Daily Mail

White House plot ‘to oust Trump’

Trump under fire for refusing to condemn white supremacis­ts

- By Fiona Parker

THE White House communicat­ions director sacked by Donald Trump has claimed people in the administra­tion are plotting to oust the President.

Speaking for the first time after being fired ten days into his post, Anthony Scaramucci said people had ‘made the decision’ they wanted to ‘eject’ Mr Trump.

it came as he weighed into the row over the President’s response to the racist violence in charlottes­ville, telling ABC that Mr Trump should have used ‘much harsher language’. He added: ‘With the moral authority of the presidency, you have to call that stuff out.’

Mr Trump had said of the violence: ‘We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides.’

Mr Scaramucci also spoke about the embarrassi­ng rant at a New Yorker journalist which saw him sacked. Speaking about the phone-recorded conversati­on which saw him attack then White House chief of staff reince Priebus, he said he had ‘paid the consequenc­es’. Describing the incident as a ‘very deceitful thing [ the New Yorker reporter] did’, he added, ‘for the record, i thought that was off the record’.

And when Mr Scaramucci was asked if he deserved to be fired, he said: ‘Well obviously i wished they would’ve given me a bar of soap and told me to wash my mouth out in the bathroom and move on.’

VIolENCE has erupted in the US as bloody clashes between white supremacis­ts and protesters left three dead.

Brandishin­g swastika banners and chanting ‘Jews will not replace us’, hundreds of white nationalis­ts fought counter-demonstrat­ors as police armed with tear gas failed to quell the violence.

one woman was killed when a car ploughed into protesters opposing the far-Right marchers at high speed – sending protesters flying through the air – while two police officers monitoring the trouble in Charlottes­ville, Virginia, died after their helicopter crashed.

Donald Trump was last night accused of condoning white-supremacis­t violence with a mealy-mouthed response to the trouble.

Theresa May condemned the chaos, tweeting: ‘ The UK stands with the US against racism, hatred and violence.’

Paralegal Heather Heyer was killed on Saturday when the Dodge Challenger accelerate­d into a crowd, sending bodies flying and knocking other vehicles into them, before reversing at high speed.

The 32-year-old’s mother said: ‘ She died doing what was right. My heart is broken, but I am forever proud of her.’

Prosecutor­s charged James Fields, 20, with second-degree murder and three counts of malicious wounding over the incident.

Photos revealed Fields, of ohio, had marched in Charlottes­ville on Saturday with white-nationalis­t group Vanguard America. It last night insisted he was not a member.

Marcus Martin’s leg was broken in the crash after he pushed his fiancee Marissa Blair out of the car’s path. The 26-year-old was thrown over the vehicle before it backed over him as it reversed. Miss Blair, 27, said: ‘He saved me then he was under the car.’

The violence was sparked by the removal of a statue of Robert E lee, commander of pro-slavery Confederat­e forces in the Civil War. White supremacis­ts exploited the row to campaign to ‘save white culture’.

Similar memorials have been taken down across the South amid protests they are offensive to African-Americans. Neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan were among those in Charlottes­ville, carrying sticks, riot shields and holstered pistols.

Ex-Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke claimed protesters at the Unite The Right rally were ‘going to fulfil the promises of Donald Trump’ to ‘take our country back’. As a state of emergency was declared in Virginia, Mr Trump was criticised for his failure to single out white nationalis­ts.

He told a press conference: ‘We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, violence, on many sides. The hate and division must stop, and must stop right now.’

But Republican strategist Ana Navarro said: ‘This is not “many sides”. It’s white supremacis­t ter- rorism. The President of the United States does not have the spine to say so. Shameful.’

Republican senator Marco Rubio said the president needed to be more decisive in denouncing the white nationalis­ts. But the White

House said Mr Trump had condemned ‘all forms of violence, bigotry and hatred’, and ‘ of course that includes white supremacis­ts, KKK, neo-Nazi and all extremist groups’.

Mr Trump’s daughter Ivanka tweeted: ‘ There should be no place in society for racism, white supremacy and neo-Nazis.’

The department of justice has opened a civil-rights investigat­ion into the car attack. Attorney general Jeff Sessions said: ‘The violence and deaths in Charlottes­ville strike at the heart of American law and justice.’

National security adviser HR McMaster said he considered Miss Heyer’s death to be an act of terrorism.

 ??  ?? Carnage: Protester Marcus Martin, in white vest and shorts, is thrown through the
Carnage: Protester Marcus Martin, in white vest and shorts, is thrown through the
 ??  ?? Running for safety: Protesters scatter as the car heads towards them at high speed
Running for safety: Protesters scatter as the car heads towards them at high speed
 ??  ?? Demonstrat­ing: Fields, circled, with protesters from a white nationalis­t group
Demonstrat­ing: Fields, circled, with protesters from a white nationalis­t group
 ??  ?? Charged: Alleged driver James Fields
Charged: Alleged driver James Fields
 ??  ?? Killed: Heather Heyer was hit by the car
Killed: Heather Heyer was hit by the car
 ??  ?? air as the Dodge Challenger ploughs into a crowd of demonstrat­ors in Charlottes­ville
air as the Dodge Challenger ploughs into a crowd of demonstrat­ors in Charlottes­ville

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