Some Rhode Island Republicans describe President Donald Trump’s controversial remarks about weekend violence in Charlottesville as a communications lapse, while Democrats said Trump made a false equivalency between hate groups and their opponents.
“Over the last 40 years our country has worked very hard to come together and stamp out the KKK and all the hateful racial groups that exist,” House Minority Leader Patricia Morgan (R-West Warwick), a potential candidate in next year’s gubernatorial race, said in a statement. “We must continue to find the things that bind us together, not the things that divide us, because as Rhode Islanders and as Americans, there is much more of our fabric that weaves us together then separates us. There should be a no tolerance policy for any and all hate groups. Period.”
Morgan added: “President Trump should pick his words more carefully, because as president, every word he says has meaning. With that being said, I do not believe he is a man full of racism and hate as some in the media have alleged.”
Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian, a Republican, said of President Trump: “I thought his comments on Monday were appropriate. To have a total reversal 24 hours later was not helpful. I stand with the State Chairman Brandon Bell and Mayor Fung in opposition to this reversal.“
Cranston Mayor Allan Fung, an expected GOP gubernatorial candidate in 2018, criticized hate groups without naming President Trump.
“Let there be no doubt — there is no justification for bigotry expressed by any white supremacist group,” Fung said in a statement. “The past weekend has ripped open so many wounds for our country. Quite simply, we are all better than this insanity and violence.
“As a minority, I’ve seen my share of subtle and not so subtle racism over the years. It’s incumbent on those of us in the minority community to work harder, and by our consistent actions over months and years, truly change stereotypes. Hashtags and vigils are not enough.”
State Republican Chairman Brandon Bell condemned white supremacists and neo-Nazis for causing the violence in Charlottesville that left one woman dead. As for Trump, Bell said the president did a bad job communicating by putting part of the blame on anti-fascist demonstrators: “It was inartful. I don’t presume that Donald Trump is a racist and I think that if one is predisposed to not like Donald Trump, they’re going to believe that [he is]. I think he just had trouble articulating what he was talking about.”
State Rep. Bobby Nardolillo (R-Coventry), a Republican candidate for US Senate, offered sharper criticism of Trump.
“I am very disappointed in the president’s comments on the assigning only partial fault to the white supremacists groups,” Nardolillo said in a tweet. “This was nothing more than a one sided act of violence.”
In a news release, Rhode Island Democrats condemned Trump for remarks in which he said both sides were responsible for the violence in Charlottesville.
“The hateful and violent actions of white supremacists and self-identified Nazis this weekend leave no room for equivocation,” Governor Gina Raimondo said in the statement. “President Trump responded to the events this weekend with dog whistles and muddled words. I stand with Rhode Islanders from across our state against hate, racism and white supremacy. I call on President Trump and all elected and community leaders to make a clear, unequivocal statement that white supremacy, Nazism, racism and bigotry are evil and have no place in our democratic republic.”
House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello said, “All of our leaders have a responsibility to speak with one common voice against bigotry, hatred and prejudice. A failure to denounce such actions in Charlottesville and elsewhere is an implied acceptance of this intolerable behavior. Americans must stand united for decency, honesty and the shared common value of equality for all.”
Added state Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, “There can be no false equivalency between those who seek to subjugate groups of Americans and those who stand bravely against hatred and oppression. This isn’t about left versus right; it’s about right versus wrong. Rhode Islanders of diverse ideologies have fought to protect the American ideal that all people are created equal against the scourge of slavery during the Civil War, of Nazism during World War II, and of racism during the Civil Rights movement. We as Americans stand united against racism and intolerance, but the leader of this great nation must not equivocate on the fundamental American principle espoused by George Washington to a Jewish congregation in Newport: that we shall give to bigotry no sanction.”
Rhode Island’s Democratic congressional delegation reacted earlier with criticism of President Trump’s comments.
This story has been updated.