The alt-right rally in Charlottesville has garnered widespread condemnation from many quarters in the United States and the rest of the world, however, the president's statement left a lot to be desired. The alt-right valley and the associated violence that led to the death of three individuals was not condemned unequivocally by the President. According to CNN, it has become a thorny issue for White House aides since they are struggling to explain Donald Trump's statement.
Hard to explain
Although White House aides try to put up a brave face when faced with challenging circumstance, they are now struggling to explain President Donald Trump's failure to condemn white nationalists and Nazi flag wielding groups at Charlottesville.
On Saturday, the president said that the violence in Charlottesville was down to violence perpetrated by 'many sides' and did not single out the white nationalists, as many would have hoped.
Speaking to CNN, one unnamed White House that Trump's statement implied that he had condemned white nationalists, KKK, and neo-Nazis. However, his statement did not mention those groups by name and it is quite clear that aides are struggling to spin the president's statement meaningfully. The White House official told CNN, "The President said very strongly in his statement yesterday that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry and hatred, and, of course, that includes white supremacists, KKK, neo-Nazi and all extremist groups."
No bombast from Trump
The president's statement came in for criticism from several quarters since his usual bombast was missing when it came to condemning those responsible for the violence in Charlottesville.
It is a well-known fact that if Donald Trump feels strongly enough about anything then he pulls no punches but in this case, he blamed 'all sides' instead of the white supremacists who were responsible for the violence. CNN tried to coax out more explanations about the president's statement but the White House aides refused to answer any of them.
Vice-President Mike Pence was however emphatic in his condemnation of white supremacists and neo-Nazis. On Sunday, he stated that the administration has no tolerance for white supremacists or neo-Nazis. He went on to call them 'dangerous fringe groups' and also tried to clear up the implications of Trump's statement. Pence said that the president's statement condemned hatred and went on to say that his appeal for unity was 'a sincere call'.
