David Duke among white
supremacists thanking president for standing up for "the truth" on
Charlottesville
After largely sticking
to the script on Monday, President Donald Trump "showed his true
colors" once again at an impromptu press conference Tuesday at Trump
Tower, where he suggested that white supremacists and counter demonstrators
were both to blame for the deadly violence that broke out in Charlottesville,
Virginia over the weekend, and argued that torch-wielding neo-Nazis were merely
expressing
peaceful disagreement with the planned removal of a statue of Robert E.
Lee.
In what many observers
characterized as an "unhinged"
display for a president, Trump repeatedly assured reporters that he watched the
events that unfolded over the weekend "very closely," and came away
with the conclusion that anti-racist protesters—who Trump claims "came
charging in without a permit"—were "very violent," and argued
that there were many "good people" among the white supremacists who
participated in the so-called "Unite the Right" rally on Saturday.
"I think there's blame on
both sides and I have no doubt about it," Trump said of the violence
that left one woman dead and dozens injured.
The president also defended
his delayed response to the white supremacist violence, saying he likes to
"wait for the facts before commenting"—a
rule that is evidently suspended when the perpetrators are thought to be
Muslim.
"Making the statement
when I made it was excellent," Trump said.
In an echo of Saturday, when
Trump was praised
by neo-Nazis for blaming "many sides" for the violence in
Charlottesville, David Duke—former grand wizard of the KKK—thanked
Trump following the Tuesday press conference for telling the "truth"
about "leftist terrorists."
Among non-white supremacists,
the reaction to Trump's comments was a mixture of horror and dismay. MSNBC
commentator Chuck Todd said the press conference gave him "chills,"
and the Anne Frank Center called the president's remarks "nauseating"
and "racist."
"This is
unconscionable," concluded
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
"Trump is on camera right
now defending the white supremacists at Charlottesville. Saying many were good
people. No joke," wrote
activist and New York Daily News writer Shaun King. "It's
disgusting."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren
(D-Mass.), writing shortly after the press conference came to a close,
expressed similar outrage.
"The president of the
United States just defended neo-Nazis and blamed those who condemn their racism
and hate," Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) declared on Twitter.
"This is sick."
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