The New York Times reports:
President Trump on Tuesday insisted that he did nothing wrong on Saturday when he declined to specifically condemn Nazi and white supremacist groups, asserting that “before I make a statement, I like to know the facts.”
In a long, combative exchange with reporters at Trump Tower, the president repeatedly rejected a torrent of bipartisan criticism for waiting several days before naming the right-wing groups and placing blame on “many sides” for the violence that ended with the deaths of a young woman after a car crashed into a crowd.
Mr. Trump repeated that assertion on Tuesday, criticizing “alt-left” groups that he claimed were “very, very violent” when they sought to confront the nationalist and Nazi groups that had gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia to protest the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee from a park. He said there is “blame on both sides.”
There are no “very good people” marching with Nazis. Trump is pivoting to something else. If you march with Nazis you’re okay with Naziism.
— Nazis are Nazis (@therealezway) August 15, 2017
Donald Trump: “There were some very good people on both sides! Very good!” pic.twitter.com/ZhjzQiMNZB
— Riley Kilburg (@RileyKilburg) August 15, 2017
“I think there’s blame on both sides…no doubt about it”–Trump, also saying there were “very very good people” on both sides.
— Cathleen Decker (@cathleendecker) August 15, 2017
“Wow, that was something else.” — @jaketapper‘s initial reaction to Trump’s insane press conference just now: https://t.co/RVwtZcdJsu pic.twitter.com/CsHq87EcPk
— Matt Wilstein (@mattwilstein) August 15, 2017
Trump says not everyone at Charlottesville was a neo-Nazi or white supremacist https://t.co/LE4bzWCOWj pic.twitter.com/iJPg3ssR8C
— Bloomberg (@business) August 15, 2017
MUST WATCH: Trump saying “there were very fine people on both sides” as he equates Confederate to a Founding Father. pic.twitter.com/u9Sf2oBeyh
— Girls Really Rule. (@girlsreallyrule) August 15, 2017
Trump is defending the neo-Nazis and white supremacist who he says had a permit, but the protestors did not. Wake up America! https://t.co/Eot481ly7P
— Amy Siskind (@Amy_Siskind) August 15, 2017
President Trump on Charlottesville: “There are two sides to a story” https://t.co/UYpqI3w42L https://t.co/OQnTTHerZs
— CNN (@CNN) August 15, 2017
President Trump just referred to a group of violent white nationalists, supremacists, segregationists, and neo-Nazis as “very fine people.”
— John Dingell (@JohnDingell) August 15, 2017
Wow. Wow. Wow. President Donald Trump on White Supremacists facing off against counter protestors: "You had very fine people on both sides."
— Jacob Soboroff (@jacobsoboroff) August 15, 2017
Trump on Charlottesville: "Not all of those people were neo-Nazis…not all of those people were white supremacists" https://t.co/AeU8mlc2Yw
— NBC News (@NBCNews) August 15, 2017