Analysis by Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large

1. Donald Trump's incredibly unpresidential statement on Charlottesville
Analysis by Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/12/politics/trump-charlottesville-
statement/index.html
Updated 0647 GMT (1447 HKT) August 13, 2017
(CNN)A group of white supremacists -- screaming racial, ethnic and
misogynistic epithets -- rallied in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday. One
person was killed and 19 others were injured when a car sped into a group of
counter-protesters.
Trump addresses Charlottesville clashes
VIDEO URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMQWJDVg8PA
This is what the President of the United States said about it:
"We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred,
bigotry and violence, on many sides. On many sides. It's been going on for a
long time in our country. Not Donald Trump, not Barack Obama. This has been
going on for a long, long time."

2. Trump -- once again -- fails to condemn the alt-right (alternative right), white
supremacists
It's hard to imagine a less presidential statement in a time in which the
country looks to its elected leader to stand up against intolerance and hatred.
Picking a "worst" from Donald Trump's statement -- delivered from his
Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club -- isn't easy. But, the emphasis of "on many
sides" -- Trump repeated that phrase twice -- is, I think, the low ebb:
weakest point.
Both sides don't scream racist and anti-Semitic things at people with whom
they disagree. They don't base a belief system on the superiority of one race
over others. They don't get into fistfights with people who don't see things
their way. They don't create chaos and leave a trail of injured behind them.
Arguing that "both sides do it" deeply misunderstands the hate and
intolerance at the core of this "Unite the Right" rally. These people are bigots
(intolerant people). They are hate-filled. This is not just a protest where
things, unfortunately, got violent. Violence sits at the heart of their warped
(twisted) belief system.
Trying to fit these hate-mongers (seller) into the political/ideological
spectrum -- which appears to be what Trump is doing -- speaks to his failure
to grasp what's at play here. This is not a "conservatives say this, liberals say
that" sort of situation. We all should stand against this sort of violent
intolerance and work to eradicate it from our society -- whether Democrat,
Republican, Independent or not political in the least.
What Trump failed to do is what he has always promised to do: Speak blunt
(plainly) truths. The people gathered in Charlottesville this weekend are white
supremacists, driven by hate and intolerance. Period. There is no "other side"
doing similar things here.
"Mr. President - we must call evil by its name," tweeted Sen. Cory Gardner, R-
Colorado. "These were white supremacists and this was domestic
terrorism." Tweeted Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, another fellow Republican:
"Very important for the nation to hear @potus describe events in
#Charlottesville for what they are, a terror attack by #whitesupremacists."
What Trump is doing – wittingly (consciously) or unwittingly -- is giving cover
to the sort of beliefs (and I use that word lightly) on display in Charlottesville
today.

3. Chalking it all up (attributing) to a violent political rhetoric that occurs on
both sides and has been around for a very long time contextualizes and
normalizes the behavior of people who should not be normalized. It is not
everyday political rhetoric to scream epithets at people who don't look like
you or worship (adore) like you. Trump's right that this sort of behavior has
existed on American society's fringes (outside borders) for a long time -- but
what we as a nation, led by our presidents, have always done is call it out for
what it is: radical racism that has no place in our world.
So, that's the big one. But there are other things in Trump's statement that
are also worth calling out (challenging) -- most notably "not Donald Trump, not
Barack Obama."
What Trump is doing here is pre-emptively (preventively) absolving himself of
blame for creating a political climate in the country in which people like these
"Unite the Right" demonstrators feel emboldened (encouraged) enough to
rally in public. Not my fault, Trump is saying. There were hate groups and hate
speech under Obama too!
With someone dead and more than two dozen people injured, this is, of course,
not the time for assigning blame. Or for making political calculations. This is a
time to say: We stand together against what we saw in Charlottesville today.
Trump didn't do that. Not even close.
Then, last but not least, is what Trump said a few paragraphs after his "on
many sides" comment. Here it is:
"Our country is doing very well in so many ways. We have record -- just
absolute record employment. We have unemployment, the lowest it's been
in almost 17 years. We have companies pouring into our country. Foxconn and
car companies, and so many others, they're coming back to our country. We're
renegotiating trade deals to make them great for our country and great for
the American worker. We have so many incredible things happening in our
country. So when I watch Charlottesville, to me it's very, very sad."

