have since been sentenced to prison. Trump was also impeached for inciting an insurrection.
Farah does not expect Trump to be apologetic, “instead you’ll hear a very sort of, you know, the tone from him that this was — reiterating the lies that the election was stolen, saying that those who are being tried for the insurrection are political prisoners,” she said.
Trump has downplayed Jan. 6 calling it “a completely unarmed protest of the rigged election,” and has said election day was the real insurrection. Republican members of Congress have also downplayed the riot including Georgia congressman Andrew Clyde who called it a “normal tourist visit,” even though he was photographed hiding in the House chamber during the insurrection.
Other Republican lawmakers like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz have called the insurrectionists “patriots” and the people imprisoned for their role in the riot, “political prisoners.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that her office will be holding a prayer vigil with members of the Senate, and a panel discussion with historians to “establish and preserve the narrative” of Jan. 6.
