Tag: Charlottesville

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Trump Defends White Supremacists: “Two Sides To A Story”

I’m. Just. Stunned.

From The New York Times:

President Trump on Tuesday insisted that he did nothing wrong on Saturday when he declined to specifically condemn Nazi and white supremacist groups, asserting that “before I make a statement, I like to know the facts.”

In a long, combative exchange with reporters at Trump Tower, the president repeatedly rejected a torrent of bipartisan criticism for waiting several days before naming the right-wing groups and placing blame on “many sides” for the violence that ended with the deaths of a young woman after a car crashed into a crowd.

Mr. Trump repeated that assertion on Tuesday, criticizing “alt-left” groups that he claimed were “very, very violent” when they sought to confront the nationalist and Nazi groups that had gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia to protest the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee from a park. He said there is “blame on both sides.”

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Merck CEO Quits President’s Manufacturing Council Over Tepid Charlottesville Remarks

Citing a responsibility to “take a stand against intolerance and extremism,” Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier quit Donald Trump’s American Manufacturing Council on Monday in response to Trump’s woefully tepid statements regarding the violent hate rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, this past weekend.

“America’s leaders must honor our fundamental views by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy, which run counter to the American ideal that all people are created equal. As CEO of Merck and as a matter of personal conscience, I feel a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism.”

Trump responded by attacking Frazier on Twitter: “Now that Ken Frazier of Merck Pharma has resigned from President’s Manufacturing Council, he will have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!”

As many have noted, it took less than an hour to slap back at Frazier, but no word against white supremacists in three days.

As this Twitter user points out, Frazier was welcomed as a member of Trump’s Manufacturing Council. Did Trump think of Frazier as a ripoff artist all this time?

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No Bail For Nazi Suspect James Fields

James Alex Fields Jr.

James Alex Fields, the young man who allegedly drove his car through a crowd of counter-protesters during the hate rally on Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia, has been arraigned without bail.

Via USA Today:

James Alex Fields Jr., 20, appeared in Charlottesville General District Court by video conference, where a judge read out the charges that include one count of second-degree murder, several counts of malicious wounding and one count of hit and run.

Clad in a striped gray and white shirt, Fields was subdued while answering questions from Judge Robert Downer. Fields said he could not afford a lawyer, and Downer assigned private attorney Charles Weber to the case.

Downer said he could not appoint a public defender due to a conflict of interest —someone linked to the public defender’s office was injured in the crash Saturday. Fields’ next court date will be August 25.

Heather Heyer, 32, was killed and 19 people were injured Saturday when a Dodge Challenger rear-ended a sedan, which then hit a minivan that had slowed to allow the counter-protesters to cross at an intersection, Charlottesville police said. The impact pushed the vehicles into the crowd, police said in a statement. The Challenger fled the scene, but officers stopped it a short time later and arrested Fields, police said.

The article goes on to note that Fields apparently has a fascination with Nazism, idolized Adolf Hitler and radical convictions regarding race.

According to CBS News, Fields’ mother knew he was going to an “alt-right” event but didn’t understand it would be a white supremacist rally.

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Redneck Liberal: Virginia Is For Lovers, Not Nazis

Trae Crowder, America’s “Redneck Liberal”

From Trae Crowder, America’s “Redneck Liberal:”

“I’m absolutely disgusted by this weekend in Charlottesville. But I maintain….love will prevail y’all.”

“I don’t know that there’s any symbol that’s more inherently un-American than the Confederate flag. It’s sorta the point of the fucking thing.”

“Ultimately, at their core, these people are losers. Losers who fetishize other losers.”

Watch Trae rock this rant below:

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Charlottesville Hate Rally Organizer Runs From His Own Press Conference

Jason Kessler runs from his own press conference

Jason Kessler, one of the white supremacists who helped organize the hideous events we saw in Charlottesville, Virginia, this past weekend decided his “achievement” warranted a press conference.

The citizens of Charlottesville were not too keen on him “explaining” what happened in all the hate spewed Friday night and Saturday by his “Unite The Right” pals.

NBC News has footage of his literally running away from his own press conference as folks from Charlottesville told him exactly how they felt.

I don’t condone violence – don’t touch. But I support the citizens verbally expressing their outrage over what Kessler knowingly organized.

Watch the video below.

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Ivanka Trump Finds The Words Her Father Could Not

Ivanka Trump

Finding the words her father couldn’t, Ivanka Trump condemned the white supremacist/neo-nazis hate on display in Charlottesville, Virginia, yesterday:

When history handed President Trump the chance to denounce the racist rhetoric yesterday at the Charlottesville rally, he chose to mute his statement saying there was hatred and violence “on many sides.”

The nazis celebrated the president’s words:

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Hillary Clinton Strongly Denounces White Supremacists’ Violence In Charlottesville

After the violent turmoil erupted at the nazi rally today in Charlottesville, Virginia, Hillary Clinton issued this statement via Twitter:

My heart is in Charlottesville today, and with everyone made to feel unsafe in their country. But the incitement of hatred that got us here is as real and condemnable as the white supremacists in our streets. Every minute we allow this to persist through tacit encouragement or inaction is a disgrace, & corrosive to our values. Now is the time for leaders to be strong in their words & deliberate in their actions. We will not step backward. If this is not who we are as Americans, let’s prove it.

At least someone knows what clear leadership looks like.