After criticism, White House says Trump condemns KKK, neo-Nazis

[webfact]

After criticism, White House says Trump condemns KKK, neo-Nazis

By Ian Simpson

 

White supremacists clash with counter protesters at a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S., August 12, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

 

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's remarks condemning violence at a white nationalist rally were meant to include the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi groups, the White House insisted on Sunday, a day after he was criticized across the political spectrum for not explicitly denouncing white supremacists.

 

U.S. authorities are investigating the outbreak of violence in Virginia, which has put new pressure on the Trump administration to take an unequivocal stand against that segment of his political base. Some rightists have claimed allegiance to Trump, a Republican.

 

A 32-year-old woman was killed and 19 injured, five critically, on Saturday when a man ploughed a car into a crowd of people protesting the white nationalist rally in the Southern college town of Charlottesville. Another 15 people were injured after rival groups fought pitched battles using their fists, rocks and pepper spray in the streets.

 

Democrats and Republicans criticized Trump for waiting too long to address the violence and when he did so, failing to explicitly condemn the white-supremacist marchers who ignited the melee.

 

On Sunday, however, the White House said: "The president said very strongly in his statement yesterday that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry, and hatred, and of course that includes white supremacists, KKK, neo-Nazi, and all extremist groups. He called for national unity and bringing all Americans together."

 

The statement was emailed to reporters covering Trump at his golf resort in New Jersey and attributed to an unidentified "White House spokesperson."

 

On Saturday, Trump had said that "many sides" were involved in Charlottesville. "We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides," he said.

 

On Sunday TV shows, Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer, a Democrat, said the police response was adequate with nearly 1,000 law enforcement personnel assembled. Signer blamed Trump for the violence, starting with the 2016 election campaign.

 

"Look at the campaign he ran ... there is two words that need to be said over and over again, domestic terrorism and white supremacy. That is exactly what we saw on display this weekend," Signer said on CNN's "State of the Nation".

 

SOLIDARITY WITH CHARLOTTESVILLE

 

Across the United States, events were planned on Sunday to "stand in solidarity with Charlottesville ... honour all those under attack by congregating against hate" a loose coalition of civil society groups said in postings on social media.

 

Virginia police have not yet provided a motive for a man who rammed a car into the crowd, but U.S. prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have opened a civil rights investigation, an FBI field office said.

 

Four people have been arrested, including James Fields, a 20-year-old white man from Ohio who is being held in jail on suspicion of deliberately crashing the car.

 

Federal authorities were also looking into a helicopter crash on Saturday that killed two Virginia state policemen aiding efforts to quell the clashes.

 

On Sunday morning, before the White House statement, Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter and White House adviser, appealed on Twitter for Americans to "be one country UNITED. #Charlottesville." She also posted: "There should be no place in society for racism, white supremacy and neo-nazis."

 

Also before the statement, U.S. Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado, who chairs the Republican Party's Senate election effort, called on the president to condemn "white supremacists" and to use the term. He was one of several Republican senators who squarely criticized Trump on Twitter on Saturday.

 

"Calling out people for their acts of evil - let's do it today - white nationalist, white supremacist," Gardner said on CNN's "State of the Union" program on Sunday. "We will not stand for their hate."

 

An organizer of Saturday's "Unite the Right" rally, which was staged to protest the planned removal of Confederate army commander General Robert E. Lee's statue from a park, said supporters of the event would not back down. The rally stemmed from a long debate in the U.S. South over the Confederate battle flag and other symbols of the rebel side in the Civil War, which was fought over slavery.

 

Organizer Jason Kessler, whom civil rights groups identified as a white nationalist blogger, attempted to hold a press conference outside city hall in Charlottesville on Sunday, but was quickly shouted down by counter-protesters. They then approached Kessler, who was quickly taken away by state police.

 

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, declared an emergency and halted Saturday's planned rally, but that did not stop the violence.

 

"There is no place for you here," McAuliffe said, addressing white supremacists. "There is no place for you in America."

 

The Charlottesville violence is the latest clash between far-rightists and the president's opponents. At his January inauguration, black-clad anti-Trump protesters in Washington smashed windows, torched cars and clashed with police, leading to more than 200 arrests.

 

(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason, Yasmeen Abutaleb and Lucia Mutikani in Washington, James Oliphant in New Jersey and Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles, Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas; Writing by Chris Michaud and Grant McCool; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Mary Milliken)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-08-14

[Credo]

10 minutes ago, webfact said:

"The president said very strongly in his statement yesterday that he condemns  all forms of violence, bigotry, and hatred, and of course that includes white supremacists, KKK, neo-Nazi, and all extremist groups.

....Of course he meant that....but he didn't SAY that and he still hasn't said that.   

[Bluespunk]

There was no explicit condemnation as the grand poobah needs that racist/hate vote. 

[darksidedog]

52 minutes ago, webfact said:

"We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides," he said.

