FACT CHECK: Does This Image Show A Genuine Trump Press Release About His Canceled Jan. 6 Press Conference?

Kenia Mazariegos | Contributor

An image shared on Facebook allegedly shows a press release issued by former President Donald Trump explaining the reason behind the cancellation of his Jan. 6 press conference.

Verdict: False

There is no record of Trump putting out the press release. It has been fabricated.

Fact Check:

Trump on Jan. 4 canceled the press conference he had scheduled to take place at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, on the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, CNN reportedAfter the announcement, social media users began sharing a screenshot of a purported Jan. 4 statement from Trump that includes the “Save America” letterhead.

“I did not cancel my GREAT event because of Sean Hannity’s texts,” the purported Trump statement reads, in part. “I canceled because my son Donald paid me to rent the venue to plan his wedding. NO ONE can cancel better than me. Not the Radical Left, Liz ‘Hack’ Cheney, or Antifa.” (RELATED: Did Donald Trump Release a Statement Calling Tom Brady ‘Shady’?)

Check Your Fact searched Trump’s official website and his 45office.com website, and found one statement from Jan. 4 regarding the cancellation of the press conference. The statement being shared on Facebook does not match what was said in Trump’s real press release.

“In light of the total bias and dishonesty of the January 6th Unselect Committee of Democrats, two failed Republicans, and the Fake News Media, I am canceling the January 6th Press Conference at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, and instead will discuss many of those important topics at my rally on Saturday, January 15th, in Arizona,” the official statement read, in part. “It will be a big crowd!”

Using a reverse image search, Check Your Fact found the supposed press release being shared on Facebook has been fabricated and appears to have originated from a Twitter account belonging to comedian Gabe Sanchez, who posted it Jan. 4. Sanchez’s tweet garnered over 1,300 likes and nearly 500 retweets.

Sanchez confirmed to Check Your Fact via Instagram direct message that he created the fake press release, stating “How can you not make fun of [Trump]?”

“I’ve seen plenty of former President Trump’s ridiculous press releases and 3 am rage tweets to know his style—toss in some buzz words in all caps, give a lame nickname, blame someone for something pointless, and voila,” Sanchez said.

Check Your Fact reached out to a spokesperson for Trump and will update this article if a response is provided.

Kenia Mazariegos

Contributor

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