Here's how the White House wants Republicans to defend Trump's latest Charlottesville comments


The White House sends Republican members of Congress a list of talking points every day, and Tuesday was no different, Molly Ball reports at The Atlantic. The notes from the White House communications office are supposed to get everyone in the GOP on the same page, and a GOP congressional aide sent Ball Tuesday evening's special talking points, aimed at defending Trump's comments at his press conference Tuesday. The memo begins: "The president was entirely correct — both sides of the violence in Charlottesville acted inappropriately, and bear some responsibility."
Except for David Duke, alt-right organizer Richard Spencer, and maybe Fox News eminence gris Brit Hume, not many public figures applauded Trump's statements that neo-Nazis and white supremacists and their "very nice" allies did not shoulder all the blame for the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, because the "alt-left" counter-protesters picked some fights, too. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) insisted that "there can be no moral ambiguity" that "white supremacy is repulsive," for example, and Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) dropped the subtweeting, saying: "White supremacy, bigotry, & racism have absolutely no place in our society & no one — especially POTUS — should ever tolerate it."
Maybe they hadn't gotten the memo yet, or perhaps they disagree with Trump's equivocations. You can read the entire memo at The Atlantic, and if you want more information about what happened in Charlottesville, what its organizers had in mind, and who bears the blame for the death and violence, you can watch the chilling, sometimes NSFW documentary VICE News released earlier this week. Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
How to create a healthy 'germier' home
Under The Radar Exposure to a broad range of microbes can enhance our immune system, especially during childhood
-
George Floyd: Did Black Lives Matter fail?
Feature The momentum for change fades as the Black Lives Matter Plaza is scrubbed clean
-
National debt: Why Congress no longer cares
Feature Rising interest rates, tariffs and Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill could sent the national debt soaring
-
Depleted FEMA struggling as hurricane season begins
speed read FEMA has lost a third of its workforce amid DOGE cuts enforced by President Donald Trump
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media