I do not for one second believe that Donald came up with that one. His limited command of English does not include words like egregious, which he probably doesn't even know the meaning of. If he expects people to believe that he truly condemns racists, including White Supremacists, he should come out and say so, not have the White House intimate it on his behalf.

[FreddieRoyle]

The lesson that must be learned here, is if a crowd of antifa decide to attack a car with baseball bats (as per the many videos online), don't choose a mopar. After mowing down his attackers, reversing over more attackers and generally abusing his Dodge Charger, the airbags didn't even inflate. Just try doing that in an import box. Best ad for Detroit steel in a good few decades.

[simple1]

21 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

I do not for one second believe that Donald came up with that one. His limited command of English does not include words like egregious, which he probably doesn't even know the meaning of. If he expects people to believe that he truly condemns racists, including White Supremacists, he should come out and say so, not have the White House intimate it on his behalf.

If you watch the video of him he is reading off a prepared statement, goes off the prepared wording  when he doubles down on "all parties". Very wooden presentation, spoken in the third party and refuses to answer any reporters questions requesting more specifics. Been said for a long time Trump is unsuitable for the Office of President of USA.

[Bluespunk]

28 minutes ago, FreddieRoyle said:

The lesson that must be learned here, is if a crowd of antifa decide to attack a car with baseball bats (as per the many videos online), don't choose a mopar. After mowing down his attackers, reversing over more attackers and generally abusing his Dodge Charger, the airbags didn't even inflate. Just try doing that in an import box. Best ad for Detroit steel in a good few decades.

That's the lesson you gleamed from this? 

[Bluespunk]

33 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

I do not for one second believe that Donald came up with that one. His limited command of English does not include words like egregious, which he probably doesn't even know the meaning of. If he expects people to believe that he truly condemns racists, including White Supremacists, he should come out and say so, not have the White House intimate it on his behalf.

Silence it is then. 

[mtls2005]

He has to thread the needle on this one, given his "base" is dominated by the rabid-right. He can't piss them off too much.

 

Could you imagine the outrage on the right if a Muslim had plowed his car into a crowd of protesting Christians? Seb Gorka would have been going full-tilt about Muslim-extremism 7x24 on FoxNews, the borders would be shut down and these yahoos would be lynching brown people by the hundreds.

 

Some of the more striking videos involved a black youth set upon by a gang of whites who were beating him with pipes, and the black female pastor who literally felt the need to run for her life.

 

Amerika.

[DM07]

2 hours ago, Credo said:

....Of course he meant that....but he didn't SAY that and he still hasn't said that.   

And I even doubt, he meant that!

[Credo]

5 minutes ago, DM07 said:

And I even doubt, he meant that!

And that is why he didn't SAY it.   I doubt he will say it and if he does, he won't mean it.   It is getting really, really easy to read him.   

[rijb]

"Trump - That boy don't act right"   --  on a poster, held by an older man

[selftaopath]

2 hours ago, simple1 said:

If you watch the video of him he is reading off a prepared statement, goes off the prepared wording  when he doubles down on "all parties". Very wooden presentation, spoken in the third party and refuses to answer any reporters questions requesting more specifics. Been said for a long time Trump is unsuitable for the Office of President of USA.

I'd go a step further in that he's unsuitable for America/the world. 

[Thakkar]

Jason O. Gilbert (‪@gilbertjasono‬)

13/8/17, 05:46

 

Wish Trump could find the same anger for murderous Nazis as he did for Nordstrom after it stopped selling his daughter's handbags.

[F4UCorsair]

3 hours ago, FreddieRoyle said:

The lesson that must be learned here, is if a crowd of antifa decide to attack a car with baseball bats (as per the many videos online), don't choose a mopar. After mowing down his attackers, reversing over more attackers and generally abusing his Dodge Charger, the airbags didn't even inflate. Just try doing that in an import box. Best ad for Detroit steel in a good few decades.

 

 

Are you serious?  That's the lesson?

 

Is it any wonder the world is in trouble with this deep thinking?

[joecoolfrog]

Even some of the Clown's most ardent groupies must be feeling a bit sick right now , he really is a stain on the reputation of the US government.

[Thakkar]

7 minutes ago, joecoolfrog said:

Even some of the Clown's most ardent groupies must be feeling a bit sick right now , he really is a stain on the reputation of the US government.

Anyone still giving blanket support to Trump (as opposed to supporting specific Trump policies/proposals like say, tax cuts, or even transgender bans or Repeal and Replace—I don't agree with them but it can be argued that these are legitimate positions to support) is a Nazi sympathizer. There's no two ways about it.

 

T

[Thakkar]

White supremacists are losers who fetishize other losers:

 

 

[cncltd1973]

He'd be tweeting up a crap storm if it was any group besides his voter base. "Sad"

[Thakkar]

2 minutes ago, cncltd1973 said:

He'd be tweeting up a crap storm if it was any group besides his voter base. "Sad"

On the support that Trump enjoys among Nazis:

 

"Nazis are like cats; they like you because you are feeding them"

~ John Oliver

[FreddieRoyle]

 The important thing is not to tar a whole group because of one mentally unstable individual. In the same way that it is not politically correct to blame all muslims when one of them mows down a crowd with a truck, it is not polite to blame all patriots because one has a bad day behind the wheel. 

