Charlottesville violence: Trump fingers White Supremacists, Left-wing supporters

United States President Donald Trump has again blamed both
sides for the violent unrest in Charlottesville, Virginia, which left one
protester dead and others injured.

In a statement on Monday, he had condemned white
supremacists.

But in New York on Tuesday he also blamed left-wing
supporters for charging at the “alt-right”.

His latest comments drew swift criticism, including from
many in his Republican party.

Many echoed Senator John McCain’s view: “There is no
moral equivalency between racists & Americans standing up to defy hate
& bigotry”.

According to the BBC, the right-wing march had been
organised to protest against the proposed removal of a statue of General Robert
E Lee, who commanded the pro-slavery Confederate forces during the American
Civil War. The event drew white supremacy groups.

Violence broke out after they were confronted by anti-racism
groups. A car ploughed into one group of anti-racism protesters, killing 32-year-old
Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others.

Speaking at the White House on Monday, the US president had
said that the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and white supremacists were
“repugnant” to everything Americans held dear.

But at a bad-tempered press conference at Trump Tower on
Tuesday, he reverted to blaming “many sides” for Saturday’s violence.

“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,” he said.

“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.”