Politics
08:10, 15-Aug-2017
Bowing to pressure Trump calls out hate groups by name
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President Donald Trump stated that “racism is evil” and condemned the KKK, neo-Nazis and white supremacists as “criminals and thugs.”
Trump spoke from the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House after meeting with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI director Christopher Wray about the race-fueled violence Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Trump came under fire for his comments Saturday that “many sides” are to blame for the violence. In those remarks, he did not single out white supremacists or any other hate group, even as Republican lawmakers and others in his White House did condemn them by name.
Anti-racism protesters react as police try to move them during protests in front
of Trump Tower in New York City, New York, US, August 14, 2017. /Reuters Photo
Anti-racism protesters react as police try to move them during protests in front of Trump Tower in New York City, New York, US, August 14, 2017. /Reuters Photo
Trump also expressed condolences for the death of Heather Heyer, who was killed when James Alex Fields Jr., 20, allegedly drove into a group of people who were protesting a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville Saturday. Nineteen others were injured in that attack.
Earlier Monday, Fields was ordered to be held without bond. He is charged with second-degree murder, among other counts.
In his remarks, Trump also mourned the deaths of two Virginia state troopers Lt. H. Jay Cullen and Berke M.M. Bates died when their helicopter crashed.