President Donald Trump updated his previous remarks, by specifically mentioning racism and hate groups in a talk he gave at the White House on Aug. 14. He was condemning the protest that turned violent in Charlottesville, Virginia. His earlier remarks about the violence were highly criticized when he didn’t state the groups that were involved by name.
So this morning the president expressed his thoughts on the violence in more concrete, specific terms.
“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 that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans.”
The last speech he gave on the topic was seen as too vague by critics in Washington and beyond. Today he detailed specific actions aimed at punishing those who caused violence at the rally.
“I just met with FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation into the deadly car attack that killed one innocent American and wounded 20 others. To anyone who acted criminally in this weekend’s racist violence, you will be held fully accountable. Justice will be delivered,” he said.
Before speaking on the Charlottesville situation Trump first spoke about the administration’s economic progress and job creation victories since he stepped into the White House. He was on a 17-day working vacation at his golf club in New Jersey that he cut short to return to the White House.
“The stock market continues to hit record highs, unemployment is at a 16-year low, and businesses are more optimistic than ever before. Companies are moving back to the United States and bringing many thousands of jobs with them. We have already created over 1 million jobs since I took office,” he said.
Politicians have been pushing Trump to make a more specific condemnation of the group people seen as the major cause of violence at the protests ever since his remarks two days ago.
On Aug. 12 he stated, “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides—on many sides.”
Vice President Mike Pence had called out the specific groups involved before Trump’s speech on Monday, during a press conference he held from Colombia where he directly stated “We have no tolerance for hate and violence, white supremacists, or neo-Nazis or the KKK.”
As reported by NTD.tv, one woman died and 19 people were injured after a car plowed into a crowd of counterprotesters at a rally to fight the removal of the statue of a Confederate leader.