Wednesday, January 05, 2022
Anniversary of the Capitol attack
Trump doesn’t want to talk to the press
The storming of the Capitol by an incited mob is considered to be one of the blackest days in the history of US democracy. Ex-President Trump actually wants to appear in front of the press on the first anniversary. Now he’s canceling the appointment.
Former US President Donald Trump has canceled a scheduled press conference on the anniversary of the storming of the US Capitol on January 6th. Trump justified the cancellation with the “total bias and dishonesty” of the media and the congressional committee, which is investigating his supporters’ attack on parliament.
While the event planned for Thursday at his Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Florida, will no longer take place, Trump reiterated that he wants to speak at a rally in Arizona on January 15. Trump announced the conference shortly before Christmas.
The Republican also took the opportunity to rail against the alleged “fraud” in the 2020 presidential election. “That was the crime of the century,” writes Trump in the statement. To this day he has not admitted his electoral defeat against Biden and regularly spreads his allegations of election fraud.
Hundreds of radical Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in early January 2021 when Biden’s election victory was to be certified there. Five people died, including a police officer and an attacker who was shot by an officer. The storming of the seat of Congress caused appalling reactions worldwide and is considered a black day in the history of US democracy.
Attempt at reinterpretation
The ex-president and his supporters try to portray the storming of the Capitol as a legitimate protest against a rigged election. The right-wing populist, extremely popular with the conservative base, is still the strong man among the Republicans – and is toying with a renewed presidential candidacy in 2024.
In January 2021, impeachment proceedings had been initiated against the elected president. In the impeachment process in the Senate, however, the two-thirds majority required for a conviction was ultimately missed. In the summer, the House of Representatives then set up a committee of inquiry to clarify the background to the storming of the Capitol. Among other things, the question of what role Trump and his environment played in the attack. House Chairwoman Democrat Nancy Pelosi has announced a series of commemorative events for the first anniversary of the Capitol storm.