Marlborough Express

Trump finally raps KKK, neo-Nazis

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UNITED STATES: President Donald Trump moved yesterday to quell growing public outrage over his tepid response to the weekend violence in Charlottes­ville, condemning the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis by name and declaring racist hate groups ‘‘repugnant to everything we hold dear‘‘.

In a hastily arranged appearance at the White House, Trump vowed that his administra­tion would hold the perpetrato­rs of violence at a white supremacis­t rally fully accountabl­e and said such displays of hatred and bigotry have ‘‘no place in America’’.

‘‘Racism is evil, and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacis­ts and other hate groups.’’

Trump’s statement came two days after he did not specifical­ly condemn the ‘‘Unite the Right’’ rally at the weekend when a driver who had espoused racist and proNazi sentiments killed a woman and injured 19 others by slamming his car into a crowd.

Trump’s apparent reluctance to single out white nationalis­ts in Charlottes­ville contrasted sharply with his frequent eagerness to highlight violence in cases involving minorities, including Islamist terrorists and illegal immigrants.

In his initial public comments on Sunday, Trump characteri­sed the objectiona­ble behaviour in Charlottes­ville as coming from ‘‘many sides’’ – prompting fierce blowback from Democrats, civil rights groups and some Republican­s, who said his failure to single out white supremacis­t organisati­ons was tantamount to a presidenti­al endorsemen­t of their intoleranc­e.

Senior aides said Trump has long chafed at expectatio­ns to bow to political correctnes­s, but they acknowledg­ed that he was frustrated by how he was being characteri­sed by the media. Trump’s reluctance to admit he had erred – and his grudging discomfort at having to clarify his position – were clear from the tenor and optics of his remarks.

He opened his comments by touting the health of the economy, noting that stock markets are near record highs and unemployme­nt is at a 16-year low. And though Trump has regularly employed the phrase ‘‘radical Islamic terrorism’’ to describe other attacks in the US and the Middle East, he chose not to echo Attorney-General Jeff Sessions’s conclusion that the violence in Charlottes­ville met the Justice Department’s definition of ‘‘domestic terrorism’’.

‘‘As I have said many times before, no matter the colour of our skin, we all live under the same laws, we all salute the same great flag, and we are all made by the same almighty God,’’ Trump said. ‘‘We must love each other, show affection for each other and unite together in condemnati­on of hatred, bigotry and violence.’’

Trump’s political rivals said he had undercut the effectiven­ess of his public message by waiting so long to deliver it. And they continued to press him to take stronger actions to distance his administra­tion from the alt-Right, a loose coalition of conservati­ves and fringe groups that promote a nationalis­t agenda that critics have said operates in service of a racist and xenophobic ideology.

As Trump’s approval ratings have fallen over his first seven months to well under 40 per cent, the president has sought to consolidat­e support among his base.

‘‘From the beginning, President Trump has sheltered and encouraged the forces of bigotry and discrimina­tion,’’ House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement calling on Trump to fire senior adviser Stephen Bannon, a self-proclaimed alt-Right leader.

Pelosi said Trump’s ‘‘failure to immediatel­y denounce white supremacy is well in line with the unmistakab­le conduct of his administra­tion toward immigrants, Muslims, and communitie­s of colour’’.

White House aides had defended Trump’s handling of the Charlottes­ville violence as a goodfaith effort to tamp down anger on all sides and rejected accusation­s that he has sought to mollify white supremacis­t groups.

But pressure mounted even among Trump’s allies. Merck chief executive Kenneth Frazier, who is black, announced his resignatio­n from Trump’s American Manufactur­ing Council, yesterday, saying it was a ‘‘matter of personal conscience’’ and calling on the nation’s leaders to ‘‘honour our fundamenta­l values by clearly rejecting expression­s of hatred.’’

– Washington Post

 ?? PHOTO: REUTERS ?? President Donald Trump pauses while making a statement at the White House on the deadly protests in Charlottes­ville.
PHOTO: REUTERS President Donald Trump pauses while making a statement at the White House on the deadly protests in Charlottes­ville.

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