News (USA)

The White House talking points after Trump’s defense of racists is mindblowing

The White House talking points after Trump’s defense of racists is mindblowing
Donald Trump Photo: Shutterstock
Every day the White House sends out talking points to Republican congress members and pundits to keep the GOP continuously repeating the party line. Plus, it can be hard to think of ways to defend Trump’s insane tweets and statements, so sometimes they need, well, a little help.

After Trump’s ridiculous defense of the so-called alt-right and white nationalists by claiming responsibility for the domestic terrorist attack in Charlottesville, Virginia should also be laid at the feet of anti-Nazi protesters. The protesters were hit by a car driven by a white supremacist; one woman was killed and 19 others were injured.

While Trump has been consistent in immediately labeling any crime involving an undocumented immigrant or Muslim as terrorism, once the attacker was a white man, he suddenly wasn’t as quick to pass judgement, saying he wanted all the facts before making a statement denouncing neo-Nazis. In fact, he’s still not sure it was domestic terrorism.

“You can call it terrorism. You can call it murder. You can call it whatever you want. I would just call it as “the fastest one to come up with a good verdict.” That’s what I’d call it. Because there is a question: Is it murder? Is it terrorism? And then you get into legal semantics,” he said during the press conference.

“I will tell you something. I watched those very closely — much more closely than you people watched it. And you have — you had a group on one side that was bad, and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. And nobody wants to say that, but I’ll say it right now. You had a group — you had a group on the other side that came charging in, without a permit, and they were very, very violent,” Trump continued.

“I’ve condemned neo-Nazis. I’ve condemned many different groups. But not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me. Not all of those people were white supremacists by any stretch. Those people were also there because they wanted to protest the taking down of a statue of Robert E. Lee.”

While his press conference was crazy enough, the “evening communications briefing” is even worse. Check it out on the next page courtesy of The Atlantic. (the talking points also included notes on Chinese trade policies and infrastructure that have been omitted.)

NEWS OF THE DAY

Charlottesville

  • The President was entirely correct — both sides of the violence in Charlottesville acted inappropriately, and bear some responsibility.
  • Despite the criticism, the President reaffirmed some of our most important Founding principles: We are equal in the eyes of our Creator, equal under the law, and equal under our Constitution.
    • He has been a voice for unity and calm, encouraging the country to “rediscover the bonds of love and loyalty that brings us together as Americans.”
    • He called for the end of violence on all sides so that no more innocent lives would be lost.
  • The President condemned – with no ambiguity – the hate groups fueled by bigotry and racism over the weekend, and did so by name yesterday, but for the media that will never be enough.
    • The media reacted with hysteria to the notion that counter-protesters showed up with clubs spoiling for a fight, a fact that reporters on the ground have repeatedly stated.
    • Even a New York Times reporter tweeted that she “saw club-wielding “antifa” beating white nationalists being led out of the park.”
    • The local ACLU chapter also tweeted that
  • We should not overlook the facts just because the media finds them inconvenient:
    • From cop killing and violence at political rallies, to shooting at Congressmen at a practice baseball game, extremists on the left have engaged in terrible acts of violence.
    • The President is taking swift action to hold violent hate groups accountable.
      • The DOJ has opened a civil rights investigation into this weekend’s deadly car attack.
      • Last Thursday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced it had completed the largest prosecution of white supremacists in the nation’s history.
  • Leaders and the media in our country should join the president in trying to unite and heal our country rather than incite more division.
Don't forget to share:

Support vital LGBTQ+ journalism

Reader contributions help keep LGBTQ Nation free, so that queer people get the news they need, with stories that mainstream media often leaves out. Can you contribute today?

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated

Texas bathroom bill dies after legislature adjourns without action

Previous article

Baltimore removed 4 Confederate memorials last night while racists were sleeping

Next article