Donald Trump left many in bewilderment Tuesday (Aug. 15) when he blamed the “alt-left” for adding to the violence and tension in Charlottesville, VA last weekend. During a press conference, Trump doubled-down on his original statement and said both sides were to blame, which led James Alex Fields Jr. to “murder” a protester. As many heard Trump refuse to hold white nationalists, neo-nazis, and KKK members who participated in the demonstration accountable, it was MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow who seemed to perfectly encapsulate how many Americans are feeling about the president.
This is a lot of things.
At this point, though, “surprising” is not one of them.
— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) August 15, 2017
Shortly after Trump’s chaotic press conference, CNN brought together anchors and guests to break down his statement and while many agreed Trump failed once again to call a spade a spade, it was Don Lemon who offered the most passionate response.
“There is a difference between the two groups,” Lemon added. “One is a Nazi, white supremacist group. What they want to do is extinguish people that look like me and you, Wolf, Jewish people, black people, even women. They don’t think we are equal to them. The other is a protest group, protesting a political and racist movement.”
“This is a sad moment for the country,” Lemon continued. “I think it was an awful moment for the person who is supposed to represent the highest office of the land. There, today, you saw the real Donald Trump proving all of his critics right in that moment.”
Lemon went onto call Trump ignorant of America’s history, lacking context and said he needs an elementary education on how America came to be. Watch Lemon’s full rant below.