President accused of defending ‘Nazis, fascists and racists’

Donald Trump in heated exchange

American President Donald Trump has been accused of defending Nazis, after insisting that there was “blame on both sides” at race-fuelled clashes in Charlottesville on Saturday.

The president spoke out about the weekend clashes saying the groups protesting against white supremacists – who he called “alt-left” – were “also very violent”.

At a heated press conference in New York, Mr Trump said during an exchange with a reporter: “Okay, what about the alt-left that came charging at ... the alt-right? Do they have any semblance of guilt? What about the fact that they came charging ... with clubs in their hands?”

Right-wing groups had been protesting against the removal of a statue of Robert E Lee, a general on the pro-slavery Confederate side during the American Civil War.

Mr Trump said that those defending the statue had included “many fine people”.

He asked whether statues of former presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson should also be torn down, because they had been slaveowners.

His comments were widely condemned on social media, with Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson tweeting: “The President of the United States has just turned his face to the world and defended Nazis, fascists and racists. For shame,”

Scottish Justice Secretary Michael Matheson MSP added: “His press briefings are remarkable and his comments today very dangerous.”

However, the president’s latest statement on the violence was welcomed by David Duke, once head of the Ku Klux Klan. He posted on Twitter: “Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth about Charlottesville (and) condemn the leftist terrorists in BLM/Antifa.”

Following his initial statement, Mr Trump was criticised for appearing to condemn both the white nationalists and those who were protesting them.

He did not single out groups but bemoaned violence on “many sides”.

After two days of public equivocation and internal White House debate, the president condemned white supremacist groups by name on Monday, declaring “racism is evil”.

In a hastily arranged statement, Mr Trump branded members of the KKK, neo Nazi sand white supremacists who take part in violence as “criminals and thugs”.

“His press briefings are remarkable and his comments today very dangerous. MICHAEL MATHESON MSP

Picture: Getty. President Trump fielded questions from reporters about his comments on the events in Charlottesville on Saturday when he said there was “blame on both sides”.