Shea-Porter: President Trump’s Charlottesville Comments “A Disgrace to Our Nation”
Earlier Today, Congresswoman Co-Introduced Anti-White-Supremacy Resolution
DOVER, NH – Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01) condemned President Trump’s Tuesday afternoon comments equivocating “both sides” in Charlottesville.
“There are no ‘very fine’ neo-Nazis. I never thought we would hear such disgusting and outrageous comments from a President of the United States – comments that were immediately praised by David Duke, the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan. Today’s comments from President Trump are a disgrace to our nation,” said Shea-Porter.
U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-NH
“Over the past week, the President has twice failed to condemn white supremacists’ violence and terror, and today, he went so far as to suggest there is moral equivalence between neo-Nazis and those who protest hate. If President Trump and his pro-white-supremacist staffers in the White House think they can tear down everything America stands for, they are wrong. We will not let them extinguish America’s beacon of hope and tolerance.”
Earlier today, Shea-Porter co-introduced a resolution, together with Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and 30 other members of Congress, urging President Trump to strongly condemn white supremacists, the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and other hate groups, and to remove individuals who have supported white nationalists, including Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, and Sebastian Gorka, from the White House.
“As Members of Congress, we must clearly and forcefully repudiate white supremacists and those who support them, whether they are terrorizing citizens in Charlottesville or advising the President in the White House,” said Shea-Porter.
The resolution:
- Condemns the role of white supremacist, neo-Nazi, KKK and other hate groups in the “Unite the Right” rally and domestic terror attack in Charlottesville;
- Denounces the increase in organizing, fear-mongering, racism, anti-Semitism, bigotry and violence perpetrated by white supremacists, neo-Nazis, the KKK and other hate groups;
- Offers condolences and sympathies to the families of Heather Heyer, Lt. H. Jay Cullen and Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates, and urges a quick recovery to those injured;
- Strongly urges the president to:
- Fire individuals in the White House and Trump administration who have supported or encouraged support for white nationalists;
- Quickly and publicly repudiate and denounce white supremacist, neo-Nazi, KKK and other hate groups;
- Use all available resources of the Office of the President and the Cabinet to address the growing prevalence of such hate groups domestically; and
- Use his office to unite all Americans against hate.
In addition to Shea-Porter and Jayapal, the resolution is co-sponsored by 30 members of Congress: Reps. Frank Pallone (NJ-06), Alcee Hastings (FL-20), Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), Nydia Velazquez (NY-07), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), Adam Smith (WA-09), Barbara Lee (CA-13), Grace Napolitano (CA-32), Raul Grijalva (AZ-03), Steve Cohen (TN-09), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Andre Carson (IN-07), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Judy Chu (CA-27), Bill Foster (IL-11), Donald Payne Jr. (NJ-10), John Delaney (MD-06), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Juan Vargas (CA-51), Don Beyer (VA-08), Brendan Boyle (PA-13), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11), Debbie Dingell (MI-12), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Dwight Evans (PA-02), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08) and Al Lawson (FL-05).