The Republican National Committee on Friday denounced white supremacist groups but made no mention of President Donald Trump’s statements about the Charlottesville, Virginia, violence earlier this month.
Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, the RNC approved a host of resolutions, including one that says, “Nazis, the KKK, white supremacists and others are repulsive, evil and have no fruitful place in the United States.”
No mention of Trump
The resolution made no mention about Trump’s response to the events in Charlottesville, in which a white supremacist allegedly ran his car into a group of counterprotesters leaving a rally, leaving one person dead.
“This has nothing to do with the president,” said the resolution’s sponsor, Bill Palatucci, an RNC committeeman from New Jersey. “This is the RNC saying that racism and bigotry have no place in America.”
Trump was criticized by both Republicans and Democrats because he didn’t immediately denounce the white nationalist groups that organized the rally in Charlottesville. The president later said on several occasions that he condemns white supremacist groups and believes all racist sentiment is “evil.”
‘Mutually combating individuals’
Trump was also criticized for blaming “many sides” for the violence. The president has contended there were people fomenting violence on both sides of the conflict in Charlottesville, which saw members of the white supremacist groups violently engaging with counterprotesters.
Members of both the white supremacist groups and the counterprotest groups could be seen wielding weapons. Several large brawls broke out between the two sides throughout the duration of the rally. The police chief in Charlottesville said there were “mutually combating individuals in the crowd” when fighting broke out.
The Associated Press reports that although Friday’s resolution by the RNC against white supremacists was unanimous, there were some Republicans who thought it was unnecessary and counterproductive for the party.
“It’s amazing that we have been lured into this argument that we’re not racists. It’s absurd,” Colorado Republican Chairman Jeff Hays said. “Why would we feel compelled to do that?”
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