Also Thanks Trump for ‘Honesty’ and ‘Courage’
Tuesday afternoon President Donald Trump held what was scheduled as a short press briefing during which he would discuss an infrastructure executive order he just signed, then hand over the microphone to Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao. His staff did not prepare any remarks for him, as he was not going to take any questions from reporters.
Naturally, that did not happen.
Trump spent a few minutes talking about infrastructure, lamenting “job killing” regulations, and explaining that he has removed some that will allow real estate developers to build faster and, although he did not say it, much cheaper.
As soon as he was done reporters asked questions about his terrible response to Saturday’s white supremacist violence and murder in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was obvious Trump wanted the questions and wanted to unload what he’s really been thinking.
And he did.
“If you have any questions, please feel free to ask,” Trump said, without stepping away from the podium.
The president reverted to his blaming of “both sides,” which drew sharp rebukes on Saturday. He blamed the “alt-left” and accused them of “charging” toward their white supremacists.Â
For seven to eight minutes Trump insisted that “there’s blame on both sides,” despite the fact that a large number of white supremacists and other so-called “alt-right” members clearly were acting violent.
“What about the fact that they,” meaning the “alt-left,” as he called them, “came charging?” Trump asked. “Do they have any problem? I think they do.”
“I think there’s blame on both sides and I have no doubt about it,” Trump insisted.
He also went on to insist that he did not condemn white supremacists too late, that in fact, his timing was “excellent.”
Minutes after the disastrous presser, white supremacist icon David Duke, a former KKK imperial wizard, anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist, and Holocaust denier, took to Twitter.
“Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth about #Charlottesville & condemn the leftist terrorists in BLM/Antifa,” Duke said.
On Twitter, the alarmed response was immediate:
Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer:
CNN’s Keith Boykin:
Editor-in-chief of The Atlantic:
Former Bill Clinton adviser:
Southern Poverty Law Center:
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