President Trump on Tuesday said both sides were to blame in the clashes in Virginia over the weekend, adding that protesters on the political left violently attacked white nationalists.
Trump had been sharply criticized even by some Republicans for his initial comments blaming “many sides” for the violence in Charlottesville.
But he effectively doubled down on that narrative Tuesday, equating the far right protesters with those who opposed them.
“They came at each other with clubs … it was a horrible thing to watch,” Trump told reporters in response to questions in the lobby of Trump Tower, before adding that left-wing protesters “came violently attacking the other group.”
Trump says there were “very fine people” on both sides of the Charlottesville protest, including the white supremacists who organized the rally to oppose the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Asked about violence from the so-called “alt-right” that had occurred, Trump bristled.
“What about the alt-left that came charging at the, as you say, the alt-right?” He then asked, “Do they have any semblance of guilt?”
