Trump Signs Resolution Condemning White Supremacists Into Law

President Donald Trump is introduced to speak to U.S. military troops at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Saturday, May 27, 2017, in Sigonella, Italy. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump is introduced to speak to U.S. military troops at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Saturday, May 27, 2017, in Sigonella, Italy. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Despite initial indications that he may not sign it, President Donald Trump signed an anti-white supremacists resolution into law Thursday evening, condemning the white supremacists that started a violent rally in Charlottesville, Virginia last month.

The law, Resolution 49, cleared both the Senate and House earlier this week by unanimous votes. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), who introduced the resolution in the Senate, urged the President to “send a clear message” and sign it into law after it passed in the House Tuesday.

The White House released the following statement Thursday evening announcing the President’s decision to sign it:

S.J.Res. 49, which condemns the violence and domestic terrorist attack that took place during events between August 11 and August 12, 2017, in Charlottesville, Virginia, recognizing the first responders who lost their lives while monitoring the events, offering deepest condolences to the families and friends of those individuals who were killed and deepest sympathies and support to those individuals who were injured by the violence, expressing support for the Charlottesville community, rejecting White nationalists, White supremacists, the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, and other hate groups, and urging the President and the President’s Cabinet to use all available resources to address the threats posed by those groups.”

When asked about the resolution initially, a White House spokesperson told Politico they had “no announcements” about the resolution on Tuesday evening. On Thursday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters the President would “absolutely” sign the resolution.

But later Thursday when speaking to reporters, Trump revisited his “many sides” rhetoric, blaming the “bad dudes” on the “other side” for the violence that broke out at the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville that turned deadly.

The comments and subsequent resolution come after Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) met with the President to discuss his response to the white nationalist event and explain the position that counter-protestors and members of the “antifa” group are not morally equivalent to white supremacists.

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. Donnie’s signature on anything doesn’t mean "jack squat!"

  2. I hope Trump had the foresight to attach a signing statement, exempting good racists from the decree.

  3. Avatar for tao tao says:

    Not that Beauregard is going to make the slightest effort to implement or much less enforce any such law, but it is still going to leave a mark on a certain orange hide.

  4. Trump will have to tweet later today that it’s a stupid decree, it’s not really needed, what about Antifa??!!, huge, amazing, bad dudes, hey!, is that a new Putt-Putt course??!!

  5. Anyone want to explain how RT (Russia Today TV; CH 321) has now appeared on DirectTV (AKA AT&T)?

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

9 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for paulw Avatar for imkmu3 Avatar for globalguy Avatar for steviedee111 Avatar for tao Avatar for benthere Avatar for jinnj Avatar for timg Avatar for maricaibo Avatar for tiowally Avatar for aiddon

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: