August 12, 2017

Trump Blames Bigotry “On All Sides” in Charlottesville During Self-Aggrandizing Speech

His remarks come as officials confirmed one dead and 19 injured after a car plowed into crowds.

Steve Helber, Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

President Donald Trump declined to directly denounce white nationalists who sparked violent clashes in Charlottesville, Va., Friday night and Saturday. Instead, Trump condemned a “display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides,” during short remarks at his private golf club in Bedminster, N.J.

“On many sides,” he repeated.

“It’s been going on for a long time in our country. Not Donald Trump. Not Barack Obama,” Trump said, apparently in an effort to sidestep any connection to far-right white supremacy movements.

Trump went on to brag about employment figures. “We have absolute record employment,” Trump said. “We have companies pouring into our country.” As Trump wrapped up an event to sign the Veteran’s Affairs Choice and Quality Employment Act of 2017, he ignored reporters who yelled questions about whether he would condemn white nationalists outright.

Trump’s gave this speech as multiple news outlets confirmed that one person was killed after a car plowed into a crowd of protesters, before reversing and driving away, earlier on Saturday. The deadly incident came amid an intense melee in Charlottesville between white supremacist groups and counter-protesters.

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate