Q: Have you talked to President Trump directly yet?
Heather Heyer’s mom, Susan Bro: “I have not, and now I will not.” (via ABC) pic.twitter.com/GKqkC4j5ov
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 18, 2017
During President Trump’s shouty, unhinged Tuesday press conference, he astonishingly (or not so astonishingly, given all we’ve come to expect from him) managed to morally equate what he’s now calling the “alt-left” with the Nazis who were responsible for the murder of 32-year-old Heather Heyer, while also bragging that Heyer’s mother had reached out to thank him for his previous (and comparatively sober) remarks. It’s true, Heyer’s mother Susan Bro did thank Trump when — while reading from a prepared statement on Monday — he finally condemned racism, “including KKK, Neo-Nazis, White Supremacists, and other hate groups.”
Those days are long behind us, however. After finally having a chance to catch up with the news following her daughter’s memorial service and other meetings, Heyer’s mother is predictably not happy. On Friday morning, Bro spoke with Good Morning America, where she said that she still has not spoken directly with Trump, and now she will not.
“I hadn’t really watched the news until last night, and … [sigh] I’m not talking to the president now,” Bro said. “I’m sorry, after what he said about my child. It’s not that I saw somebody else’s tweets about him. I saw an actual clip of him at a press conference equating the protesters like Miss Heyer with the KKK and the white supremacists.”
When host Robin Roberts asked specifically if Bro’s opinion has changed since she originally thanked Trump, she responded, “Absolutely. You can’t wash this one away by shaking my hand and saying I’m sorry.” It’s sad that Bro even has to respond to questions like this, as if the poor woman hasn’t already been through enough. And probably, only a matter of time before Trump himself responds to the grieving mother on Twitter.