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By Aiden Pink August 15, 2017

Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke praised President Trump’s “courage” for saying both sides bear blame for violence that erupted at a white supremacist march in Charlottesville

In a press conference at Trump Tower on Tuesday, the president criticized the decision to remove a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee from a Charlottesville public park. “”I wonder, is it George Washington next week and Thomas Jefferson the week after?” Trump asked. The president also said that there were “very fine people” mixed among the white nationalists, and that “the alt-left” had also instigated violence throughout the weekend.

Duke tweeted his support shortly after the press conference concluded. “Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth about #Charlottesville & condemn the leftist terrorists in BLM/Antifa,” the former KKK Imperial Wizard wrote, referring to the Black Lives Matter campaign and the “antifa” anti-fascist movement.

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Trump had been severely criticized, including by members of his own party, for his original statement about Charlottesville on Saturday, in which he said that there had been violence “on many sides.”

Trump was also criticized as a candidate for not immediately disavowing Duke’s political support.

Contact Aiden Pink at pink@forward.com or on Twitter, @aidenpink.

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