President Trump took to Twitter on Thursday to accuse Senator Lindsey Graham and the “fake news” media for what he called “misrepresentations” of his views on hatred and bigotry in response to last weekend’s violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“Publicity seeking Lindsey Graham falsely stated that I said there is moral equivalency between the KKK, neo-Nazis & white supremacists and people like Ms. Heyer,” Trump tweeted. “Such a disgusting lie. He just can’t forget his election trouncing.The people of South Carolina will remember!”
Moments later, the president wrote, “The public is learning (even more so) how dishonest the Fake News is. They totally misrepresent what I say about hate, bigotry etc. Shame!”
Trump initially caused outrage when he said “both sides” were to blame. He eventually condemned the white supremacists, KKK and neo-Nazis, but backpedaled 24 hours later.
Trump sent a surge of viewers into dismay during a Tuesday press conference when he repeated that “both sides” were responsible, while also claiming there were some “very fine people” attending the white nationalist rally.
Trump has been widely criticized by media members on both sides of the political aisle since his wild press conference and Fox News host Shepard Smith said on Wednesday that he couldn’t find a single Republican to support Trump’s comments on air.
“President Trump took a step backward by again suggesting there is moral equivalency between the white supremacist neo-Nazis and KKK members who attended the Charlottesville rally and people like Ms. Heyer. I, along with many others, do not endorse this moral equivalency,” Graham said in a statement.
Heather Heyer was killed when an accused white supremacist plowed into a group of counter-protestors demonstrating against the neo-Nazis and white supremacists. At least 19 others were injured in the horrific attack.
Check out Trump’s early morning tweets:
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/898127175525728256
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/898128290698989568
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/898130328916824064