5 Reactions to Donald Trump's 'Both Sides' Comments on Charlottesville Violence
President Donald Trump held a press conference at Trump Tower in Manhattan on Tuesday in which he said there was blame and decent people on "both sides" of the protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, that broke out into violence between white supremacists and counter protesters with Antifa, a communist-anarchist group that claims to be anti-fascist.
His comments came one day after he had condemned the KKK and white supremacist groups in a statement to reporters at the White House.
"Racism is evil — and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans," Trump said. "Those who spread violence in the name of bigotry strike at the very core of America."
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During the press briefing on Tuesday, however, Trump said "there is blame on both sides" for the violence and there were decent people on all sides of the protests.
"Not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me. Not all of those people were white supremacists by any stretch," Trump said.
Trump's comments were perceived by many as giving the alt-right a pass, and he was roundly condemned by the mainstream media, members of both political parties, and some of his supporters for reiterating that there were "many sides" to blame for the violence.
Here are some of the reactions to Trump's words. While most are negative, some have defended his remarks. (Click on the next page link above)