[cncltd1973]

8 minutes ago, FreddieRoyle said:

 The important thing is not to tar a whole group because of one mentally unstable individual. In the same way that it is not politically correct to blame all muslims when one of them mows down a crowd with a truck, it is not polite to blame all patriots because one has a bad day behind the wheel. 

Patriot? Would an American patriot kill target an innocent American citizen out of a crowd?

[simple1]

15 minutes ago, FreddieRoyle said:

 The important thing is not to tar a whole group because of one mentally unstable individual. In the same way that it is not politically correct to blame all muslims when one of them mows down a crowd with a truck, it is not polite to blame all patriots because one has a bad day behind the wheel. 

What's your definition of an American 'patriot' - does that include /exclude anti-Semitics, users of Nazi symbols, KKK, white supremacists. Without the foregoing there would have been very few patriots, except those objecting to their presence.

Edited August 14, 2017 by simple1

[Thakkar]

14 minutes ago, FreddieRoyle said:

 The important thing is not to tar a whole group because of one mentally unstable individual. In the same way that it is not politically correct to blame all muslims when one of them mows down a crowd with a truck, it is not polite to blame all patriots because one has a bad day behind the wheel. 

Ok, I'll bite.

How is being a Nazi synonymous with being a patriotic American?

[FreddieRoyle]

8 minutes ago, Thakkar said:

Ok, I'll bite.

How is being a Nazi synonymous with being a patriotic American?

 I realize that it is popular in modern times to label any white person that is not consumed by self loathing and guilt for acts that were committed 7 or 8 decades before they were born as a Nazi. But that is a bit silly, isn't it?

 

 I would class as a Patriot anybody that is proud to be an American, and an anti-Patriot or traitor as anyone that is trying to rewrite history such as those that try to scrub Gen Lee's name from the history books. Not a complicated stance.

[onthesoi]

32 minutes ago, FreddieRoyle said:

 The important thing is not to tar a whole group because of one mentally unstable individual.

 

I doubt the group has any mentally stable members.  Although, just saying they are mentally unstable doesn't really cover it, the vast majority of the people who join these groups seem to be borderline retarded or have other types of learning difficulties, so the root of the problem could be medical.

Edited August 14, 2017 by onthesoi

[ilostmypassword]

2 minutes ago, FreddieRoyle said:

 I realize that it is popular in modern times to label any white person that is not consumed by self loathing and guilt for acts that were committed 7 or 8 decades before they were born as a Nazi. But that is a bit silly, isn't it?

 

 I would class as a Patriot anybody that is proud to be an American, and an anti-Patriot or traitor as anyone that is trying to rewrite history such as those that try to scrub Gen Lee's name from the history books. Not a complicated stance.

Who is trying to scrub General Lee's name from the history books? The protests are about addressing the real nature of the Civil War. Statues dedicated to figures like Robert E. Lee are about whitewashing it.

Maybe you should push for Germans to start putting up statues to Herman Goering. Because without that and other statues of Hitler and his staff, the Germans are rewriting history.

[cncltd1973]

9 minutes ago, FreddieRoyle said:

 I realize that it is popular in modern times to label any white person that is not consumed by self loathing and guilt for acts that were committed 7 or 8 decades before they were born as a Nazi. But that is a bit silly, isn't it?

 

 I would class as a Patriot anybody that is proud to be an American, and an anti-Patriot or traitor as anyone that is trying to rewrite history such as those that try to scrub Gen Lee's name from the history books. Not a complicated stance.

The modern times are about finding the balance and coming to terms with the past. We can be proud to be American, but still feel shame for genocide and slavery in our history.

 

A statue of Gen Lee doesn't bother me in the slightest, but I shudder every time I see a confederate flag or sticker on a truck. And I grew up in the countryside south of Richmond,  Virginia.

[Thakkar]

17 minutes ago, FreddieRoyle said:

 I realize that it is popular in modern times to label any white person that is not consumed by self loathing and guilt for acts that were committed 7 or 8 decades before they were born as a Nazi. But that is a bit silly, isn't it?

 

 I would class as a Patriot anybody that is proud to be an American, and an anti-Patriot or traitor as anyone that is trying to rewrite history such as those that try to scrub Gen Lee's name from the history books. Not a complicated stance.

Here's the problem with your arguments.

 

Having that statue in a public park as if Lee was a hero is not commemorating history; it is whitewashing history. It is hero worship of a man who fought to perpetuate slavery.

 

Nazis were evil seven decades ago and they are evil today because their underlying philosophy is that of exclusion and white supremacy. Go read the tweeting histories of the march organizers. Their philosophy is antithetical to American Values. If you doubt that, read these aspirational founding documents: The American Constitution and The Bill of Rights.

 

T

[FritsSikkink]

He can't twitter anymore?