White supremacist groups gathered in Charlottesville, VA this past weekend for a “Unite the Right” rally and to protest the removal of a Confederate statue of General Robert E. Lee. Attention, however, quickly turned from the protesters to the President’s initial response.
When a protester drove into a crowd and killed activist Heather Heyer, President Donald Trump was immediately criticized for failing to name the white supremacist groups that staged the protest. More than one critic even claimed that Trump hadn’t addressed the situation at all — though his first response was made to address the situation.
As expected the mainstream media and Democrat leaders were quick to find fault with Trump’s first words on the matter. In a 1230 word speech, two words and the absence of others proved enough to encourage both the left and many on the right to make the President more the issue than those who fostered the violence in the first place.
Trump initially blamed the violence on “many sides” in his remarks Saturday. By the time he specifically denounced White Supremacist and the KKK in a prepared address to the nation on Monday, even many on the Republican side of the aisle had already judged Trump lacking in his response to the violence.
The Elite Daily ran a headline that indicated conservative Ted Cruz (Rep – TX) had denounced Trump. ‘Even Ted Cruz Is Blasting Donald Trump’s Refusal To Say “White Supremacy”. Following that headline, the liberal site added: “After the terrible violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday, Aug. 12, Ted Cruz and the GOP are condemning Trump’s Charlottesville speech for not mentioning the words “white supremacy” or “terrorism.””
Cruz’s Facebook page, which the Elite used as its source, carried his pointed denunciation:
“The First Amendment protects the rights of all Americans to speak their minds peaceably, but violence, brutality, and murder have no place in a civilized society.
The Nazis, the KKK, and white supremacists are repulsive and evil, and all of us have a moral obligation to speak out against the lies, bigotry, anti-Semitism, and hatred that they propagate. Having watched the horrifying video of the car deliberately crashing into a crowd of protesters, I urge the Department of Justice to immediately investigate and prosecute this grotesque act of domestic terrorism.”
But Cruz never named the president even once in his words.
The liberal media and too many Republican leaders like John McCain and Lindsey Graham have been all too ready to read into Trump’s first address his supposed tacit support of fringe “Alt-Right” hate groups like the KKK.
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee told the Washington Examiner that President Trump would be criticized for his response to the violence in Charlottesville, VA regardless of what he said or did.
“If Donald Trump had suddenly jumped on Marine One … down to Charlottesville, walked into the jail where the young man was being held, shot him between the eyes, I guarantee you people said he didn’t use the right caliber bullet,” Huckabee said.
Trump initially blamed the violence on “many sides” in his remarks last Saturday. After two days of a firestorm of controversy, he called out hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan and Neo-Nazis for their role in the violence in Charlottesville.
“Racism is evil and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups … ,” said Trump.
The president returned attention where it belonged, the senseless murder of a young woman. He reminded the nation of 32-year-old Heather Heyer, saying, “Her death fills us with grief, and we send her and her family our thoughts, our prayers, and our love.”
Heyer’s mother thanked President Trump y after he spoke out against hate groups for their role in the weekend’s violence.
“Thank you, President Trump, for those words of comfort and for denouncing those who promote violence and hatred,” Susan Bro said in a statement, according to NBC News.
“My condolences, also, to the grieving families of the two state troopers and quick recovering for those injured,” she added.
Former KKK leader David Duke reacted to President Trump’s remarks on Monday saying he had been manipulated by the media. Duke spoke directly to Trump, claiming white nationalists abhor violence. He said, “President Trump, please, for God’s sake, don’t feel like you need to say these things.”
Perhaps Trump should have said more sooner but there should be no doubt who his friends and enemies are now.
To watch Trump’s original denouncement of the violence see the video below.
~ American Liberty Report
