World
10:54, 14-Aug-2017
Trump faces backlash over reaction to Charlottesville violence
["north america"]
Share
Copied
Soon after the violence broke out, US President Donald Trump spoke with the media saying that he condemns “hatred on many sides.”
When asked whether his condemnation included white nationalists, Trump ignored the question. The president has since been criticized by both Republicans and Democrats for waiting too long to address the violence, and failing to explicitly condemn white-supremacist demonstrators.
Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci joined the chorus of those who criticized Trump's reaction to the Charlottesville violence.
"I think he would have needed to have been much harsher," Scaramucci told ABC News. "With the moral authority of the presidency, you have to call that stuff out."
Amid the growing criticism, the White House later said Trump's comment condemning all forms of “violence, bigotry and hatred,” included the actions by “white supremacists, the KKK, neo-Nazis and all extremist groups.”