Charlottesville Mayor Slams Trump For ‘Courting’ White Supremacists

In this Nov. 15, 2016, photo, Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer, center, during a press conference in Charlottesville, Va. Signer has become the target of anonymous Twitter trolls’ hate-filled, Anti-Semitic messa... In this Nov. 15, 2016, photo, Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer, center, during a press conference in Charlottesville, Va. Signer has become the target of anonymous Twitter trolls’ hate-filled, Anti-Semitic messages after condemning a weekend protest over the planned removal of a Confederate monument. (Ryan M. Kelly/The Daily Progress via AP) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Charlottesville Mayor Michael Signer (D) on Sunday slammed President Donald Trump for his campaign’s “intentional courting” of white supremacist groups and his failure to condemn them in the wake of violence at a rally that left dozens injured.

“Look at the campaign he ran,” Signer said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“Look at the intentional courting, both on the one hand all of these white supremacist, white nationalist groups like that, anti-Semitic groups, and then look on the other hand the repeated failure to step up and condemn, denounce, silence, put to bed all of those different efforts, just like we saw yesterday,” he added. “This is not hard.”

Violence broke out on Saturday at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, leaving three dead. James Alex Fields, Jr. was charged with second-degree murder after driving a car into a group of protesters, killing one woman and injuring dozens of people.

On NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Signer said Trump’s campaign went “to the gutter.”

“I think they made a choice in that campaign, a very regrettable one, to really go to people’s prejudices,” he said. “I mean, these influences around the country, these anti-Semites, racists, Aryans, KKK, they’re always in the shadows, but, you know, they’ve really been given a key and a reason to come in the light.”

“It’s now on the President and on all of us to say, enough is enough,” he added. “This movement has run its course.”

Latest Livewire
42
Show Comments

Notable Replies

  1. More of this please. Get the mayor on every network. Call Fox and volunteer to be interviewed. Let’s see how they’ll turn him down.

  2. Avatar for tani tani says:
  3. And a concerted drumbeat for the sacking of Bannon, Gorka, and the rest, would be in order. Do not let him off the hook just by tweaking his tweeting, if even that is possible.

  4. Mr Mayor,
    Welcome to the Ununited States of Trump.
    Our country is now of the Trump, by the Trump and for the Trump.
    He appears to be solidly behind those who came into your town and tell you you have no right to go against their beliefs.
    This hate and allowing terrorists to run free in his name is what appears to be how he wants his country to be.

  5. When is the next Senate seat in Virginia open?

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

36 more replies

Participants

Avatar for rfscalf Avatar for sooner Avatar for bluestatedon Avatar for navamske Avatar for tani Avatar for mumphrey_o_yamm Avatar for 26degreesrising Avatar for esva Avatar for kitty Avatar for benthere Avatar for cincypix Avatar for pshah Avatar for mainemomma Avatar for antisachetdethe Avatar for wintermoon Avatar for edhedh Avatar for appalachianne Avatar for gusfabriani Avatar for unit44 Avatar for rickjones Avatar for uneducated Avatar for brian512 Avatar for aiddon Avatar for 19tibekius6

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: