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Trump had drawn criticism for not initially condemning white
supremacists who organized the event on Aug. 12, with even some
of his fellow Republicans expressing dismay at his opinion.
Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One a day after a
meeting with South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott, an
African-American who had expressed concern about Trump's
comments.
"We had a great talk yesterday," he said of his meeting with
Scott.
"I think especially in the light of the advent of antifa, if you
look at what’s going on there. You have some pretty bad dudes on
the other side also. And essentially that's what I said."
Trump said anti-fascist groups known as the "antifa" must share
blame for neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan fighting with
anti-racism protesters in the streets. One woman was killed when
a suspected white nationalist crashed his car into
demonstrators.
On Thursday, the president also signed a resolution sent to him
by Congress that condemned the violence in Charlottesville and
opposed "hatred, bigotry, and racism in all forms."
"No matter the color of our skin or our ethnic heritage, we all
live under the same laws, we all salute the same great flag, and
we are all made by the same almighty God," Trump said in a
statement regarding the resolution.
In Berkeley, California, violence erupted on Aug. 27 when a
small group of masked antifa and left-wing protestors attacked
right-wing demonstrators.
"Now, because of what’s happened since then with antifa, you
look at really what’s happened since Charlottesville. A lot of
people are saying, in fact a lot of people have actually
written, 'Gee, Trump might have a point,'" he said.
(Reporting by James Oliphant, Steve Holland and Brendan O'Brien;
Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Kim Coghill)
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