--- title: Donald Trump: Read His Latest Charlottesville Comments description: President Trump provided more comments on the white supremacist rally that turned deadly in Charlottesville. Read the full transcript here. canonical: https://time.com/4902144/donald-trump-charlottesville-blame-both-sides-kkk-nazi/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-15T21:26:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:29:05.469Z article:section: Politics og:title: Read President Trump's 'Blame on Both Sides' Comments on Charlottesville og:description: He blamed both sides for the violence at a white supremacist rally og:url: https://time.com/4902144/donald-trump-charlottesville-blame-both-sides-kkk-nazi/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef21274c6dc3683f/6988d9dc97cdff2b2f6b20b7/gettyimages-831968184.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2308 og:image:height: 1298 og:image:alt: trump comments charlottesville og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Read President Trump's 'Blame on Both Sides' Comments on Charlottesville twitter:description: He blamed both sides for the violence at a white supremacist rally twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef21274c6dc3683f/6988d9dc97cdff2b2f6b20b7/gettyimages-831968184.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Read the Transcript of President Trump's 'Blame on Both Sides' Comments on Charlottesville > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=944a2405-eda2-4302-8e83-34ec78ff3a61&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Again Blames 'Both Sides' for Charlottesville Violence [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Again Blames 'Both Sides' for Charlottesville Violence](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EzwfOun0.m3u8) (1:32)  _Published 2017-08-15. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that anti-racism protesters bear some of the blame for the violent rallies in Charlottesville, returning to his original comments that "both sides" were responsible for the deadly clashes._ by [Lisa Marie Segarra](https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Aug 15, 2017 9:26 PM UTC by [Lisa Marie Segarra](https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Aug 15, 2017 9:26 PM UTC President Donald Trump on Tuesday doubled down on [his comments from Saturday that there was blame on “many sides”](http://time.com/4899813/donald-trump-charlottes-ville-remarks-transcript/) to the violence during a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. His comments came after a [car rammed into a group of counter-protesters](http://time.com/4898983/charlottesville-car-james-fields-nazism/), killing one and injuring 19 others. The “Unite the Right” rally was scheduled to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. “I think there’s blame on both sides,” he said. The white supremacists at the rally included people who marched with Nazi flags. Trump did condemn the [killing of counter-protester Heather Heyer](http://time.com/4898842/tavis-smiley-donald-trump-american-hate/) and said he would reach out to her family. “You can call it terrorism, you can call it murder. You can call it whatever you want. The driver of the car is a murderer and what he did was a horrible, horrible, inexcusable things,” Trump said. Read the full transcript of his remarks here: --- > “” --- ## Transcript I've condemned neo- Nazis, I've condemned many different groups, but not all of those people were neo- Nazis, believe me. Not all of those people were white supremacists. I think there's blame on both sides. You look at both sides I think there's blame on both sides, and I have no doubt about it. What about the alt- left? They came charging, as you say, at the alt- right. Do they have any semblance of guilt? [ CROSSTALK ]. Let me ask you this, what about the fact they came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs, Do they have any problem? I think they do. There was a group on this side, you can call them the left, you've just called them the left, that came violently attacking the other group. So you can say what you want, but that's they way it is. You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down, to them, a very, very important statue, And the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name . >> [ UNKNOWN ] George Washington was a slave owner. Was George Washington a slave owner? So, will George Washington now lose his status? Excuse me. Are we going to take down statues to George Washington How about Thomas Jefferson? What do you think about Thomas Jefferson? You like him? I do love Thomas Jefferson. Okay good. Are we gonna take down the statue? Cuz he was a major slave owner. Now are we gonna take down his statue? So you know what? It's fine. You're changing history. 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