The White House is asking surrogates to stand behind the points made on Tuesday by President Donald Trump in his explosive news conference, in which he said “both sides” were responsible for the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The memo, provided to CNN by a GOP source late Tuesday afternoon, came hours after Trump’s impromptu remarks at Trump Tower in New York, in which he appeared to draw a moral equivalency between white supremacists and their counter-protesters.
The memo repeatedly emphasizes that far-left “extremists” are also responsible for violence, both in Charlottesville and the congressional baseball shooting, in which GOP members of Congress were targeted by a Bernie Sanders supporter. But despite Trump’s “both sides” comment, the examples provided do not include any acts of violence by those on the far-right.
It also says Trump’s message Tuesday was of inclusiveness and equality.
Kayleigh McEnany, a former CNN commentator who was recently tapped to be national spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, broadcast similar talking points in a tweet Tuesday evening: “President @realDonaldTrump once again denounced hate today. The GOP stands behind his message of love and inclusiveness!”
Here is the memo CNN obtained from the GOP source:
The President was entirely correct — both sides of the violence in Charlottesville acted inappropriately, and bear some responsibility.
Despite the criticism, the President reaffirmed some of our most important Founding principles: We are equal in the eyes of our Creator, equal under the law, and equal under our Constitution.
He has been a voice for unity and calm, encouraging the country to “rediscover the bonds of love and loyalty that brings us together as Americans.”
He called for the end of violence on all sides so that no more innocent lives would be lost. The President condemned the hate groups fueled by bigotry and racism over the weekend, and did so by name yesterday, but for the media that will never be enough.
The media reacted with hysteria to the notion that counter-protesters showed up with clubs spoiling for a fight, a fact that reporters on the ground have repeatedly stated.
Even a New York Times reporter tweeted that she “saw club-wielding ‘antifa’ beating white nationalists being led out of the park.”
The local ACLU chapter also tweeted: “Not sure who provoked first. Both sides were hitting each other at Justice Park before police arrived.”
We should not overlook the facts just because the media finds them inconvenient.
From cop killing and violence at political rallies, to shooting at congressmen at a practice baseball game, extremists on the left have engaged in terrible acts of violence.
The President is taking swift action to hold violent hate groups accountable.
The DOJ has opened a civil rights investigation into this weekend’s deadly car attack.
Last Thursday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced it had completed the largest prosecution of white supremacists in the nation’s history.
Leaders and the media in our country should join the president in trying to unite and heal our country rather than incite more division.
