The White House plans to hold an event commemorating the one-year anniversary of the pro-Trump storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed Tuesday.
Psaki made the statement during Tuesday’s White House press briefing, less than a month ahead of the anniversary of Jan. 6. President Joe Biden has repeatedly called the attack one of the “darkest days” in history for American democracy. (RELATED: Psaki Blames Republicans For Going Against Build Beck Batter Plan When Asked About Manchin, High Inflation)
“What does the White House plan to do, if anything, to commemorate Jan. 6? I feel like there’s been a little push an pull internally at the White House — You’re not necessarily wanting to elevate former President Donald Trump, but also wanting to respond to some of the threats, so how are you all approaching that?” a reporter asked.
“I don’t have anything to report to you at this point in time about our plans,” Psaki said. “I expect we will have more as we get closer to the end of the year, but to the president, January 6th was one of the darkest days in our democracy. It was a day that our nation’s Capitol was under attack, and I think there’s no question you’ll see us commemorate that day.”
WATCH:
The exchange came roughly a day after revelations that various Fox News hosts, including Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity, had urged Trump to denounce the Capitol rioters on Jan. 6 in private text messages to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
The text messages were revealed publicly thanks to Meadows’ brief cooperation with the congressional committee investigating the Capitol riots. His texts also reveal that Donald Trump Jr. urged his father to denounce the riots, along with Ivanka Trump.
“He’s got to condemn this shit ASAP. The Capitol Police tweet is not enough,” Trump Jr. wrote. “We need an Oval office address. He has to lead now. It has gone too far and gotten out of hand.”