Wall Street Journal
By Peter Nicholas
August 15, 2017
President Donald Trump, in a combative news conference Tuesday, said “both sides” were to blame in violent weekend clashes in Charlottesville, Va., a day after putting the responsibility squarely on white nationalists.
“I think there is blame on both sides,” said Mr. Trump, referring to the white nationalist protesters holding a demonstration in the city and the counterprotesters facing off against them.
“You had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent and nobody wants to say that but I’ll say it right now,” the president said.
He added: “You had a group on the other side that came charging in without a permit. They were very violent.”
The president’s remarks were at odds with his statement on Monday singling out white supremacists for blame. That statement had come after the president faced heavy pressure to condemn white nationalists after failing to do so in a statement two days earlier. One woman was killed during the violence when a car driven by an alleged white supremacist plowed into a crowd.
Explaining Tuesday why he waited to call out white nationalist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis by name, Mr. Trump said: “Before I make a statement, I need the facts.”
On Saturday, Mr. Trump said: “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides.”
Mr. Trump also was asked about the executives who had left White House advisory positions in the wake of his slow condemnation of white nationalists. He said: “Because they’re not taking their jobs seriously as it pertains to this country. … They’re leaving out of embarrassment because they’re making their products outside” of the country.
Mr. Trump said some protesters Saturday weren’t white supremacists but people there to protest the removal of the statue of Robert E. Lee.
“I’ve condemned neo-Nazis,” he said. “I’ve condemned many different groups. But not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me. Not all of those people were white supremacists, by any stretch. Those people were there because they wanted to protest the taking down of a statue, Robert E. Lee.”
He questioned whether attempts to remove statues of Confederate leaders like Lee could lead to calls to remove statues of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson because they were slave owners.
Mr. Trump referred to the counterprotesters as the “alt-left,” a play on the term “alt-right” that is a catchall phrase for a nationalist movement wary of immigration and multiculturalism.
“What about the alt-left that came charging at, as you say the alt-right? Do they have any semblance of guilt?” he said. “What about the fact that they came charging with their clubs in their hands, swinging clubs? Do they have any problem? I think they do.”
Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke swiftly praised the president for his remarks. In a tweet, Mr. Duke said: “Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth about #Charlottesville & condemn the leftist terrorists…”
Write to Peter Nicholas at peter.nicholas@wsj.com
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
No comments:
Post a Comment