As Twitchy reported, the words “many sides” began trending on Twitter soon after President Trump made a televised statement on the violence currently rocking Charlottesville, Va., with critics calling him out for decrying hatred and bigotry that came from “many sides,” not from white supremacists who’d marched through the city.
Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner was perhaps the first high-ranking Republican to demand the president “call evil by its name,” and it wasn’t long afterward that Sen. Orrin Hatch, in a tweet signed with his initials, used the exact same words to encourage the president to denounce “Nazi ideas … here at home.”
We should call evil by its name. My brother didn't give his life fighting Hitler for Nazi ideas to go unchallenged here at home. -OGH
— Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) August 12, 2017
That was a pretty powerful statement.
Exactly the spirit of what President Trump should say today. Patriots understand why the fight against Naziism was/is necessary and right. https://t.co/WWpbLNFPvp
— Tim Naftali (@TimNaftali) August 12, 2017
Here's the right way to repudiate Nazis ➝ https://t.co/pVEWE3XFCY
— Matt McDermott (@mattmfm) August 12, 2017
https://twitter.com/BenjySarlin/status/896498652079951876
My God who will I agree with next? https://t.co/uEU6Ctw3wS
— Sheila G Miller (@meilashiller) August 12, 2017
Sen. Marco Rubio also seems to have called for the president to denounce white supremacy and terrorism (which, if referring to the car ramming the crowd, might be premature … best to wait for more from police).
Very important for the nation to hear @potus describe events in #Charlottesville for what they are, a terror attack by #whitesupremacists
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 12, 2017
Senator, why not call him and tell him? Here's the White House switchboard: 202-456-1414. I'm sure WHCA would connect you to POTUS. https://t.co/jAUyibatOY
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) August 12, 2017
Though some criticized Rubio as if he were praising Trump for his statement, it seems pretty clear he’s joining his fellow senators in saying the statement did not go far enough.
Rubio is clearly encouraging for Trump to say this, not implying that he did (Trump did not). https://t.co/eF28CZCrbt
— (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) August 12, 2017
Hatch clearly subtweeting criticism at Trump for not calling the wannabe Nazis in #Charlottesville out by name. https://t.co/tmvCL82Xsv
— (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) August 12, 2017
Some will complain about Rubio, Hatch etc. not being more direct, but ignore how big it is for R Senators to call out a R POTUS 6 months in.
— (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) August 12, 2017
To be fair, Trump has made it pretty clear he won’t hesitate to call out Republican senators by name in his tweets and public statements; just ask Mitch McConnell.
Will the president get some sort of do-over — maybe a written statement issued later today, or another live statement dedicated solely to the violence that took place in Charlottesville Saturday? He did issue a tweet in response to news that a woman had been killed in that car attack.
Condolences to the family of the young woman killed today, and best regards to all of those injured, in Charlottesville, Virginia. So sad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, 2017
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Related:
After Trump attributes violence to ‘many sides,’ Sen. Cory Gardner calls on POTUS to ‘call evil by its name’ https://t.co/HT4KLmLX56
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) August 12, 2017
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