--- title: Donald Trump: Julius Krein Admits He Regrets His Vote description: One of President Trump's most vocal supporters said he now regrets his vote, arguing Trump "continues to prove his harshest critics right" canonical: https://time.com/4906054/julius-krein-donald-trump-vote-regret/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-18T00:21:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:29:41.611Z article:section: Politics og:title: Prominent Supporter of President Trump Admits He Regrets His Vote og:description: "His only talent appears to be creating grotesque media frenzies" og:url: https://time.com/4906054/julius-krein-donald-trump-vote-regret/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta555c0089c1f6d8b/6988da354ee262f3cb30e9df/donald-trump-voter-regret.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4080 og:image:height: 2295 og:image:alt: President Trump Speaks On Infrastructure Meeting Held At Trump Tower og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Prominent Supporter of President Trump Admits He Regrets His Vote twitter:description: "His only talent appears to be creating grotesque media frenzies" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta555c0089c1f6d8b/6988da354ee262f3cb30e9df/donald-trump-voter-regret.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Prominent Supporter of President Trump Admits He Regrets His Vote > 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=68ba1fe3-6303-4667-b067-073ec9e630ed&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 18, 2017 12:21 AM UTC 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 18, 2017 12:21 AM UTC One of [President Donald Trump’s](http://time.com/4904270/will-nation-succeed-after-charlottesville/?xid=homepage&pcd=hp-magmod) most vocal supporters confessed Thursday that he now [regrets his vote](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/17/opinion/sunday/i-voted-for-trump-and-i-sorely-regret-it.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur), saying Trump “continues to prove his harshest critics right.” In a [New York _Times_ column](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/17/opinion/sunday/i-voted-for-trump-and-i-sorely-regret-it.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur) published Thursday, Julius Krein, the founder and editor of pro-Trump political journal [_American Affairs_](https://americanaffairsjournal.org/author/julius/), criticized Trump for failing to fulfill campaign promises. “Those of us who supported Mr. Trump were never so naïve as to expect that he would transform himself into a model of presidential decorum upon taking office. But our calculation was that a few cringe-inducing tweets were an acceptable trade-off for a successful governing agenda,” Krein wrote. “Yet after more than 200 days in office, Mr. Trump’s behavior grows only more reprehensible. Meanwhile, his administration has no significant legislative accomplishments — and no apparent plan to deliver any.” “Far from making the transformative ‘deals’ he promised voters, his only talent appears to be creating grotesque media frenzies — just as all his critics said,” he added. Krein also criticized Trump’s reaction to the violence at a [white supremacy rally](http://time.com/4904281/bigots-boosted-by-the-bully-pulpit-charlottesville/) in Charlottesville, Va. Trump defended those associated with white supremacist groups and said “both sides” were to blame for the clashes that left [one counter-protester dead](http://time.com/4904099/charlottesville-heather-heyer-mother-speech/). Trump’s remarks earned praise from white supremacists, but were criticized by members of both parties. CEOs responded by [withdrawing from Trump’s advisory councils](http://time.com/4903380/donald-trump-strategy-ceo-council-disbanding/), and two [charities canceled events](http://fortune.com/2017/08/17/charities-cancel-mar-a-lago-events-donald-trump/) that had been scheduled to take place at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club. “It is now clear that we were deluding ourselves,” Krein wrote. “Either Mr. Trump is genuinely sympathetic to the David Duke types, or he is so obtuse as to be utterly incapable of learning from his worst mistakes. Either way, he continues to prove his harshest critics right.” The column immediately sparked debate on social media, as some Trump critics praised Krein’s honesty, while others criticized it as too little, too late. > [](https://twitter.com/JesseFFerguson/status/898257441363812357) > [](https://twitter.com/Timodc/status/898254943554985984) > [](https://twitter.com/JoeSeiders/status/898299048884662272) > [](https://twitter.com/barry/status/898260607194898432) > [](https://twitter.com/fivefifths/status/898300681169195009) > [](https://twitter.com/PoliticusSarah/status/898291066310348802) > [](https://twitter.com/freedarko/status/898299222528638976) Meanwhile, many Trump supporters used the column as an opportunity to double down on their support, saying they look forward to casting a vote for him again in 2020. > [](https://twitter.com/StacyOnTheRight/status/898312342299189249) > [](https://twitter.com/CarmineSabia/status/898328369586028545) > [](https://twitter.com/MarkDice/status/898282955440766976) > [](https://twitter.com/ScottPresler/status/898284041811767296) ## 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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