Nearly two years after the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, President Trump is still at it.
On Friday, Trump addressed his infamous comment about “very fine people” on “both sides” of the rally, saying he handled the issue “perfectly.”
“If you look at what I said, you will see that question was answered perfectly,” Trump said outside the White House before heading to Indiana for a National Rifle Association event. “And I was talking about people that went because they felt very strongly about the monument to Robert E. Lee, a great general.”
“Whether you like it or not, he was one of the great generals,” Trump continued. “I’ve spoken to many generals here right at the White House, and many people thought of the generals, they think he was maybe their favorite general. People were there protesting the taking down of the monument of Robert E. Lee. Everybody knows that.”
It’s true that a statue of the Confederate general was at the center of the protest that turned deadly on August 12, 2017. But the most indelible images of the event were of young white men carrying tiki torches chanting “Jews will not replace us,” and a white nationalist plowing his car into a crowd of people, killing counter-protester Heather Heyer.
A few days after the rally, Trump infamously said there were “very fine people on both sides.”
The episode has been thrust back into the headlines this week after former Vice President Joe Biden referenced Trump’s remarks in his campaign announcement video. Biden said the moment Trump referenced “very fine people,” he knew the threat to the country was “unlike any I had ever seen in my lifetime.”
Trump defends his comment about "very fine people" on "both sides" of Charlottesville white nationalist rally pic.twitter.com/3jaiD15tXe
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) April 26, 2019
Once you are a racist, always a racist.
It’s a wonder he won’t go for the grand pooper job after this failed job opportunity.
The rest is just pure trump BS as usual
If there were “very fine people” concerned about Robert E. Lee’s legacy, they would have made a sincere effort to condemn the violent terrorists who were the face of the 2017 Charlottesville rallies. Haven’t seen that kind of pushback yet…
the abomination needs those very fine racists, neo-nazis, and white supremacists if we ever actually attempt to hold him accountable for his criminality. or if he decides to disregard the results of the 2020 election.
he’ll continue to praise the most contemptible and despicable among us.
From the great movie Airplane (1980).
This man is sick, sick, sick…
We’re dealing with a president in 2019 defending Robert E. Lee. He’s not obviously talking about him in a historical context who took up arms against our country not the Lee who surrendered at Appomattox.
Oh by the way there were Neo Nazis at Charlottesville too. His desiccated mind forgets.