I didnt know David Duke was there.
I wanted to see the facts.
And the facts, as they started coming out, were very well stated, Trump said Tuesday.
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I couldnt have made it sooner because I didnt know all of the facts.
Frankly, people still dont know all of the facts.
We are a nation founded on the truth that all of us are created equal.
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Those who spread violence in the name of bigotry strike at the very core of America.
Do they have any semblance of guilt?
What about the fact that they came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs?
Do they have any problem?
I think they do.
Nobody wants to say that.
But Ill say it right now.
But many of those people were there to protest the taking down the statue of Robert E. Lee.
This week its Robert E. Lee, I noticed Stonewall Jackson is coming down.
I wonder, is it George Washington next week and is it Thomas Jefferson the week after?
You really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop?
They carried torches and chanted blood and soil, a prominent Nazi philosophy.
During his remarks, however, Trump defended those protesters.
I do think theres blame on both sides.
You look at both sides, I think theres blame on both sides.
I have no doubt about it and you have no doubt about it either.
… You had people that were very fine people, on both sides.
Trump also conflated Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general, to Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
George Washington was a slave owner.
Was George Washington a slave owner?
So will George Washington now lose his status?
Are we going to take down statues to George Washington?
How about Thomas Jefferson?
What do you think of Thomas Jefferson?
… Are we going to take down the statue?
Because he was a major slave owner.
In the other group also, you had fine people but you also had troublemakers.
Former KKK leader David Duke, meanwhile, was a notable fan of the presidents commentary:
