The Charlottesville protest on Saturday was similar, with a bunch of racists and anti-racists looking for trouble, and finding each other.
Fights broke out at the protest, and yet only one side, the racists, is called out for the violence. This isn't a defense of racism, but a statement of fact: It takes two people to have a fight, and multiple fights means a lot more than two people. It is easy to point to the racists and say, "Yes, but the only person to die was killed by a racist." But the punches thrown and countered created an environment of violence, where escalation becomes more likely.
Which leads us to President Trump...
Yahoo News:
US President Donald Trump sparked another political firestorm Tuesday when he doubled down on his initial response to the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville that ended in bloodshed, saying there was "blame on both sides."The response from the Right-wing media:
The Republican president -- who one day ago solemnly denounced racism and singled out the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis as "criminals and thugs" -- also hit out at what he called the "alt-left" over the weekend melee.
Trump has faced days of criticism from across the political spectrum over his reaction to Saturday's unrest in the Virginia college town, where a rally by neo-Nazis and white supremacists over the removal of a Confederate statue erupted in clashes with counter-demonstrators.
The violent fracas ended in bloodshed when a 20-year-old suspected Nazi sympathizer, James Fields, plowed his car into a crowd of anti-racism protesters, leaving one woman dead and 19 others injured.
In a rowdy exchange with journalists at Trump Tower in New York, Trump made clear on Tuesday that he was fed up with continued questioning about the issue.
"I think there is blame on both sides," Trump said.
As he spoke, his new White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, a former Marine general, appeared displeased during the president's long tirade, standing rigidly.
"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," Trump continued.
"What about the alt-left that came charging... at the, as you say, the alt-right? Do they have any semblance of guilt? (...) There are two sides to a story."
"What about the fact they came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs? Do they have any problem? I think they do. As far as I am concerned, that was a horrible, horrible day,” Trump said.
Fox News:
The White House told allies Tuesday that President Trump was “entirely correct” to blame “both sides” for the protest violence in Charlottesville, fighting back at critics of his response, Fox News has learned.And the other side:
A memo of talking points obtained by Fox News stated that during his remarks in the lobby of Trump Tower on Tuesday, the president was “entirely correct – both sides of the violence in Charlottesville acted inappropriately, and bear some responsibility.”
The memo also stated that Trump “with no ambiguity” condemned the hate groups that descended upon Charlottesville for the “Unite the Right” rally, and added the president has been “a voice for unity and calm,” and that he’s “taking swift action to hold violent hate groups accountable.”
It ended by saying both leaders and the media “should join the president in trying to unite and heal our country rather than incite more division.” The memo was distributed to allies of the White House in an effort to try to get conservatives on board to defend Trump.
CNN:
It took President Donald Trump two days to condemn by name neo-Nazis, the Klu Klux Klan and white supremacist groups involved in this weekend's bloody clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia.Actually, Trump's comments didn't "reverse course". It was more of a 45 degree move than a 180 degree. Instead of just blaming the far Right, he is bringing in the far Left for consideration in his condemnation.
It took him about half that time to reverse course.
"I think there's blame on both sides. And I have no doubt about it," Trump told reporters Tuesday during a terse, highly combative exchange about the deadly clashes Saturday at the "Unite the Right" rally.
"You had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent," the President said. "No one wants to say that, but I'll say it right now. You had a group on the other side that came charging in without a permit and they were very, very violent."
It was a moment that the President both seemed to want and to relish.
Amid his hyperbole, Trump is right here. "Hating the haters" is not a valid counter-response to racism. Martin Luther King Jr. would have told you that.
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