Mr Trump, whom one ally said had soured on the event because he felt it would not be covered fairly, had faced pressure to cancel from some who thought it was ill-advised, especially in an election year. 

Republicans are hoping to win back control of the House and Senate in this autumn’s midterm elections. However, some in the party fear that the former president’s ongoing obsession with the 2020 election and efforts to defend the rioters could turn off voters the party needs to win.

Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator from South Carolina and a Trump ally, told the news outlet Axios that he had urged Mr Trump to cancel, telling him over a round of golf in West Palm Beach last weekend that “there could be peril in doing a news conference… Best to focus on election reform instead”.

The event would have been Mr Trump’s second press conference since leaving office. While he has been banned from Twitter and other social media outlets, he has appeared regularly on conservative news outlets, as well as holding numerous rallies and other events.