Trump: Charlottesville rally was a "little peanut" compared to pro-Palestinian protests
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Former President Trump on Thursday doubled down on his claim that the deadly 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia was a "peanut" compared to the current pro-Palestinian protests occurring across the country.
Why it matters: This is not the first time Trump has downplayed the severity of the Charlottesville rally, in which hundreds of white nationalists marched through the town's streets and a driver plowed into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one.
In doing so, Trump has taken a pointed jab at President Biden, who has said the Charlottesville rally inspired him to run in 2020.
The big picture: "We're having protests all over," Trump told reporters Thursday, referring to the pro-Palestinian and anti-war protests, while leaving court after another day in his New York hush money trial.
"Charlottesville was a little peanut" and "nothing compared" to the "kind of hate that you have here," Trump added.
Trump voiced a similar sentiment in a Truth Social post Wednesday night, in which he wrote that "Charlottesville is like a 'peanut' compared to the riots and anti-Israel protests that are happening all over our Country."
Trump had previously faced enormous blowback for claiming that there were "very fine people" on "both sides" of the Charlottesville events.
The other side: "Donald Trump can spew hatred and nonsense on his failed social media platform all day long but the American people are not going to be lectured to by the guy who called white supremacists very fine people after they chanted 'Jews will not replace us' and killed a woman," Biden campaign rapid response director Ammar Moussa said in a statement.
"He was never in touch with the vast majority of the American people, but his years down in Mar-a-Lago have him even more unhinged heading into 2024," Moussa added.
White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates called Trump's minimization of the Charlottesville rally "repugnant and divisive."
"Unlike some figures on the right, President Biden has never invited Neo Nazis and Holocaust deniers over for lunch," Bates added.
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It's hard to know what demented thoughts are colliding within Trump's addled brain at any given time.
What there is no doubt of is that he is totally ignorant of the scope or purpose of "Charlottesville".
There is also no doubt that he played it down at the time. It took three days for him to clarify his "good people on both sides" statement, because he was worried about offending the white supremacist wing of his base.
Has anyone been killed at any of the Pro-Palestinian riots yet?
not that I know of.
Not yet apparently, but many Jewish civilians and students have been threatened, intimidated, and physically assaulted by these latter day Nazis. And now this....
Leader of Columbia's Pro-Hamas Encampment: Israel Supporters 'Don't Deserve to Live' (townhall.com)
And it only took 5 minutes for the left to distort it.
Rational decent human beings knew who the good people on either side of the statue controversy were.
Biden still uses the distortion.
There is no "both sides" to Charlottesville. White supremacist organizations from around the country descended on Charlottesville to promote "unity" between their racist, anti-semitic groups. Their presence was protested by people who didnt want that sort of racism given a voice.
There was no "good people on both sides". There was no "two sides" which implies validity to both sides argument.
Trump does not know anything about Charlottesville, and neither do a lot of his followers.
So young white men who shout "Jews will not replace us" are good people?
good enough evidently, according to some.
Tell that to the decedents of those who fought for the Confederacy and are among the top groups who volunteer for the US military.
Understanding the South's unequal contribution of military recruits | Facing South
Beyond that, tell the rest of us why some asshole has the right to tear down a statue.
Don't embarrass yourself.
I didn't think you had an answer.
Back to the fact denial.
look at all the good people in those groups, Hell, there must be one , out of thousands, so
there IS NOT GOOD PEOPLE, only possibly a good person, but i doubt it!
oh but we're all for the Jews, now, aren't we?
People are poorer in the south
LOL.
I could write paragraphs of an answer off the top of my head. Is it worth the time to do that for this audience? Not really.
It was widely known that violence was highly likely on that Saturday, because of the white supremacist presence. The "good people" all stayed home.
Biden rally?
I'm a descendant of people who fought for the Confederacy. They were wrong.
No , they are Trump's idea of "good people".
I doubt it.
No, there is no evidence that is who trump was talking about, but there are history books full of evidence that those are democrats legacy, The democrat party can rightfully claim they built that.
They were wrong about commemorating their ancestors?
And who gave you the right to tear down a statue of any kind?
Doubt whatever you want. We are still waiting for you to demonstrate the slightest understanding of not only Charlottesville, but also Jan 6th.
It's too late.
I'm waiting for you to denounce leftwing antisemitism.
The Confederacy was treasonous. We don't commemorate traitors.
The law gives the government the right to remove statues from public property. You seem to think that I personally am tearing down statues. I am not. The city government of Charlottesville, which owned both the statues and the land on which they stood, did.
That depends...
I denounce antisemitism in all forms and not matter who it comes from. I'm waiting for you to say the same.
By the way, as a Jew, your comment is pretty offensive.
