Richard Spencer—the white-nationalist leader who promoted and attended the Charlottesville hate rally on Saturday where Heather Heyer, 32, was run over by a car and killed—dismissed President Trump’s Monday statement about the event as “nonsense,” saying that it didn’t seem sincere. “I don’t take him seriously,” Spencer said during a press conference. “It sounded so hollow.” He added that the remarks made the president sound like a “Sunday school” teacher. “I don't think Donald Trump is a dumb person,” he clarified. “And only a dumb person would take those lines seriously.” The president took two days to specifically condemn white-nationalist hate groups by name. Spencer didn’t consider the statement a repudiation of his beliefs, calling it “kumbaya nonsense.”
—Gideon Resnick
