Trump: ‘both sides to blame in Virginia’

President Donald Trump last night re-entered the row over race-fuelled clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia, insisting there was “blame on both sides”.

The US president held a press conference in New York about the weekend clashes, saying the groups protesting against white supremacists – who he called “alt-left” – were “also very violent”.

He also defended the time it took him to make a statement on Monday in which he condemned white supremacists.

The president said he had wanted to establish all the facts.

After his initial statement on the deadly violence, Mr Trump was criticised for appearing to condemn both the white nationalists and those who were protesting against them.

In an exchange with a reporter, the president said last night: “OK, 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?”