President Trump had received considerable criticism for not explicitly condemning neo-Nazis and white supremacists by name. So yesterday he made it crystal clear by calling them out by name. And yet, members of the media still found reason to criticize the president.
“Racism is evil and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists,” Trump said in a five-minute statement at the White House. He spoke after issuing a statement Saturday about the violence in Charlottesville, Va., that didn’t specify any of those groups, which led to criticism from both Republicans and Democrats over the weekend.
But some journalists said the remarks, which Trump read off a teleprompter, were still inadequate.
On Twitter, CNBC’s John Harwood called Trump’s comments “grudging” and “bare minimum,” and said Trump gave “no indication he was feeling the words he was reading.”