Trump's America

Trump Defends White Nationalist Rally, Blames Leftists for Charlottesville Violence in Stunning Meltdown

“You had a group on the other side that was also very violent. And nobody wants to say that. They came charging in without a permit, and they were very violent.”
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By Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo.

Donald Trump appeared at New York City’s Trump Tower on Tuesday ready to talk to reporters about the country’s infrastructure, flanked on both sides by Mick Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget; Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin; and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao. After starting off by bemoaning the state of America’s roads and bridges (“We’re like a third-world country,” he said), he opened up the floor to reporters who were eager to question the president on a far more pressing issue: the continued fallout from a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend, in which an anti-racist protester was killed. Trump—who reportedly overruled his staff by taking questions in the first place—appeared to become increasingly agitated as he fielded nearly a dozen questions about his hesitant, equivocal response to the crisis.

The result was a disturbing scene in which Trump defended the mob of torch-bearing white nationalists who gathered Friday night to protest the removal of a Confederate statue; abdicated any responsibility for healing a racial divide that he said preceded his presidency; said there were “very fine people” on both sides of the rally; and admonished left-wing agitators for creating the deadly violence that roiled Charlottesville the following day.

On waiting to condemn the act of terror committed by a white nationalist in Charlottesville until Monday:

“I didn’t wait long. I wanted to make sure, unlike most politicians, that what I said was correct. The statement I made on Saturday was a fine statement. It takes a little while to get the facts. You still don’t know the facts. When I make a statement, I like to be correct.”

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On Heather Heyer, the woman who died when she was struck and killed by a car plowing through a group of counterprotesters:

“Her mother wrote me and said, through I guess social media, the nicest things, and I very much appreciate that. I hear she was an incredible young woman. Her mother on Twitter thanked me for what I said. If the press wasn’t fake, it would have thanked me for what I said. Unlike you and unlike the media, before I make a statement I like to know the facts. How about a couple of infrastructure questions?”

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On the importance of hearing both sides:

“What about the alt-left that came charging at, as you say, the alt-right. Do they have any semblance of guilt? They came charging with clubs in their hands. As far as I’m concerned, that was a horrible, horrible day. Wait—wait a minute. I’m not finished, fake news. 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. They came charging in without a permit, and they were very violent. . . . And you had some very bad people in that group, but you also have people that were very fine people, on both sides. The night before, there were people protesting very quietly the taking down of the statue of Robert E. Lee. There are two sides to a story.”

On whether the left and right are both to blame:

“I do think there is blame—yes, I think there is blame on both sides. You look at both sides. I think there’s blame on both sides, and I have no doubt about it, and you don't have any doubt about it either. . . . I saw the same pictures as you did. You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down, of to them, a very, very important statue and the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name.”

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On taking down more statues in the future:

“You take a look, and many of those people were there to protest the taking down of the statue of Robert E. Lee. I noticed Stonewall Jackson is coming down. Is it George Washington next week and Thomas Jefferson the week after?”

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On whether driving a car into a group of counter-protesters was an act of terrorism:

“I think the driver of the car is a disgrace to himself, his family, and this country. And that is—you can call it terrorism, you can call it murder. You can call it whatever you want. I would just call it as the fastest one to come up with a good verdict. That’s what I’d call it. And there is a question. Is it murder? Is it terrorism? Then you get into legal semantics. The driver of the car is a murderer, and what he did was a horrible, horrible, inexcusable thing.”

On how to fix race relations in America:

“I believe the fact that I brought in—it will be soon—millions of jobs. You see where companies are moving back into our country. I think that will have a tremendous impact on race relations.”

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On why C.E.O.s are fleeing his manufacturing and business councils:

“Because they’re not taking their job seriously as it pertains to this country. We want jobs in this country. If you look at some of those people you’re talking about, they’re outside of the country. Take a look at where [Merck’s] product is made. Some of the folks that will leave, they’re leaving because of embarrassment because they make their products outside the country.”

On Steve Bannon’s future in the White House:

“I like Mr. Bannon. He’s a friend of mine. But he came on very late. I went through 17 senators, governors, and I won all the primaries. I like him. He’s a good man. He’s not a racist. He’s a good person. He gets unfair press in that regard. We’ll see what happens with Mr. Bannon.”

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On whether he’ll visit Charlottesville:

“I own a house in Charlottesville. It is a winery. I mean, I know a lot about Charlottesville. It’s a great place that has been badly hurt over the last couple days. I own one of the largest wineries in the United States. It is in Charlottesville.”