--- title: Joe Biden: Donald Trump "Emboldened" White Supremacists description: Former Vice President Joe Biden strongly rebuked President Trump's response to Charlottesville, urging Americans to take action canonical: https://time.com/4917524/joe-biden-trump-charlottesville-response/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-27T18:08:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T17:10:44.294Z article:section: Politics og:title: 'A Battle for the Soul of This Nation.' Joe Biden Tears Into President Trump's Charlottesville Response og:description: "You, me, and the citizens of this country carry a special burden in 2017" og:url: https://time.com/4917524/joe-biden-trump-charlottesville-response/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcdfa63d5208b1488/6988d1230a4a220b919ce911/joe-biden-mitt-romney-senate-utah.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Concordia Europe Summit - Day 2 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'A Battle for the Soul of This Nation.' Joe Biden Tears Into President Trump's Charlottesville Response twitter:description: "You, me, and the citizens of this country carry a special burden in 2017" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcdfa63d5208b1488/6988d1230a4a220b919ce911/joe-biden-mitt-romney-senate-utah.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'A Battle for the Soul of This Nation.' Joe Biden Tears Into President Trump's Charlottesville Response > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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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.  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Aug 27, 2017 6:08 PM UTC  Former Vice President of the United Sates Joseph Biden speaks during the Concordia Europe Summit on June 7, 2017 in Athens, Greece. Former Vice President of the United Sates Joseph Biden speaks during the Concordia Europe Summit on June 7, 2017 in Athens, Greece. Leigh Vogel—Concordia Europe/Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Aug 27, 2017 6:08 PM UTC [Former Vice President Joe Biden](http://time.com/4834609/joe-biden-lifeguard-internet-reactions/) strongly rebuked President Trump’s response to the events in Charlottesville, Va.[ in an op-ed Sunday,](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/08/joe-biden-after-charlottesville/538128/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=newsletter%5Faxiosam&stream=top-stories) urging Americans to fight for what he characterized as “a battle for the soul of this nation.” While [Biden](http://time.com/4832740/biden-cancer-initiative-research/) acknowledged that America has fought white supremacists before, he argued that the current situation feels different because of President Trump’s hesitancy to condemn these groups. Trump came under near-universal criticism from both sides of the aisle for refusing to rebuke white supremacists in the immediate aftermath of the Charlottesville attack, when a white supremacist rammed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters at a white nationalist rally, killing one woman and inuring at least dozen others. “Today we have an American president who has publicly proclaimed a moral equivalency between neo-Nazis and Klansmen and those who would oppose their venom and hate. We have an American president who has emboldened white supremacists with messages of comfort and support,” Biden [wrote in the _Atlantic_ Sunday.](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/08/joe-biden-after-charlottesville/538128/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=newsletter%5Faxiosam&stream=top-stories) “This is a moment for this nation to declare what the president can’t with any clarity, consistency, or conviction: There is no place for these hate groups in America.” Biden also criticized the president’s decision to pardon [Joe Arpaio](http://time.com/4916920/donald-trump-pardons-joe-arpaio/), arguing that the former Arizona Sheriff “terrorized the Latino community.” But, ultimately, Biden expressed optimism the nation would prevail. “Joined together, we will win this battle for our soul,” he wrote. “Because if there’s one thing I know about the American people, it’s this: When it has mattered most, they have never let this nation down.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4917524/joe-biden-trump-charlottesville-response/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4917524/joe-biden-trump-charlottesville-response/"},"headline":"'A Battle for the Soul of This Nation.' 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