'There could be peril': Lindsey Graham urged Trump to cancel Jan. 6 presser during golf outing

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) says he urged former president Donald Trump to cancel his planned Jan. 6 press conference at Mar-a-Lago during a golf outing in West Palm Beach this weekend.

After Trump brought up the subject, Graham told him "there could be peril in doing a news conference ... Best to focus on election reform instead," Axios reports.

On Tuesday afternoon, Trump abruptly canceled the news conference, blaming "the total bias and dishonesty of the January 6th Unselect Committee of Democrats, two failed Republicans, and the Fake News Media."

The New York Times' Maggie Haberman later reported that, "Among other things, several advisors - formal and informal - told him the press conference was a mistake and/but it was becoming clear he wasn't likely to get the live TV coverage he was hoping for."

READ MORE: Trump canceled Jan. 6 event as 'it was becoming clear he wasn't likely to get live TV coverage': Maggie Haberman

Noting that Graham is "a frequent phone and golfing buddy of Trump," Axios reports that the senator confirmed in an interview Tuesday night that he discussed the issue with Trump during their outing this weekend.

In addition to Graham, Fox News host Laura Ingraham made clear she thought the news conference was a bad idea, the site reports.

"House and Senate leaders had no involvement in planning Trump's event — which they viewed as a political headache," according to Axios. "They were quietly relieved when they saw his statement Tuesday evening announcing he was canceling the press conference. The withdrawal leaves Steve Bannon and Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) as perhaps the only high-profile Trump allies willing to go on the offense through media appearances Thursday."