BEDMINSTER: The White House on Sunday struggled to defuse the growing criticism of President Donald Trump’s initial failure to explicitly condemn white supremacists for their role in the violent protest Saturday in Virginia, insisting that his condemnation included all such groups. A full day after the violence erupted, and after an initial statement in which Trump made no mention of white extremism, a White House spokesperson issued a statement saying, “The president said very strongly in his statement yesterday that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry and hatred. Pence chided the media for what he called its stronger focus on Trump’s words than on those who perpetrated the violence. ‘Coarseness, cynicism, bullying’Amid growing bipartisan criticism of his initial response, White House advisers appearing Sunday on talk shows strove to defend the president. The president has long had a following among white supremacist groups attracted to his nationalist rhetoric on immigration and other hot-button issues.

Source: Manila Times August 14, 2017 01:41 UTC