--- title: Donald Trump: 56% Disapprove of Charlottesville Response description: A majority of Americans disapproved of President Trump's response to the deadly clashes in Charlottesville, Va., according to a new poll canonical: https://time.com/4910203/donald-trump-charlottesville-protest-poll/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-22T00:11:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:30:26.283Z article:section: Politics og:title: 56% of Americans Disapprove of Trump's Response to Charlottesville og:description: Just 28% approved of his response, according to the poll og:url: https://time.com/4910203/donald-trump-charlottesville-protest-poll/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt20375691d4f59562/6988da8b0a4a22e1c49cf918/donald-trump-charlottesville-poll.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4070 og:image:height: 2289 og:image:alt: President Trump Speaks On Infrastructure Meeting Held At Trump Tower og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 56% of Americans Disapprove of Trump's Response to Charlottesville twitter:description: Just 28% approved of his response, according to the poll twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt20375691d4f59562/6988da8b0a4a22e1c49cf918/donald-trump-charlottesville-poll.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 56% of Americans Disapprove of President Trump's Response to 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=05a359f5-e891-418a-971f-fecfcf10d190&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 22, 2017 12:11 AM UTC  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Aug 22, 2017 12:11 AM UTC A majority of Americans disapproved of [President Donald Trump’s response](http://time.com/4904281/bigots-boosted-by-the-bully-pulpit-charlottesville/) to the deadly clashes at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., according to findings from a [new poll](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/poll-shows-strong-disapproval-of-how-trump-responded-to-charlottesville-violence/2017/08/21/4e5c585c-868b-11e7-a94f-3139abce39f5%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.7ea81b03ad9e#comments). The [Washington _Post_\-ABC News](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/poll-shows-strong-disapproval-of-how-trump-responded-to-charlottesville-violence/2017/08/21/4e5c585c-868b-11e7-a94f-3139abce39f5%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.7ea81b03ad9e#comments) poll found that 56% of adults disapproved of Trump’s response, while just 28% approved. There was a stark difference along party lines, as 84% of Democrats said they disapproved and just 19% of Republicans said the same. Among independents, 55% disapproved compared to just 28% approving. The survey was conducted after the press conference in which Trump defended people associated with white supremacist groups and said [“both sides” were to blame](http://time.com/4902129/president-donald-trump-both-sides-charlottesville/) for the violence in Charlottesville that left [one counter-protester dead.](http://time.com/4907299/mark-heather-heyer-charlottesville/) The remarks earned him [praise from white supremacists](http://time.com/4902308/white-nationalists-supremacists-donald-trump-charlottesville/). A full 42% of respondents said Trump was putting white supremacists on equal standing with their opponents, while 35% said Trump was not. An overwhelmingly majority of Americans said it was unacceptable to hold neo-Nazi or white supremacist views, and just 9% said those views were acceptable. The poll — which surveyed 1,014 adults by phone — was conducted Aug. 16 to Aug. 20 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. ## 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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