Pence: ‘Extremist Voices’ On ‘Far Right’ And ‘Far Left’ Will Be ‘Marginalized’

Vice President Mike Pence speaks during the Indianapolis Ten Point Coalition luncheon Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Vice President Mike Pence speaks during the Indianapolis Ten Point Coalition luncheon, Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
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Vice President Mike Pence said Monday President Donald Trump “will continue to be clear” in condemning white supremacist hate groups — even though the President himself has not actually done so in the wake of a white supremacist terrorist attack during a hectic rally in Charlottesville, Virginia that left one counter-protester dead.

Pence also echoed Trump’s language that “many sides” of the white supremacist rally were worth condemning. Pence said he believed “we’re going to see these extremist voices on the far right and on the far left marginalized as they should be as Americans come together around our shared values.”

In an interview with Pence Monday, NBC’s Peter Alexander asked: “Do you have any concern, even if it’s not the President’s intention, that he, in fact, by not condemning white supremacists by their names, is dividing Americans?”

“Peter, we talked about that very extensively yesterday,” Pence responded. “The President made it very clear in his statement this weekend that we condemn all forms of hate and violence, and particularly condemn, as we did yesterday — we condemned the hate and the violence and the bigotry of organizations that showed up in Charlottesville like the KKK and white supremacists.”

“The President was clear on that and will continue to be clear,” Pence said.

Except Trump wasn’t. He condemned “hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides.” Only later Sunday did an anonymous White House official say that “of course” Trump’s condemnation included “white supremacists, KKK Neo-Nazi and all extremist groups.” But Trump still hasn’t said so himself.

Pence continued: “But I think you’ll also see this President call our country to move beyond these fractious times and come together around the values that we share  — the values that we share, frankly, with most nations across this hemisphere and with free nations around the world.”

“I truly believe that under President Trump’s leadership we’re going to continue to see more unity in America and we’re going to see these extremist voices on the far right and on the far left marginalized as they should be as Americans come together around our shared values,” he concluded.

It’s unclear which “far left” groups Pence meant to condemn. So called “antifa” groups — short for anti-fascist — are not shy about their advocacy of violence against white supremacists, and were in attendance in Charlottesville. But the man accused of second-degree murder and other charges for ramming his car into a group of counter-protesters Saturday had earlier appeared in a photo with American Vanguard, a white supremacist group.

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