In an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Farah Griffin suggested that the upcoming January 6 “would be a wise day for [Trump] to stay silent, to let those who were victims on Capitol Hill talk about that very important and solemn day."
She noted that the idea of Trump holding a conference was proof that those around him are misleading the former president.
“[Trump] has also announced he'll be hosting a press conference [January 6] which, I think, if anything, proves he's still getting terrible advice from folks around him," she said.
Farah Griffin’s concern is reportedly centered on rhetoric she expects Trump to deliver at the event as she does not believe he will be apologetic or acknowledge the harm done on January 6. Instead, the former aide believes the one-term commander-in-chief will continue to baselessly push that the 2020 election was stolen from him personally, and that those who participated in the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack were justified.
“I think 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.
The fanning of the same rhetoric that led to the Capitol attack on its anniversary could put congressional Republicans in a difficult position, Farah Griffin believes.
“It's going to put Republicans on Capitol Hill in a very, a very tight position to be in,” she offered, adding, “what side of this are they going to come down on?"
Trump remains popular within the GOP, according to some polls, and most Republican lawmakers have been wary to directly defy his version of events. Some, including Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), have tried to downplay the January 6 attack.
“It doesn’t look like an armed insurrection…I don’t condone it – but they’re staying within the rope lines in the rotunda,” Johnson previously said of the event. Congressman Andrew Clyde (R-GA) has suggested that, "you would actually think it was just a normal tourist visit" when recalling the riot.
Many Republicans have opted to remain quiet on the fallout from the violence, instead focusing their attacks on the ongoing probe by the US House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol as a way to support Trump without condoning the actions of the attackers.