Advisers say Trump went 'rogue' during jarring press conference

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

President Trump's top advisers wanted him to just talk about infrastructure during his impromptu press conference Tuesday in New York City. Instead, he blamed the violence at Saturday's white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on "both sides" and defended the tiki-torch wielding white nationalists who descended upon the University of Virginia campus chanting "white lives matter" and "you will not replace us" by saying they were "protesting very quietly."

Senior White House officials told CNN and NBC News that Trump wasn't supposed to answer any questions, but it wasn't surprising that he veered off track — ever since Saturday, when he was criticized for not strongly condemning white supremacy, he's been complaining to his advisers about "unfair" media coverage, one official told CNN. Another official described Trump to NBC News as going "rogue."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.