There are reports that White House aides were caught off guard by Donald Trump’s Tuesday press conference in which he said the “alt-left” deserved blame for the violence in Charlottesville last weekend and that there were “fine people” on both sides of the white nationalist rally there. Trump “went rogue,” said one White House official to NBC News. “That wasn’t the plan,” seems to be another line anonymous aides are telling reporters.
Maybe not, but the White House plan has clearly changed. THE WEEKLY STANDARD has obtained an email sent out to potential surrogates and friendly voices Tuesday evening wherein the White House communications staff compiled a set of talking points to defend Trump on his press conference.
The points tell allies of the White House that Trump was “entirely correct” in saying there was violence on both sides, that Trump “reaffirmed some of our most important Founding principles” and that he has “been a voice for unity and calm.”
Here are the White House’s talking points:
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The President was entirely correct — both sides of the violence in Charlottesville acted inappropriately, and bear some responsibility.
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Despite the criticism, the President reaffirmed some of our most important Founding principles: We are equal in the eyes of our Creator, equal under the law, and equal under our Constitution.
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He has been a voice for unity and calm, encouraging the country to “rediscover the bonds of love and loyalty that brings us together as Americans.”
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He called for the end of violence on all sides so that no more innocent lives would be lost.
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The President condemned the hate groups fueled by bigotry and racism over the weekend, and did so by name yesterday, but for the media that will never be enough.
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The media reacted with hysteria to the notion that counter-protesters showed up with clubs spoiling for a fight, a fact that reporters on the ground have repeatedly stated.
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Even a New York Times reporter tweeted that she “saw club-wielding ‘antifa’ beating white nationalists being led out of the park.”
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The local ACLU chapter also tweeted: “Not sure who provoked first. Both sides were hitting each other at Justice Park before police arrived.”
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We should not overlook the facts just because the media finds them inconvenient:
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From cop killing and violence at political rallies, to shooting at Congressmen at a practice baseball game, extremists on the left have engaged in terrible acts of violence.
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The President is taking swift action to hold violent hate groups accountable.
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The DOJ has opened a civil rights investigation into this weekend’s deadly car attack.
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Last Thursday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced it had completed the largest prosecution of white supremacists in the nation’s history.
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Leaders and the media in our country should join the president in trying to unite and heal our country rather than incite more division.
