Jeff Sessions defends Trump's controversial remarks about Charlottesville as 'very strong'

(Image credit: Twitter/@TodayShow)

last updated 15 August 2017

President Trump faced heavy criticism for declining to call out white nationalist groups by name following violent demonstrations in Charlottesville over the weekend, a decision that Attorney General Jeff Sessions dismissed Monday on Today. "[Trump] made a very strong statement that directly contradicted the ideology of hated, violence, bigotry, racism, white supremacy," Sessions told Today's Savannah Guthrie. "Those things must be condemned in this country."

Guthrie, though, pressed the question further. "You say that it was a forceful statement but [Trump] adds that this violence that's been going on, this hatred and bigotry, was on 'many sides,'" she said. "'On many sides,' he says, which seems to equivocate. What are the other sides?"

"We've had violence around the country in any number of ways over decades," Sessions answered, adding: "I'm sure [Trump] will talk about it again soon." Watch below. Jeva Lange

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.