Tag: Charlottesville

False moral equivalency is not a bug of Trumpism. It’s a feature.

The following articke by James Hohmann with Breanne Deppisch and Joanie Greve was posted on the Washington Post website August 16, 2017:

THE BIG IDEA: President Trump has a troubling tendency to blame “both sides.”

Showing that the remarks he delivered from a White House teleprompter on Monday were hollow and insincere, Trump yesterday revived his initial claim that “both sides” are to blame for the horrific violence at a white supremacist rally over the weekend in Charlottesville.

Going rogue during an event at Trump Tower that was supposed to be about infrastructure, the president said there are “two sides to a story.” He then attacked counterprotesters for acting “very, very violently” as they came “with clubs in their hand” at the neo-Nazis and KKK members who were protesting the planned removal of a Robert E. Lee statue. “You had a group on one side that was bad, and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent, and nobody wants to say that,” Trump said. “Do they have any semblance of guilt? Do they have any problem? I think they do!” Continue reading “False moral equivalency is not a bug of Trumpism. It’s a feature.”

Trump puts a fine point on it: He sides with the alt-right in Charlottesville

The following article by Philip Bump was posted on the Washington Post website August 15, 2017:

President Trump first asked reporters to define the “alt-right,” before saying members of the “alt-left” were also to blame for violence in Charlottesville, while taking questions from reporters on Aug. 15 at Trump Tower in New York. (The Washington Post)

It was inevitable that President Trump’s brief news conference on Tuesday concerning national infrastructure would, instead, be redirected to a discussion of the violent protest in Charlottesville this past weekend and his delayed criticism of the racist and pro-Nazi groups that were central to it.

It did not seem inevitable, though, that Trump’s responses to questions about those protests would cement as correct the general interpretation of his first comments on the matter: He’s sympathetic to the goals of the men who marched Saturday night carrying Confederate and Nazi flags — and even to the “peaceful” torchlight protest on Friday in which marchers chanted anti-Semitic and Nazi slogans. Continue reading “Trump puts a fine point on it: He sides with the alt-right in Charlottesville”

Far-Right Protesters in Virginia Included ‘Very Fine’ People, Trump Says

The following article by John T. Bennett was posted on the Roll Call website August 15, 2017:

President Donald Trump delivers remarks following a meeting on infrastructure at Trump Tower on Tuesday. He appeared to defend some of the white supremacist groups who help spawn deadly violence Saturday in Virginia. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump on Tuesday defended some of the neo-Nazis and white supremacists who were part of the deadly Charlottesville, Virginia, protests last weekend, saying there were “very fine people” on both sides of the racially charged unrest.

A defiant Trump, just a day after slamming the pro-white groups who organized the two-day protests of the planned removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee, appeared to give some of their members cover. “There is blame on both sides,” he told reporters during what amounted to a brief impromptu press conference at Trump Tower in New York.

“I don’t have any doubt about it,” said the president, who has been accused of spreading rhetoric and ideas floated by the alt-right political movement that has ties to white supremacist groups.

Trump said the white supremacist groups in Charlottesville “bad,” but said the anti-protesters also were “very violent.” He added in a chiding tone: “Nobody wants to say that. … I’ll say that right now.” Continue reading “Far-Right Protesters in Virginia Included ‘Very Fine’ People, Trump Says”

Under Armour and Intel C.E.O.s Follow Merck Chief, Quitting Panel in Rebuke to Trump

The following article by David Gelles and Katie Thomas was posted on the New York Times website August 14, 2017:

Kenneth C. Frazier, the chief executive of Merck, resigned from a presidential advisory panel on Monday, drawing a swift jab on Twitter from President Trump. Credit Matt Rourke/Associated Press

Three chief executives from top American companies resigned from a presidential business council on Monday following President Trump’s tepid initial response to a violent weekend in Charlottesville, Va.

Brian Krzanich, C.E.O. of Intel — one of the most important global manufacturers of computer chips — announced his departure from President Trump’s advisory council on manufacturing in a late-night blog post on Monday.

The decision followed similar moves from Kenneth C. Frazier, the chief executive of drugmaker Merck, who was the first executive to leave the advisory group on Monday, and Kevin Plank, the founder and chief executive of athletic apparel maker Under Armour, who also announced his decision on Monday evening. Continue reading “Under Armour and Intel C.E.O.s Follow Merck Chief, Quitting Panel in Rebuke to Trump”

Trump Condemns Violence in Charlottesville, Saying ‘Racism Is Evil’

The following article by Glenn Thrush was posted on the New York Times website August 14, 2017:

After blaming violence from protests on “many sides” in Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday, President Trump condemned the K.K.K., neo-Nazis and white supremacists during a White House speech on Monday. By ASSOCIATED PRESS. Photo by Tom Brenner/The New York Times.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump bowed on Monday to overwhelming pressure that he personally condemn white supremacists who incited bloody demonstrations in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend, labeling their racists views “evil” after two days of equivocal statements.

“Racism is evil,” said Mr. Trump, delivering a statement from the White House at a hastily arranged appearance meant to halt the growing political threat posed by the situation. “And those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the K.K.K., neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans.” Continue reading “Trump Condemns Violence in Charlottesville, Saying ‘Racism Is Evil’”

Trump lit the torches of white supremacy in Charlottesville. We must extinguish them.

The following column by Petula Dvorak was posted on the Washington Post website August 13, 2017:

President Trump lit every one of those torches in Charlottesville.

Yes, the white supremacists have always been with us. A parade of racist bigots is no surprise to anyone familiar with our history, especially those who have been the target of hatred and violence for centuries.

But when the mob of white men marched in Charlottesville carrying flaming torches Friday night shouting “Heil Trump” as the curtain-raiser for a day of violent clashes with counterprotesters that left three people dead, they showed the world that America is once again playing with fire.

And Trump was the one with the match. Continue reading “Trump lit the torches of white supremacy in Charlottesville. We must extinguish them.”

Trump didn’t call out white supremacists. He was rebuked by members of his own party.

The following article by Kristine Phillips was posted on the Washington Post website August 13, 2017:

President Trump condemned “hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides” in addressing the riots in Charlottesville on Saturday, when hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan members who planned to stage a rally clashed with counterprotesters.

“The hate and division must stop. And must stop right now,” Trump said, reading a prepared statement at his resort in Bedminster, N.J. “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides. On many sides.” Continue reading “Trump didn’t call out white supremacists. He was rebuked by members of his own party.”