The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Trump response debated,

President criticized for not condemning hate groups.

- By Jonathan Lemire

BEDMINSTER, N.J. — The White House scrambled Sunday to elaborate on President Donald Trump’s response to deadly, race-fueled clashes in Charlottes­ville, Virginia, as he came under bipartisan scolding for not clearly condemning white supremacis­ts and other hate groups immediatel­y after the altercatio­ns.

As the chorus of criticism grew, White House aides were dispatched to the morning news shows, yet they struggled at times to explain the president’s position. A new White House statement on Sunday explicitly denounced the Ku Klux Klan and neoNazi groups.

Trump himself remained out of sight and silent, save for a retweet about two Virginia state policemen killed in a helicopter crash while monitoring the Charlottes­ville protests.

In the hours after a car p lowed into a group of anti-racist counter-protesters on Saturday, Trump addressed the violence in broad strokes, saying that he condemns “in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides.”

Speaking slowly from his New Jersey golf club while on a 17-day working vacation, Trump added: “It’s been going on for a long time in our country. Not Donald Trump. Not Barack Obama. It’s been going on for a long, long time.”

The White House statement Sunday went further. “The president said very strongly in his statement yesterday that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry and hatred and of course that includes white Supremacis­ts, KKK, neo-Nazi and all extremist groups.” It added: “He called for national unity and bringing all Americans together.”

The White House did not attach a name to the statement. Usually, a statement would be signed by the press secretary or another staffer; not putting a name to one eliminates an individual’s responsibi­lity for its truthfulne­ss and often undercuts its significan­ce.

Trump’s national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, said Sunday that he considered the attack to be terrorism. On Saturday, Trump had not responded to reporters’ shouted questions about terrorism.

“I certainly think anytime that you commit an attack against people to incite fear, it is terrorism,” McMaster told ABC’s “This Week.” “It meets the definition of terrorism. But what this is, what you see here, is you see someone who is a criminal, who is committing a criminal act against fellow Americans.”

The president’s homeland security adviser, Tom Bossert, defended the president’s initial statement by suggesting that some of the counter-protesters were violent, too. When pressed during a contentiou­s interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” he specifical­ly condemned the racist groups.

Ivanka Trump tweeted Sunday morning: “There should be no place in society for racism, white supremacy and neo-nazis.”

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, said he spoke to Trump in the hours after the clashes and that he twice told the president “we have to stop this hateful speech, this rhetoric.” He said he urged Trump “to come out stronger” against the actions of white supremacis­ts.

On Saturday, Republican­s joined Democrats in criticizin­g the president for not specifical­ly calling out white nationalis­ts. Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., tweeted: “Mr. President - we must call evil by its name. These were white supremacis­ts and this was domestic terrorism.”

The president did not have any public events on Sunday. White House staff did not share informatio­n on his activities except that he and his staff were monitoring the aftermath of the violence in Virginia.

White nationalis­ts had assembled in Charlottes­ville to vent their frustratio­n against plans to take down a statue of Confederal Gen. Robert E. Lee. Counter-protesters massed in opposition.

Alt-right leader Richard Spencer and former Ku Klux Klan member David Duke attended the demonstrat­ions. Duke told reporters that the white nationalis­ts were working to “fulfill the promises of Donald Trump.”

Trump’s initial comments drew praise from the neoNazi website Daily Stormer, which wrote: “Trump comments were good. He didn’t attack us. He just said the nation should come together. Nothing specific against us. ... No condemnati­on at all.” The website had been promoting the demonstrat­ion in its “Summer of Hate” edition.

Charlottes­ville Mayor Michael Singer, a Democrat, slammed Trump’s stance on hate groups, saying on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he hopes Trump “looks himself in the mirror and thinks very deeply about who he consorted with.”

 ?? PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS / AP ?? President Trump speaks about the violent protests in Charlottes­ville, Va., at Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster, N.J., Saturday. The White House released an unsigned statement Sunday.
PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS / AP President Trump speaks about the violent protests in Charlottes­ville, Va., at Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster, N.J., Saturday. The White House released an unsigned statement Sunday.

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