President Trump on Monday ignored shouted questions from reporters who were asking whether he denounces the actions of neo-Nazis and white supremacists following this weekend’s violence in Charlottesville, Va.
According to a White House pool report, reporters yelled questions at Trump as he walked into the White House from Marine One on Monday morning, which the president ignored.
“Do you condemn the actions of neo-Nazis?” reporters asked Trump. “Do you condemn the actions of white supremacists?”
Violence broke out Saturday between white nationalists who gathered to protest the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee, and a group of counter-demonstrators.
One woman was killed and another 19 people were injured when a 20-year-old man, identified as James Alex Fields Jr., crashed his car into the group of counter-protesters. Fields was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, and he was denied bail Monday.
After the clashes, Trump condemned “this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence, on many sides.” The president was criticized, though, for failing to denounce the specific white nationalist groups who participated in the rally.
An unnamed White House spokesperson clarified Trump’s comments Sunday in response to questions about the president’s remarks.
“Of course that includes white supremacists, [Ku Klux Klan] neo-Nazis and all extremist groups,” the spokesperson said. “He called for national unity and bringing all Americans together.”
Despite the statement from the White House spokesperson, Trump himself hasn’t addressed his comments further.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he expects the president to condemn specific white nationalist groups. Trump is meeting with Sessions and FBI Director Christopher Wray to discuss the events in Charlottesville.
