US President Donald Trump is doubling down on his claims of violence 'from both sides' when white supremacists and counter-demonstrators clashed in Virginia.
The president spoke from the lobby of his Manhattan skyscraper yesterday during what was supposed to be an announcement on infrastructure. When he opened the floor for questions, the issues surrounding the white supremacist rallies in Charlottesville quickly became the focus.
Trump referred back to his previous statements, insisting he wanted to be sure he had the facts.
"I wanted to make sure, unlike most politicians that what I said was correct - not make a quick statement. The statement I made on Saturday, the first statement, was a fine statement. But you don't make statements that direct unless you have the facts."
He also spoke about the death of 32 year old Heather Heyer. He was asked whether he considered the driver of the car that hit her a 'terrorist':
"The driver of the car is a disgrace to himself, his family, and this country. You can call it terrorism, you can call it murder, you can call it whatever you want."
Trump continued to stand by his statement that both sides were violent.
"You had a group on one side that was bad, and a group on the other side that was also very violent, and nobody wants to say it, but I will say it right now. You had a group on the other side that came charging in without a permit and they were very, very violent."
He also maintained his view that not everyone involved in the rally could be considered a white supremacist, and said there were 'very fine people on both sides.'
"Not all of those people were white supremacists, by any stretch. Those people were also there because they wanted to protest the taking down of the statue of Robert E. Lee."
Trump drew criticism from his earlier statements - many people did not feel the president was condemning the actions of the KKK, neo-Nazis, and white supremacists strongly enough. He has since said 'racism is evil' and referred to members of those groups as 'criminals and thugs.'