US President Donald Trump on Monday denounced neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) as criminals and thugs, bowing to mounting political pressure to condemn such groups explicitly after a white-nationalist rally turned deadly in Virginia.
Trump had been assailed from across the political spectrum for failing to respond more forcefully to Saturday’s violence in Charlottesville.
Critics denounced Trump for waiting too long to address the bloodshed, and for initially faulting hatred and violence “on many sides,” rather than singling out the white supremacists widely seen as instigating the melee.
Photo: Bloomberg
Democrats said Trump’s reaction belied a reluctance to alienate white nationalists and “alt-right” political activists who occupy a loyal segment of Trump’s political base. Several senators from his own Republican Party had harsh words for him.
About 48 hours into the biggest domestic challenge of his young presidency, Trump tried to correct course.
“Racism is evil, and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans,” the president said in a statement to reporters at the White House.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence,” he said.
A 20-year-old man said to have harbored Nazi sympathies was arrested on charges of plowing his car into protesters opposing the white nationalists, killing 32-year-old paralegal Heather Heyer and injuring 19 people. The accused, James Fields, was denied bail at a court hearing on Monday.
Several others were arrested in connection with street brawls during the day that left another 15 people injured. Two airborne state troopers involved in crowd control were killed when their helicopter crashed.
Saturday’s disturbances erupted after white nationalists converged in Charlottesville, home of the University of Virginia’s flagship campus, to protest plans for removing a statue of General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate army of the US Civil War.
Trump’s belated denunciation of white supremacists by name was welcomed by Heyer’s mother, Susan Bro, who thanked the president for what she called “those words of comfort and for denouncing those who promote violence and hatred.”
However, not everyone was mollified.
“I wish that he would have said those same words on Saturday,” US Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat who represents Virginia, said on MSNBC. “I’m disappointed it took him a couple of days.”
A group of community leaders meeting in Charlottesville likewise said they were unimpressed by Trump’s latest message.
“Why did it take criticism from his Republican buddies to move him ... to adjust the moral compass that he does not possess?” said Don Gathers, who serves as chairman for the city’s commission on monuments and memorials.
Far from apologetic, the US president sounded defensive as he lashed out at his critics late on Monday.
Trump noted on Twitter he “made additional remarks on Charlottesville and realize once again that the Fake News Media will never be satisfied. ... Truly bad people!”
Earlier in the day, about 500 protesters assembled in front of the White House for a “Reject White Supremacy” rally, then marched to Trump’s hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue nearby.
In Manhattan, thousands of demonstrators stood outside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue shouting “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA.”
The protest took place before Trump’s first visit to his Manhattan residence since taking office more than six months ago.
He is to spend several days in his Manhattan triplex before returning to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey to finish out his first summer vacation as president.
Additional reporting by AFP
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