When will Donald Trump denounce the white-supremacist movement?
That`s the question the president`s critics -- including some in his own party -- are asking after a white-nationalist rally in Virginia turned deadly. Trump condemned the “egregious display of hatred, bigotry, violence -- on many sides." That outraged his opponents, who accuse him of suggesting an equivalence of blame between those who protested against the march and the extremists who organized it.
The White House said “of course” Trump’s comments covered white supremacists -- a remark that was later echoed by Vice President Mike Pence.
But many want to hear it from Trump himself. “It’s something that needs to come from the Oval Office,`` said Senator Cory Gardner, a Colorado Republican who leads the party`s national Senate campaign group.
Trump may eventually bow to those demands. Even if he does, history suggests he may pull his punches. He’s rarely acknowledged his white-supremacist supporters directly, and only grudgingly disavowed the support of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke in a multi-day flap in 2016.
With a slew of appearances by Trump expected this week, there’ll be no avoiding the issue.
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— With assistance by Billy House, Margaret Talev, and Jennifer Epstein.
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