The mother of Heather Heyer isn’t interested in the Trump administration’s pleas to meet with the president. Speaking with Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts Thursday (Aug. 17), Susan Bro explained why she has refused to talk to him.
“The first call, it looked like actually came during the funeral. I didn’t even see that message,” said Bro. “There were three more frantic messages from press secretaries throughout the day and I didn’t know why.” Bro explained that her appreciation for Trump’s condolences quickly decimated this week after he placed blame on neo nazis, white supremacists and counter protesters in his now infamous “both sides” comment to reporters.
Bro, previously thanked Trump in a statement on Monday for his “words of comfort and for denouncing those who promote violence and hatred. “I hadn’t really watched the news until last night and I’m not talking to the president now, I’m sorry, after what he said about my child,” Bro said.
“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 … with the KKK and the white supremacists.”
Bro laid her daughter to rest Wednesday. She explained how she hasn’t had the chance to fully morn due to her willingness to keep Heyer’s legacy alive. She also said it was one of the many reasons why she didn’t allow politicians to attend the service. “This was my only chance to say goodbye to my daughter,” Bro continued.
“It was a private moment that I was willing to allow the world to view but this was my only chance to have my private time with my daughter. Heather was not a politician, but she was interested in changing people. My focus is not on politics; my focus is on human beings and on how we as human beings can fix problems.”
She later broke down her issue with Trump and how she was deeply offended by his comments. “I understand that President Trump wants to speak with me… and it’s not that I’m trying to be calloused, it’s that I have no interest in speaking to politicians just to hear them say, ‘I’m sorry,'” Bro added.
“If I felt like that’s all they wanted to say, that would be different, but I feel like I’m wanted to be used for political agendas and I’m resistant to that. You can’t wash this one away by shaking my hand and saying, ‘I’m sorry.’ I’m not forgiving for that.”
Suspect and white supremacist James Alex Fields was denied bond at his first court hearing this week. He remains at Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail in North Carolina.
Watch the full interview above.