4. Bipartisan condemnation for 'Unite the Right' rally
Really? A pivot (turn) to an I-am-not-getting-enough-credit-for-all-the-good-
I-am-doing-in-the-country line? With scenes of hatred splashed (salpicadas)
across TV screens? With someone dead?
This speech is not the time to tout (promote, announce) your
accomplishments. I mean "we're renegotiating trade deals to make them great
for our country"? Who thought that was a good thing to say in the same
speech in which Trump, theoretically, was trying to reassure people that what
we all saw in Charlottesville is not, fundamentally, who we are?
That no one -- starting and ending with the President -- raised a red flag
about tacking on (stitch loosely, hilvanar) a laundry list of accomplishments
to a speech that should have simply condemned the behavior in Charlottesville
and called to our better angels, is staggering (astounding, impactante), even
for this White House.
There are moments where we as a country look to our president to exemplify
the best in us. They don't happen every day. Sometimes they don't happen
every year. But, when they do happen, we need the person we elected to lead
us to, you know, lead us.
Trump did the opposite today.
Virginia governor on white nationalists: They should
leave America
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/13/us/charlottesville-white-nationalist-rally-
car-crash/index.html
What happened

5. People fly into the air as a vehicle drives into a group of protesters
demonstrating against a white nationalist rally Saturday in Charlottesville,
Virginia.
• Counterprotesters met white nationalists and other right-wing groups
at the site of Saturday's "Unite the Right" event hours before the rally was
set to start.
• Clashes broke out, and police began to disperse crowds.
• Local officials declared the rally an "unlawful assembly," and the
governor declared a state of emergency.
• About two hours later, a gray Dodge Challenger rammed into a crowd of
counterprotesterswalking down a street in downtown Charlottesville.
• The driver slammed the car in reverse and fled the scene backward.
The suspected driver was arrested later that afternoon.
The victims
Heather Heyer

6. • Thirty-two-year-old Heather Heyer was killed in the car crash. Her
father, Mark, told CNN: "She was always passionate about the beliefs she
held. She had a bigger backbone than I did and I'm just proud of her for
standing up for those who needed help."
• Another 19 people were injured, 10 of whom were listed Sunday in good
condition by the University of Virginia Health System. Nine patients were
released.
Lt. Cullen is pictured on the left. Trooper-Pilot Bates is on the right.
• Two Virginia State Patrol troopers died when a helicopter crashed in a
wooded area near Charlottesville after monitoring Saturday's events. The
pilot, Lt. H. Jay Cullen, 48, and Trooper Berke M.M. Bates, who would have
turned 41 on Sunday, were killed. Authorities are investigating the cause of
the crash.
The suspect
James Alex Fields Jr.
• The driver, 20-year-old James Alex Fields Jr. of Maumee, Ohio, faces
charges of second-degree murder, malicious wounding and failure to stop in an
accident that resulted in death, said Superintendent Martin Kumer of the
Albermarle-Charlottesville County Regional Jail.

7. • Fields' mother, Samantha Bloom, told CNN affiliate Toledo Blade that
her son told her last week he was going to an "alt-right" rally, but she said she
was not involved in his political views. "I didn't know it was white supremacists.
I thought it had something to do with Trump," she said. CNN's attempts to
reach Bloom were unsuccessful.
• Three other men were arrested Saturday. One of them faces a charge
of carrying a concealed handgun and another is charged with disorderly
conduct. The third man was arrested on suspicion of assault and battery.
The investigation
Charlottesville mayor: Prosecute this as terrorism 01:56
• The Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
have launched a civil rights investigation into the deadly crash.
• Attorney General Jeff Sessions said US Attorney Rick Mountcastle is
leading the investigation.
• "The violence and deaths in Charlottesville strike at the heart of
American law and justice. When such actions arise from racial bigotry and
hatred, they betray our core values and cannot be tolerated," Sessions said in
a statement. "Justice will prevail."
The blame
Charlottesville mayor blames Trump for violence 04:34

8. • But the organizer of the "Unite the Right" rally, Jason Kessler, issued a
statement blaming the violence on law enforcement and local officials. "The
blame for today's (Saturday's) violence lies primarily with Charlottesville
government officials and the police officers who failed to maintain law and
order, protect the First Amendment rights of rally participants, and provide
for their safety," Kessler said.
Devon M. Sayers reported from Virginia; Holly Yan and Steve Almasy reported
and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Shawn Nottingham, Nicole Chavez, Caitlin
Ostroff and Sheena Jones contributed to this report.