‘Both sides’ blamed for Virginia violence
NEW YORK— US President Donald Trump defiantly blamed “both sides” for the weekend violence between white supremacists and counter-demonstrators in Virginia, seeking to rebuff the widespread criticism of his handling of the emotionally-charged protests while showing sympathy for the fringe group’s efforts to preserve Confederate monuments.
In doing so, Trump used the bullhorn of the presidency to give voice to the grievances of white nationalists, and aired some of his own. His remarks on Tuesday amounted to a rejection of the Republicans, business leaders and White House advisers who earlier this week had pushed the president to more forcefully and specifically condemn the KKK members, neo-Nazis and white supremacists who took to the streets of Charlottesville.
The angry exchange with reporters at his skyscraper hotel in New York laid bare a reality of the Trump presidency: Trump cannot be managed by others or steered away from damaging political land mines. His top aides were stunned by his comments, with some including new chief of staff John Kelly standing by helplessly as the president escalated his rhetoric.
Standing in the lobby of Trump Tower, Trump acknowledged that there were “some very bad people” among those who gathered to protest on Saturday. But he added: “You also had people that were very fine people, on both sides.”
The rally was organized by white supremacists and other groups under a “Unite the Right” banner. Organizers said they were initially activated by their objections to the removal of a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee, but the larger aim was to protest what they saw as an “anti-white” climate in the United States.
In his remarks, Trump condemned bigoted ideology and called James Alex Fields Jr, who drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing a 32-year-old woman, “a disgrace to himself, his family and his country”. But Trump also expressed support for those seeking to maintain the monument to Lee, equating him with some of the nation’s founders who also owned slaves.
“So, this week it’s Robert E. Lee,” he said. “I noticed that Stonewall Jackson’s coming down. I wonder, ‘is it George Washington next week and is it Thomas Jefferson the week after?’ You really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop?”
He continued: “You’re changing history. You’re changing culture.”
Obama tweet
Meanwhile, a tweet by former president Barack Obama soon after the violence had garnered 2.8 million “likes” to become the most liked Twitter message by Tuesday, the social media network said.
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion ...” Obama said in the tweet on Saturday, accompanying a picture of himself looking through an open window at a group of children.