We have all dealt with Trump long enough to have predicted that he would do something to note January 6th, something in which he both defends himself while also making it out to sound positive. Of course, he would or he wouldn’t be Donald Trump.

If we could all avail ourselves of time travel back to January 7th and the country’s mood on that day, the cruelty of his press conference would be appreciated by all but perhaps 2-3% of the country. Now it will be supported by somewhere around 35%. That is the power of propaganda.

Douglas MacKinnon has worked for the last three Republican presidents in some form of communications capacity. He penned an op-ed for The Hill that hits the mark with respect to Trump’s “press conference” and comes a little too close with Pelosi’s response.

We will honor fair use and only use three paragraphs, the article is much longer and can be found here:

Trump has announced he will hold a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Jan 6. To say that his timing is tone-deaf would be letting Trump off the hook much too easily. It’s actually downright cruel, especially considering that four Trump supporters died during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, a Capitol Police officer died from a str0ke the day after, and four other police officers took their own lives in the days and months following.

The single last thing he cares about are the people who perished that day. He actually uses the events surrounding the passing of Ashli Babbitt as more propaganda, the only portion of that day that Trump wants to be investigated. The only victim was a MAGA.

Simple decency would suggest that he pick another day. But Trump likely chose that day precisely because he wants to rip the scab off the wound to fire up his base and fuel the hate machine in the process. Unfortunately, he’ll probably succeed on both counts.

He wants that day associated with his “stolen election” rather than the riot, which is why he is going to talk about the “stolen election” (that wasn’t at all stolen) the entire time. This is propaganda at work, this is how it is done. It is meant to make the whole day sound justifiable without really referencing how wrong it was and tie it to his greatest cause, that he couldn’t possibly “lose” at anything.

MacKinnon goes on to make a point that to a very limited extent, we agree:

And while the GOP lawmakers are doing that, it might be nice if some Democrats also could muster up the courage to call out House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for intending to exploit Jan. 6 in her own self-serving way.

We do not agree with the strength of MacKinnon’s language or the words he is using but there is something there. He goes on:

In a “Dear Colleague” letter, Pelosi has made it clear that she will be the force behind a “full program of events” to mark that day in Washington. The events will bring liberal historians and members of Congress together to share their reflections and opinions about the day that Trump supporters overran the Capitol.

Again, we don’t at all agree with the way MacKinnon phrases his opinion (We wonder if he’s ever met a real historian he doesn’t consider liberal), but we do believe that the best way to commemorate the anniversary of January 6th is to ask every member of Congress to wear red, white, and blue, that day, have a fifteen minute “service” for the police who were crushed – mentally and physically – during the riot, and then show that democracy will win out in the United States by going back to work, democratically, by the rules, without vi0lence.

MacKinnon makes it sound as though Pelosi is using it for political gain and whether that is her intention or not, even the appearance isn’t worth it.

Of course, nothing that happens in Washington that day will be anywhere near as offensive as what happens in Florida, which most certainly will be cruel.

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