Nobody is arguing that. That isn't the issue. The issue is random statue removal.
We don't commemorate traitors.
Do you know why those statues were erected? The purpose was to gradually bring the south back into the union. To unite us again.
The law gives the government the right to remove statues from public property.
I am 100% fine with a community at least voting to remove statues or even relocating them.
You seem to think that I personally am tearing down statues.
Of course I don't mean you personally. I mean people who take it upon themselves to topple them.
The city government of Charlottesville, which owned both the statues and the land on which they stood, did.
YES! And I am glad they did. They are the good people on the other side.
Hopefully we just learned two things today.
1) We now know who the good people on each side really were.
2) We learned how a community acts in a civil legal way.
I thank you Sandy for addressing the issues, that others wouldn't.
I think that is a bit weak.
I'm waiting for you to say the same.
I think I've done a very thorough job of that.
By the way, as a Jew, your comment is pretty offensive.[✘]
That's not true. The majority of the Confederate monuments were meant to bolster white supremacism.
"The majority of remaining Confederate monuments are of a different character and purpose. These Phase Two monuments, erected from the 1890s through the 1930s, coincide with the expansion of the white supremacist policies of the Jim Crow era. These monuments often feature celebratory images meant to justify the Confederate cause as a moral victory. Put simply: an equestrian statue of a Confederate general in front of a courthouse or capitol building is not about mourning or loss. It is about power and who was in charge. The strategic placement of monuments at public sites was meant as an official and permanent affirmation of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy ."
.
Are the university protesters telling Jews to go back to Poland good people? Do you , like Biden, condemn anyone who doesn’t understand them
No, it was all about the statue controversy. Why aren't you condemning the left wing promoted and funded pro-Hamas antisemitic unpeaceful demonstrations going on all over the country at these bastions of "higher learning"?
Lol. John, take a look at the stance of the people organizing the Columbia protests for instance . I guess you have no problem claiming everyone who attends the protests, or like Biden, defends the protests, share those views and any defender of anyone at the protest is actually defending those who openly cheer for the killing of Jews.
I'm not disputing that as a major motivation, but it's an incomplete answer. Another significant motivation, depending on the monument, location and group that sponsored it was to mourn and honor Confederate dead, as to the timing, at the end of the war the South was bankrupt, it couldn't afford memorials following the Civil War as the North could.
i condemn anyone who makes an anti-semitic statement or comment
do you understand the lost cause movement ?
Random, eh? No, they're not removing random statues, Vic.
The statues were elected as part of the "Lost Cause" mythos, villainizing the North and abolitionists, deifying Confederate leaders, downplaying the evils of slavery, and generally trying to convince themselves and everybody else that the Confederates were terribly mistreated. Hell, you can still hear the Civil War called the "War of Northern Aggression" on occasion here.
In a republic such as ours, every issue is not put to a vote.
Your comments seem to indicate otherwise.
Yes.
i condemn anyone who makes an anti-semitic statement or comment
Trump specifically condemned Neo-NAzis in his statement. It didn't matter to progressives.
there was no demand for confederate statues until the lost cause myth was put forward
you were just bitching about the statues being taken down
Yup. He was against it before he was for it.
unamerican traitors...
I resent anyone calling them patriots
You keep saying this. Do you have a link that would back up the claim that there is a higher percentage of poor people in the south compared to rest of the US?
There is a story behind this picture taken in Baghdad 2003 .. the Iraqi people were trying to take the statue down by pulling on a rope and throwing shoes at it .. American soldiers stepped in to give an assist - nothing more.
.................
The chanting of 'Jews will not replace us' was a disgusting display of hatred, but it pales in comparison to what is being chanted on campuses as well as in the streets of America and around the world .. Calling for the destruction of the state of Israel and the gassing of the Jewish people is far more hateful than the dumbasses in caci pants with tiki torches.
There may have been demand but there was little money and bigger priorities for it.
Boston removes statue of freed slave kneeling before Lincoln | The Independent
In a republic such as ours, every issue is not put to a vote.
You prefer the mob?
Still not random, Vic.
That's not mob rule. Did you get to personally vote on every budget issue in the country? In Massachussetts? In Boston?
Of course you didn't.
I don't get a vote about the roundabout that's supposed to be installed in the busiest intersection in the town where I work.
We vote for representatives, who make those decisions.
That's how a republic works.
And the left wing rioters destroyed statues of people like Lincoln and U.S. Grant. Who knew the "lost cause" movement were the ones who erected those statues.
Outside agitators
yes, it's sad Democrats are tearing down statues of Lincoln and Grant.
Yes, there is definitely a difference between those that appreciate our history and those that would prefer to whitewash it and/or are offended by it....
