Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Join thousands of readers who support our workBECOME A MEMBER
Fast Forward

Trump Blames ‘Both Sides’ For Charlottesville — Again

President Donald Trump on Thursday stood by his belief that both sides were to blame for violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Aug. 12 between white supremacists and counterprotesters.

Trump had drawn criticism for not initially condemning white supremacists who organized the event with even some of his fellow Republicans expressing dismay at his opinion.

Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One a day after a meeting with South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott, an African-American who had expressed concern about Trump’s comments.

“We had a great talk yesterday,” he said of his meeting with Scott. “I think especially in the light of the advent of antifa, if you look at what’s going on there. You have some pretty bad dudes on the other side also. And essentially that’s what I said.”

Trump said anti-fascist groups known as the “antifa” must share blame for neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan fighting with anti-racism protesters in the streets. One woman was killed when a suspected white nationalist crashed his car into demonstrators.

Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief

You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.

And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:

  • Credit the Forward
  • Retain our pixel
  • Preserve our canonical link in Google search
  • Add a noindex tag in Google search

See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.