Secretary Ryan Zinke
of the
Department of the Interior continues to stand by
President
Donald Trump amid controversy over racial violence in Virginia.
In a statement given to The Washington Post, the
former U.S. Navy SEAL commander said "violent white supremacist groups" do not belong in America. But he added that he fully supports Trump, as well as
Attorney
General Jeff Sessions, of the
Department of Justice, in "uniting our communities and prosecuting the criminals to the fullest extent of the law.”
“We must respond to hate with love, unity and justice," Zinke said in the statement quoted by The Post.
Some of Zinke's fellow Republicans, though, don't think Trump has unified the nation with his vague, contradictory and even angry remarks about the violence that resulted in the
death of Heather Heyer, 32.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), who sought the GOP nomination for president in 2016, said racist groups have been emboldened by the lack of clear leadership from the White House.
"[Y]ou are now receiving praise from some of the most racist and hate-filled individuals and groups in our country," Graham said in a
series of Twitter posts directed at Trump, "For the sake of our Nation -- as our President -- please fix this. History is watching us all."
Other Republicans, including the leaders of the
House and the
Senate, also have condemned racist groups but few have criticized Trump directly. Most of their statements don't even mention the president.
Trump was at one of his properties in New Jersey when the violence occurred on
Saturday. Although Sessions quickly announced a "civil rights investigation" into Heyer's
death, the president said he did not immediately condemn White supremacist
groups because he wanted to "get the facts."
He returned to the White House on Monday and
offered
a late rebuke to those groups. But after traveling to another one of his properties in
New York later in the day with the intent on focusing on his infrastructure
agenda, he engaged in
combative remarks with reporters on Tuesday and suggested that the
Unite
the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, started off innocently" even though it attracted neo-Nazis, followers of the Ku Klux Klan and anti-Semitic groups, some of whom chanted "Jews will not replace us."
Read More on the Story:
Trump’s isolation grows in the wake of Charlottesville
(The Washington Post August 17, 2017)
Join the Conversation
Related Stories
Mark
Trahant: Learning from history to see why the Trump presidency is over (August 16, 2017)
Harold
Monteau: Donald Trump needs White supremacists to remain in office (August 16, 2017)
Trump
defends groups 'innocently' protesting removal of Confederate statue (August 16, 2017)
New
York Times turns to Native Americans for Conversation on Race project (August 16, 2017)
Trump
offers late rebuke to 'White supremacists' as industry leaders quit council
(August 15, 2017)
Zenobia
Jeffries: Media must be honest about planned race riot in Charlottesville
(August 14, 2017)
Department
of Justice opens civil rights investigation into Charlottesville death
(August 14, 2017)
