Trump on Charlottesville: Racism is evil

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump specifically denounced the Ku Klux Klan and other racist groups in an unscheduled press conference Monday—two days after a deadly attack in Charlottesville, Va. “Racism is evil,” Trump said at the White House. “And those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans.” On Saturday, white supremacists rallied and violently clashed with counterprotesters at the University of Virginia. One woman died when a man drove his car into a crowd, injuring 19 others. Trump said Saturday he condemned hate “on many sides,” referring to both the white supremacist groups and those protesting against them. Over the last 48 hours, the president faced increasing pressure to specifically call out white nationalist groups by name. Trump arrived in Washington on Monday after spending last week working from New Jersey, while the White House undergoes renovations. The president discussed the violence in Charlottesville with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and new FBI Director Christopher Wray before making his public statement. The Department of Justice already launched a civil rights investigation into Saturday’s events.