In another stark statement Thursday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) reminded President Trump that "history is watching us all."
Graham first acknowledged that "like most," he wants to move the country "forward — toward the light — not back to the darkness." He also noted that Trump's tweet honoring Heather Heyer, who was killed Saturday after a white supremacist demonstrator drove a car through a crowd of counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, was "very nice and appropriate."
However, Graham continued, Trump's comments in the wake of the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville are extraordinarily problematic. "[B]ecause of the manner in which you have handled the Charlottesville tragedy, you are now receiving praise from some of the most racist and hate-filled individuals and groups in our country," Graham said. "For the sake of our nation — as our president — please fix this."
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Hours before Graham released his statement, Trump attacked him in a series of tweets. Trump took issue with a previous statement by Graham saying that Trump, by arguing "both sides" were to blame for the violence in Charlottesville, was suggesting there is "moral equivalency between the white supremacist neo-Nazis and KKK members who attended the Charlottesville rally and people like Ms. Heyer."
"Such a disgusting lie," Trump tweeted. "He just can't forget his election trouncing. The people of South Carolina will remember!"
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