Neo-Nazis, white nationalists, and far-right media personalities are celebrating after President Donald Trump condemned individuals who protested a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday.
Members of 4chan and the Donald Trump subreddit lauded the president for calling out what he called the “alt-left,” and claiming they shared some of the blame for the violence that took place at the rally organized by white nationalists and neo-Nazis.
“About time. It's been a steady wave of left-wing violence and chaos for the last few years,” wrote Reddit user GiraffeHigh. “The best thing about our God Emperor is he has truth and justice on his side. :D Love our president! MAGA!” user SneakyWino added.
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On 4chan, one commenter claimed the press conference at Trump Tower on Tuesday afternoon had brought them to tears. “I actually cried, still tearing up now thinking about it… He just revived my hope for a better future in the matter of minutes. FUCK that moved me!” Another insisted: “It's clear now [Trump is] part of the 4chan hive mind.”
Neo-Nazi and former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke wrote on Twitter: “Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth about [Charlottesville] & condemn the leftist terrorists in [Black Lives Matter/Antifa].” Duke was referring to left wing groups that attended the rally.
Tim Treadstone is another alt-right personality, who in July tweeted the 14-word neo-Nazi slogan, “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.” Treadstone thanked Trump “for condemning the alt-left antifa thugs who attacked us in Charlottesville.”
Jack Posobiec, a far-right media personality who falsely claimed an “anti-Trump drug addict” was behind a fatal car ramming attack at the rally, said Trump ought to “take a bow.” He said on Periscope: “He is now back on the offense. He is taking the fight to the adversaries. Take a bow, President Trump, because you just earned it.”
Another far-right media personality, Mike Cernovich, agreed that Trump had effectively called out left-wing terrorism. “Why do you think Trump identified Antifa as a terrorist organization? Why do you think that? Because he was realizing that [his] base… were losing morale,” Cernovich told followers on Periscope.
Far-right YouTuber and podcaster Stefan Molyneux claimed Trump “[called] out the media for their bias and refusal to acknowledge leftist violence!”
During the press conference, Trump blamed “both sides” for the violence that took place, echoing his widely criticized first response to the rally, where he said the blame resided on “many sides.”
He said neo-Nazis and white nationalists, and the alt-left, shared the blame for the violence at the “Unite The Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. “What about the alt-left that came charging at, as you say, the alt-right?” he told a reporter. “Do they have any semblance of guilt?” He added: “What about the fact they came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs. Do they have any problem? I think they do.”
Trump defended some individuals whom he said attended the rally to protest the removal of a “very, very important” statue of Confederate Army commander Robert E. Lee. “Is it George Washington next week, and is it Thomas Jefferson the week after? You really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop?” Trump said, referring to the fact that both of these presidents were slave owners.
