Trump condemns Charlottesville violence ‘on many sides’

President Trump condemned the “egregious” racially charged clashes in Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday, but he avoided putting more blame on any particular group, saying hatred by “many sides” was to blame.

Trump made the remarks shortly after it was confirmed that one person had been killed and more than a dozen others injured after a car plowed into a crowd of people protesting against white nationalist and Nazi groups marching Saturday in Charlottesville.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides — on many sides,” Trump said at a press conference from his New Jersey golf course.

{mosads}”It’s been going on for a long time in our country. Not Donald Trump, not Barack Obama. This has been going on for a long, long time,” he continued. 

Trump also called attention to the economy during his remarks and praised state and local police at an event meant to highlight accomplishments by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs during his administration. 

“Our country is doing very well in so many ways. We have record, just absolute record employment. We have unemployment the lowest it’s been in almost seventeen years. We have companies pouring into our country. Foxconn and car companies and so many others, they’re coming back to our country. We’re renegotiating trade deals to make them great for our country and great for the American worker,” he said. 

Trump came under criticism for not condemning the far right groups marching in Virginia, and for instead criticizing violence by “many sides.”

“Mr. President – we must call evil by its name. These were white supremacists and this was domestic terrorism,” Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) wrote on Twitter.

“White supremacists, Neo-Nazis and anti-Semites are the antithesis of our American values,” wrote Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican House member from Florida. “There are no other “sides” to hatred and bigotry.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said in a message on Twitter it was “very important for the nation to hear @POTUS describe events in #Charlottesville for whgat they are, a terror attack by #whitesupremacists.”

White nationalist, white supremacist and alt-right groups were initially scheduled to gather in Charlottesville’s Emancipation Park Saturday to protest the city’s decision to remove a Confederate statue there.

But as clashes broke out ahead of the so-called “Unite the Right” rally Saturday morning, police declared the gathering an unlawful assembly, breaking up the event before it officially began.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) confirmed Saturday night that at least three people were killed during the violent clashes, including two police officers in a nearby helicopter crash.

The president first condemned the event on Twitter hours after the violence ensued.  

We ALL must be united & condemn all that hate stands for. There is no place for this kind of violence in America. Lets come together as one!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, 2017