August 15, 2017
"Time and time our Commander-in-Chief squanders every opportunity to show and prove that he is the President for all Americans. His continued false equivocation following the Charlottesville attacks is not only disgusting, it is dangerous. Our nation is looking for true leadership and unity, but this President prefers to pander to his fringe supporters than to clearly state what we all know to be true: racism has no place in this country—full stop. It is clear, the organizers of the “Unite the Right” Rally and its armed, torch-wielding participants sought out and initiated the violence that led to the tragic loss of Heather Heyer’s life and the deaths of two Virginia State Troopers.
Our federal government has a responsibility to protect the American people, but it is difficult for us to carry out that responsibility when the Commander-in-Chief refuses to honestly acknowledge the harm that Neo-Nazis, Neo-Confederates, white nationalists, and other hate groups have on our society.
Rep. Watson Coleman Statement on President Trump’s Comments Doubling Down on Initial Charlottesville Violence Response
Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman released the following statement after President Trump reiterated his belief that "both sides" were to blame for white nationalist violence in Charlottesville:"Time and time our Commander-in-Chief squanders every opportunity to show and prove that he is the President for all Americans. His continued false equivocation following the Charlottesville attacks is not only disgusting, it is dangerous. Our nation is looking for true leadership and unity, but this President prefers to pander to his fringe supporters than to clearly state what we all know to be true: racism has no place in this country—full stop. It is clear, the organizers of the “Unite the Right” Rally and its armed, torch-wielding participants sought out and initiated the violence that led to the tragic loss of Heather Heyer’s life and the deaths of two Virginia State Troopers.
Our federal government has a responsibility to protect the American people, but it is difficult for us to carry out that responsibility when the Commander-in-Chief refuses to honestly acknowledge the harm that Neo-Nazis, Neo-Confederates, white nationalists, and other hate groups have on our society.
Both the Confederacy and the Nazi regime were open enemies to the United States, and their hate led to the deaths of more than a million Americans. There is nothing about either one of these “movements” worthy of celebration, emulation, or pride. But, when the President of the United States gives comfort to these sympathizers by minimizing their culpability in the violence they sew, he dishonors the office of the Presidency and insults the very values that our nation is built upon."
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