--- title: Donald Trump: White Supremacists Praise Charlottesville Talk description: President Trump's latest remarks about the clashes in Charlottesville, Va., drew praise on Tuesday from white supremacists canonical: https://time.com/4902308/white-nationalists-supremacists-donald-trump-charlottesville/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-15T23:18:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:29:06.328Z article:section: Politics og:title: White Supremacists Loved President Trump's Latest Comments on Charlottesville og:description: "I'm proud of him for speaking the truth" og:url: https://time.com/4902308/white-nationalists-supremacists-donald-trump-charlottesville/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfa8cac75805853b7/6988d9e8e76ad209fa62ebe9/donald-trump-white-nationalists.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4027 og:image:height: 2265 og:image:alt: President Trump Speaks On Infrastructure Meeting Held At Trump Tower og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: White Supremacists Loved President Trump's Latest Comments on Charlottesville twitter:description: "I'm proud of him for speaking the truth" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfa8cac75805853b7/6988d9e8e76ad209fa62ebe9/donald-trump-white-nationalists.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # White Supremacists Loved President Trump's Latest 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=0daca32e-0116-4b23-9167-0ee1851051e5&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 [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Aug 15, 2017 11:18 PM UTC  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Aug 15, 2017 11:18 PM UTC President [Donald Trump’s](http://time.com/4902129/president-donald-trump-both-sides-charlottesville/) latest [remarks](http://time.com/4902144/donald-trump-charlottesville-blame-both-sides-kkk-nazi/?xid=homepage) about the clashes in Charlottesville, Va., drew praise on Tuesday from [white supremacists](http://time.com/4901402/charlottesville-yes-youre-racist-twitter/) after Trump said “both sides” were to blame for the violence. “Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth about #Charlottesville & condemn the leftist terrorists in BLM/Antifa,” former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke wrote on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/DrDavidDuke/status/897559892164304896). Trump on Tuesday described anti-racism protesters as the “alt-left” and said “there’s blame on both sides.” “You had a group on one side that was bad, and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent, and nobody wants to say that, but I’ll say it right now,” Trump said Tuesday in a [press conference](http://time.com/4902144/donald-trump-charlottesville-blame-both-sides-kkk-nazi/?xid=homepage) at Trump Tower. On Monday, Trump [condemned white supremacists](http://time.com/4899810/donald-trump-charlottesville/) and called racism “evil.” But that response — which came nearly 48 hours after the violence in Charlottesville — was dismissed by many white supremacists. “He sounded like a Sunday school teacher. I just don’t take him seriously,” white nationalist [Richard Spencer](http://time.com/4746276/richard-spencer-auburn-university-protests/) told reporters on Monday, [according to HuffPost](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/white-nationalist-calls-presidents-denouncement-of-hate-groups-kumbaya-nonsense%5Fus%5F59923778e4b09096429961e8). “It sounded so hollow and vapid.” Spencer praised Trump’s comments on Tuesday. “Trump’s statement was fair and down to earth. #Charlottesville could have been peaceful, if police did its job,” Spencer said on Twitter, adding: “I’m proud of him for speaking the truth.” Eli Mosley, one of the organizers of the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, [told a HuffPost reporter](https://twitter.com/dliebelson/status/897573214225924096) that he felt Trump’s remarks showed he was supporting them. “The madman President Trump was on the campaign has returned. He has returned, and he is out — he is going on offense. Everybody knows it. Everybody knows how the information environment just changed,” said alt-right activist [Jack Posobiec](https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/897568838824239104), known for promoting the false “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory. “Take a bow. Take a bow, President Trump, because you just earned it.” Trump’s remarks, meanwhile, quickly drew criticism from both Republicans and Democrats. “We must be clear. White supremacy is repulsive,” Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan said on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/SpeakerRyan/status/897579093184610305). “This bigotry is counter to all this country stands for. There can be no moral ambiguity.” ## 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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