President Donald trump finally called out at least most of the perpetrators of the violence in Charlottesville by name, two days after the event, when he stated, “Racism is evil. And those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans.” The reaction to the statement was divided into “better late than never” and “too little too late.” The exception to those hot takes was expressed by Susan Bro, the mother of Heather Heyer, the 32-year-old woman who was mowed down by an automobile used, allegedly, as a weapon of terrorism.
Mother of Charlottesville victim thanks Trump
Susan Bro, the mother of Heather Heyer, thanked President Trump for, “denouncing those who promote violence and hatred" according to NBC News. Heyer, who has been present peacefully protesting, has become a martyr whose life was taken in a riot involving Neo Nazis, KKK, and leftist Antifa. The fact that the woman’s mother was so gracious to the president, who has taken a firestorm of criticism for not going far enough, in consideration of some, in denouncing the perpetrators of the violence, says quite a bit.
Is the president being held to a double standard?
While the fact that the president erred in not naming names from the beginning, even within the White House, some have noted the vehemence of the criticism and wonder if he is being held to a Double Standard.
President Obama was never able to ascribe ISIS and Al Qaeda terrorism as “Islamist terror.” Indeed, the mass shooting at Fort Hood was called “workplace violence.” While many on the right criticized Obama, he, by and large, got a pass from his supporters. Obama also had members of Black Lives Matter as guests at the White House, even when members of that group called for the murders of police officers.
To be sure, the current president was elected on the premise that he was going to be better than his predecessor. Also, Trump has to realize that the media and his enemies are going to denounce him no matter what he says and does. So he would be well advised to say and do the right thing from the very beginning and not have to be hounded into it.
Of course, Trump is rather new at being a politician, an occupation where someone’s every move and utterance is scrutinized, taken apart, and more often than not distorted. One thing that is not a feature of politics is fairness. The goal of politics, to grab a quote out of “Game of Thrones,” is to win or die. Fortunately, unlike in Westeros, the death part is generally political rather than physical.
