In Virginia Violence, Was President Trump Too Slow To Condemn Hate? Question Of The Week

President Trump came under criticism from members of both major political parties for his response to the violence in Virginia over the weekend, which was capped with one person killed by a car plowing through demonstrators and two others killed when a police helicopter crashed while monitoring events.

White supremacists had called for the protest, and the apparent use of a car as a weapon comes from the playbook of Islamic State terrorists. Trump never mentioned the organizers of the protest or the car.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides,” the president said in a four-minute statement hours after the violence. He then added for emphasis: “On many sides.”

While Trump was criticized for his vagueness, at least one person thought his statement was too strong.

“I would recommend you take a good look in the mirror & remember it was White Americans who put you in the presidency, not radical leftists,” David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader and an organizer of the Virginia rally, wrote on Twitter shortly after the president spoke.

On Sunday morning, a White House spokesperson said in a statement that "the president said very strongly in his statement yesterday that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry, and hatred. Of course that includes white supremacists, KKK Neo-Nazi and all extremist groups. He called for national unity and bringing all Americans together."

The statement, which was much stronger in its condemnation than Trump's remarks on Saturday, singled out white supremacists and extremist groups but did not come directly from the president and was released the day after the attack.

Which raises the question? Was the president clear in his denunciation of racial hate and the people who breed it? And was the White House too slow in issuing a statement singling out white supremacists? Tell us in comments below.

Photo: Getty Images/Staff/Chip Somodeville