Democrats and Republicans blasted President Trump after he insisted on Tuesday he did nothing wrong over the weekend when he declined to specifically condemn neo-Nazis and white supremacists.
“What is left to say? This is a disgrace unlike anything I can easily put into words,” said Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, on Twitter.
What is left to say? This is a disgrace unlike anything I can easily put into words. https://t.co/jJIKbaSgo0
— Congressman Tim Ryan (@RepTimRyan) August 15, 2017
Trump told reporters at Trump Tower on Tuesday “there is blame on both sides” for violent protests in Charlottesville, Va., this past weekend, reverting to his original position on the matter.
Under political pressure, Trump on Monday singled out “KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups” for condemnation, after neglecting to name the groups in his initial statement on Saturday.
On Tuesday, Trump said the media has not sufficiently criticized “alt-left” groups that also participated in the Charlottesville rally.
He said there are “fine people” on both sides, along with some “bad people.”
Democrats said Trump was wrong to equate leftists with white nationalist groups.
“There’s only one side to white supremacists and neo-Nazis, it’s called the wrong side of history,” said Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala.
There’s only one side to white supremacists and neo-Nazis, it’s called the wrong side of history. @realDonaldTrump
— Rep. Terri A. Sewell (@RepTerriSewell) August 15, 2017
Rep. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., said Trump’s new statements made his Monday attempt to rebuke white supremacists irrelevant.
“By doubling down on false equivalency, Trump failed to condemn racism & the hateful acts that have left Americans heartbroken,” Rosen said. “Disgraceful.”
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, was left speechless.
No words. https://t.co/pCSYUE5iZN
— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) August 15, 2017
“No words,” he tweeted.
Some Republicans were just as disgusted at Trump.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., republished a previous statement condemning Trump’s initial reaction to the Charlottesville rally.
Good time to re-up https://t.co/RZ24UhKtDw
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 15, 2017
“Good time to re-up,” Rubio tweeted, sharing his Saturday statement in which he said:
“Very important for the nation to hear @potus describe events in #Charlottesville for what they are, a terror attack by #whitesupremacists.”
Rubio then sent out a series of other tweets, in which he said the white nationalist groups who organized the Charlottesville rally should be “100” percent blamed for the violence.
Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, called the president’s Tuesday comments “unacceptable.”
“If you’re showing up to a Klan rally you’re probably a racist or a bigot,” Hurd said on CNN.
Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Penn., urged Trump to stop making “moral equivalence” between white supremacists and other groups.
“@POTUS must stop the moral equivalency! AGAIN, white supremacists were to blame for the violence in #Charlottesville,” said Dent, an influential moderate who chairs in Tuesday Group, in a Tweet.
@POTUS must stop the moral equivalency! AGAIN, white supremacists were to blame for the violence in #Charlottesville.
— Rep. Charlie Dent (@RepCharlieDent) August 15, 2017
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., had a simple message to Trump: “No.”
“Blaming “both sides” for #Charlottesville?! No. Back to relativism when dealing with KKK, Nazi sympathizers, white supremacists? Just no,” she tweeted.
