President Trump got into a heated exchange with reporters over last weekend’s violence in Virginia during an impromptu press conference at Trump Tower originally intended to cover the President’s infrastructure proposal.
When asked why he didn’t condemn the deadly violence in Charlottesville, a defensive Trump defended his initial response – telling reporters he needed to “know the facts” before condemning specific groups of aggressors, and stating that there was “blame on both sides” for the violent clashes which unfolded throughout the day.
“I didn’t wait long” to condemn the violence, Trump said, adding “I wanted to make sure, unlike most politicians, that what I said was correct – not make a quick statement.”
Getting into it
When a reporter parroted John McCain’s claim that the ‘alt-right’ was behind the violence, Trump stopped her in her tracks – asking her to define ‘alt-right,’ before asking her what responsibility the ‘alt-left’ “that came charging in without a permit” had “Do they have any semblance of guilt?” Trump asked, “What about the fact that they came charging with clubs in their hands? As far as I’m concerned, that was a horrible, horrible, day.”
Trump: "What about the alt-left that came charging … with clubs in their hands swinging clubs?" https://t.co/06QJt76054 pic.twitter.com/4h81CIrCFp
— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) August 15, 2017
Trump then said “the statement I made on Saturday, the first statement, was a fine statement, but you don’t make statements that direct unless you know the fact. It takes a little while to get the facts. You still don’t know the facts. And it’s a very, very important process to me. And it’s a very important statement. So I don’t want to go quickly and just make a statement for the sake of making a political statement. I want to know the facts.”
Monumental defense
When a reporter asked about the merit of maintaining a statue to Robert E. Lee, Trump got extra-spicy – asking if monuments to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson should be taken down. “How ’bout Thomas Jefferson, what do you think of Thomas Jefferson – you like him? Are we going to take down his statue? Cause he was a major slave owner”
“You’re changing history, you’re changing culture”
In fiery press conference, Trump asks if monuments to George Washington will fall next https://t.co/gLqE7s7Vn1 pic.twitter.com/h4qXaiAhVO
— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) August 15, 2017
Defense of Bannon
When asked about Steve Bannon’s thoughts, Trump said “I like Mr. Bannon, he’s a friend of mine. But he came on very late… I like him, he’s a good man, he is not a racist – I can tell you that. He’s a good person. We’ll see what happens with Mr. Bannon.”
Trump defends Steve Bannon, says he's "a good man … not a racist" https://t.co/ieMluMPpXG pic.twitter.com/gXgJPCKszK
— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) August 15, 2017
Full exchage below:
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