#ImpeachTrump Trends Worldwide as President Defends White Supremacists
On Tuesday (August 15), President Donald Trump held a press conference that quickly devolved into him walking back his prepared statement on the racist violence in Charlottesville to again blame “both sides.” A full transcript of the video is available here, via CNBC, but here are a few key quotes to get you started:
- “Excuse me, what about the alt-left that came charging at the, as you say, the alt-right. Do they have any semblance of guilt? I ask you this. What about the fact they came charging—that they came charging, with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs? Do they have any problem? I think they do.”
- “You had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. And nobody wants to say that, but I'll say it right now. You had a group, you had a group on the other side that came charging in without a permit and they were very, very violent.”
- “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, by any stretch. Those people were also there because they wanted to protest the taking down of a statue of Robert E. Lee.”
- “Yes. I do 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 and you don’t have any doubt about it either and- and- and- and if you reported it accurately, you would say it. Excuse me. You have some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people on both sides.”
#ImpeachTrump trended worldwide following the press conference, as many—including sitting members of Congress and former White House hopefuls—expressed on Twitter that this should be the final straw in Trump’s presidency.
America's mask has been fully ripped off today #ImpeachTrump #Republicansaretheproblemtoo #BlackLivesMatter #Charlottesville
— Rosa A. Clemente (@rosaclemente) August 16, 2017
End White Supremacy in the White House! #ImpeachTrump
— Kenny Tavares (@whitesauce923) August 16, 2017
I know some "very fine" white supremacists said no one ever. Wait. Did the President say that? @realDonaldTrump is unfit to be President. https://t.co/mvj797VTUZ
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) August 15, 2017
@SpeakerRyan as leader of your party mention him by name and start #ImpeachTrump proceedings @POTUS is leading us down a moral rabbit hole https://t.co/H2bf01xWce
— bryanparker (@RBRYANPARKER) August 16, 2017
This had to be said: #ImpeachTrump pic.twitter.com/mx9ivBZWeJ
— rootwoman123 (@rootwoman123) August 16, 2017
No more talk. We need massive protests until Trump is impeached. #ImpeachTrump
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) August 16, 2017
Threatening nuclear war. Attacking the free media. Defending white supremacists.
— A•A•RON (@AaronLugAran) August 16, 2017
It's not just embarrassing... It's deadly.#ImpeachTrump
There is no question who he is. The critical moral question is: who are we? We can not surrender America to Trump. We must fight.
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) August 16, 2017
Now the question is: Will the House of Representatives actually impeach him? Watch a video below from Vox that breaks down how impeachment works.