Trump Doubles Down on Charlottesville Violence Comments; Blames Both Sides

The heated exchange between President Trump and the press on Tuesday where he doubled down on his initial comments blaming both sides for violence at a White Nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia has exposed deep divisions and the challenging nature of race relations in America.

https://youtu.be/sxsRM7_4XfE

Speaking to reporters at Trump Tower, he warned how attempts to eradicate historic public monuments linked to the Confederacy could diminish the legacies of the nation’s Founding Fathers such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

The President fired back at the media’s criticism of his initial response to the Charlottesville violence on Saturday when he condemned “hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides” rather than explicitly calling out White Nationalists, KKK and neo-Nazis. He then defended that position saying he didn’t have all the facts at the time and didn’t want to rush to judgment for the sake of political correctness.

“I wanted to make sure that what I said was correct, not make a mistake,” he said to reporters.  “Unlike the media, before I make a statement, I like to know the facts.”

The President also took issue with the media’s unfair reporting and deliberate misrepresentation of the violence, accusing them of singling out one group, the “Alt-Right” which they continue to blame for the violence while turning a blind-eye to the “alt-left” agitators.

“What about the alt-left that came charging?”  he asked reporters. “Do they have any semblance of guilt? What about the fact they came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs? Do they have any problem? I think they do.”

He then blamed both sides for contributing to “a horrible, horrible day.”

“You had a group on one side that was bad, and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent and nobody wants to say that.  But I’ll say it right now,” said a defiant Trump.

“You had a group on the other side [Alt-Left] that came charging in without a permit, and they were very, very violent.”

Democrats who have made no secret their desire to impeach this President jumped on his comments, with party extremists like Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI) calling for his removal from office.  While some within the Republican Party jumped on the criticism bandwagon, many GOP lawmakers support the President.

The unscripted moment at Trump Tower had been building since the President’s first remarks on Saturday after a car plowed into a crowd of protesters in Charlottesville, killing one woman and injuring 20 others.

On Monday, he succumbed to pressure and issued a second statement which directly blamed and singled out Neo-Nazis and KKK for the “racist violence” and condemned the hateful ideology that “has no place in America.”

His frustration became more evident when he lashed out at a CNN reporter saying, “I’m not finished Fake News” when he interrupted his response.

President Trumps blames the media for misleading the public by lumping all protesters on The Right who showed up in Charlottesville to protest the removal of a Confederate Monument as White Supremacists and Neo-Nazis.

“Not all of those people are neo-Nazis, not all of those people are White Supremacists, by any stretch,” he said.

“Many of those people were there to protest the taking down of a statue of Robert E. Lee…I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and the White Nationalists, because they should be condemned totally. You had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and White Nationalists and the press has treated them absolutely unfairly.”

He then said something which the press is refusing to say or broadcast about the alt-left Antifa (anti-fascists/anti-First Amendment) demonstrators.

“You see them come with the black outfits and with the helmets and with the baseball bats. You had a lot of bad people in the other group.”

President Trump then pointed out the dangers in attempting to erase the Confederate history by removing public monuments, arguing how it could be a dangerous slippery slope towards laundering tributes to the nation’s Founding Fathers most of whom were proud slave owners of the time.

“This week it’s Robert E. Lee. I noticed that Stonewall Jackson’s coming down. You have to ask yourself, where does it stop? I wonder, is it George Washington next week? And is it Thomas Jefferson the week after? “he said in reference to Leftist mobs now tearing down statues with Democrats support.

“George Washington was a slave owner. So, will George Washington now lose his status? What do you think of Thomas Jefferson? Are we going to take down the because statue he was a major slave owner?”

“You’re changing history. You’re changing culture.” said the President who appears concerned like the rest of the country that this issue which is getting out of hand is not about statues or monuments but political.

When asked whether the statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee should be removed he said, “That’s up to a local town, community or the federal government, depending on where it is located.”

Unlike Democrats who depend on politics of racial division to gain popularity and remain in power, President Trump emphasized during the presser that only jobs and a successful economy can heal social and racial divisions in the country.

“I think that’s going to have a huge, positive impact on race relations,” he said. “You know why? It’s jobs. What people want now, they want jobs. They want great jobs with good pay. And when they have that, you watch how race relations will be.”

President Trump then pointed out how his administration is working hard in inner cities towards that goal saying, “We’re spending a lot of money on the inner cities. It’s a priority for me.”

Despite the media hype, President Trump did condemn James Alex Fields Jr, the man who drove the vehicle into the crowd of protesters  saying he “is a disgrace to himself, his family and his country” calling him “a murderer”.

 

 

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