Culture

The Most WTF Moments From Trump’s Tuesday Press Conference, In Which He Doubled Down On Blaming Both Sides For Charlottesville

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President Trump hasn’t held a truly amazing, off-the-wall, shouty press conference since February, so he was overdue for another. Well, Trump did not disappoint while appearing at Trump Tower to talk about “infrastructure.”

Unfortunately for the president, no one really wanted to ask questions about that topic, so he fielded numerous inquiries about the Charlottesville violence and his botched response(s) — including his first, now-infamous “many sides” statement and one where he (days later) finally denounced Nazis and white supremacists. Surprise, Trump liked his first statement better! Watch him talk about it below, along with seven other WTF moments.

“It was a fine statement.” While explaining why (other than his own refusal) it took him a few days to utter the words “neo-Nazis” and “white supremacists,” Trump insisted that his initial statement was a fantastic one. He was, in his words, trying not to behave like other politicians and the media. “It takes a little while to get the facts,” he insisted while blaming both sides.

“Who’s next, George Washington? Trump then (astoundingly) defended Nazis and white supremacists at Charlottesville by arguing that they only wanted to protest the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue. “You’re changing history, you’re changing culture,” Trump protested. “George Washington was a slave owner … are we going to take down statues of George Washington? How about Thomas Jefferson, you like him?”

(And yes, former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke has already thanked Trump on Twitter for that one.)

“What about the alt-left?” Trump complained about the counterprotesters in Charlottesville while asking, “Do they have any semblance of guilt?” He feels that this “horrible, horrible day” was contributed to by the “problem” of the so-called alt-lefters: “What about the alt-left that came charging at us — excuse me — what about the alt-left that came charging at the, as you say, the alt right?” As a special bonus, he pointed into the crowd (at CNN’s Jim Acosta?) and snapped, “I’m not finished, fake news.”

“We’ll see what happens with Steve Bannon.” Here, Trump pretty much let everyone know that those reports about Steve Bannon’s impending White House demise (probably by the end of the week) are true. He distanced himself from Bannon by stating that he “came on late,” but he’s “not a racist” and has been treated terribly by the press.

“Out of embarrassment.” This was the explanation that Trump gave when asked about the group of CEOs who fled his American Manufacturing Council. He previously called them “grandstanders,” but now Trump thinks they felt bad and left because their because products are made outside of the U.S.

“The fastest one to come up with a good verdict.” While considering whether or not the killing of Heather Hayer was “murder” or “terrorism,” Trump didn’t want to put a label on it. Instead, he supposes that what really matters is the verdict (whereas he’s always been quick to label many other acts of violence as terrorism).

“Not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me.” Trump again called for understanding toward the tiki-torch wielding protesters, who he insisted did not all fall under the white supremacist or Nazi labels. He also said some of them are “very fine people.” Then he begged for an infrastructure question, which never arrived.

“I own one of the largest wineries in the United States.” Did you know that Trump owns a winery in Charlottesville? Apparently, he does, and he employs 500 migrant workers in the process. What an unusual bragging point.

(Via NBC News, CNN & Fox News)