Thank you. I wonder why that is.
I think most of them are mad at Lincoln because he let their ancestor's slaves go free.
kind of sums it up
Yep, partisans have no regard for history if it doesn't align with their agenda.
How many statues of Hitler do you see in Germany?
None. Not even one.
I know the history of the confederate statues, do you?
I have been very consistent.
I am against mobs ripping down statues. I am in favor of a community deciding in a civil manner what to do about statues.
I expect a college graduate to understand that much.
[deleted][✘]
You know the history of each statue? Impressive and eclectic.
Your words prove that statement to be untrue.
Have a wonderful day.
Trump specifically condemned Neo-NAzis in his statement. It didn't matter to progressives.
Trump is on all sides of every argument when it suits his ridiculous talking point and thoughtlessly pushes every racial stereotype without even realizing it. He has said he wants Jews in charge of his money, asked where his African Americans are, wants women punished for terminating pregnancies even though he has been vocally pro choice, calls Covid the kung flu, pushed for the execution of innocent black men, etc etc. Why would anyone, progressive or not, use anything Trump says to justify any argument?
I would have to agree with Trump on this. Regardless of how one would describe what Charlottsville tried to accomplish, it was nothing in comparison to what the pro-Palestinians have.
Put another way, the racist idiots at Charlottsville hoped for an uprising of some sort but all they got was universal condemnation, even though the Left tried to portray it as otherwise. The pro-Palestinian idiots are having an impact that the Charlottsville idiots could only dream of.
On what basis ?
Seriously?
seriously.
Well then. First, I suggest you change your avatar.
Second, when Charlottsville went down, what happened? Did it spread to other campuses? Did we have white people trying to tear down the gates of the White House? Did we have influencers defending them on the ridiculous institutions we call news?
No? Is it not obvious that Charlottsville was a one-off that was never repeated? Unlike the morons who support Hamas? Is it not obvious that the fascists who support Hamas are orders of magnitude greater than those who supported the fascists who supported the morons who marched in Charlottsville?
no, no, no, no, and no
Well you had a 50-50 chance..................and blew it.
Oh. Well, that was well argued. I bow before your superior evidence and admit to being wrong. /s
until we have evidence to the contrary, the anti Israel protests are transitory. White supremacists are both racist AND anti-semitic, and have been around for well over 100 years. . The idea that only "leftists" are anti-semitic is absurd.
There are thousands and thousands of protesters on college campuses. Are you going to seriously try and argue that they all want Jews to die ?
Do people actually consider Palestinians/Muslims to be leftys?
probably
Do they know anything about them?
Do you think Rashida Tlaib(D-Hamas) and Omar, Pressly etc are Republicans? do you imagine all those professors involving themselves in the protests are republicans? Or the students?
Dr. Jill “The Jewish people have a homeland in Poland” Stein must be one of those green party republicans.
how far back are we allowed to go in referencing the history of antisemitism in this discussion?
I would say one could go back at least 1600 years....when the Roman Catholic Church was established
No, she's a Russian stooge.
This sounds exactly like Bidens position and many democrats we see on TV, as well as the democrat storm troopers on the various campuses, I guess that makes them Russian stooges also, or maybe a better description is Putins bitches.
What? Do you not know that supremist are hiding around every corner? One might get confused and think that Charlottesville happens every year.....?
Jill Stein is not a role model for "leftists", as was implied.
Lol. So now you want to claim the eco-socialist green party isn't left wing?
Can you show where I wrote that?
What I said is she articulated the Biden administration and a majority of his supporters position on Israel perfectly.
You sure?
Yes, it is. Was someone saying otherwise?
No. I'm arguing that their ignorance is working for what amounts to Nazis (Hamas) and the Palestinians, who largely supported Hamas since they took power. The Palestinians are never going to let Israel live in peace. These students are using extortion in the service of Hamas and the Palestinians, mostly because they like how "taking a stand" makes them feel, even though they don't understand the issue. For them, it's simply the Marxist method of putting things into simple terms like labeling who's the oppressed and who is the oppressor, without any real thought as to whether those appellations are even justified.
I do have some sympathy for the students, though. They're still young and don't really have a lot of life experience upon which to draw on in these sorts of things. That's made worse by the educational institutions that they're attending, filling their heads with made up words, terms and ideologies. They see a bleak future ahead of them and "standing up" for something gives them the illusion they are doing something that matters. Unfortunately, they don't yet know enough to understand they're being used.
Good twitter thread detailing the difference in how universities responded when someone put up a "hurrah for Dixie" posters with the Stars and Bars vs their deference to the hamas supporters occupying universities.. The poster became a campus emergency and was considered a criminal threat....