Uproar over his reactions to Charlottesville and departure of aide Steve Bannon overshadow Barcelona attack and Korea threat.
To appreciate how much has happened in the past eight or nine days, consider this: Remember when everyone was nervous because President Donald Trump said the United States was « locked and loaded » for North Korea, following up on his promise to unleash « fire and fury » if provoked?
That was last Friday.
That same night, torch-carrying white supremacists marched through the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville. The following day a Dodge muscle car allegedly driven by a supremacist barreled into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.
Trump offered a series of responses from Saturday through Tuesday. But the last of which, during a sometimes angry exchange with reporters in the lobby of his Manhattan office tower, outraged people on all sides of the political spectrum — but excited racist groups who were encouraged that the president was standing up for their rights.
Trump’s statement Tuesday that « both sides » — supremacists and the people protesting them — shared blame for violence in Charlottesville was called unprecedented in the post-Civil Rights Act era by one historian.
By mid-week, corporate CEOs on a Trump advisory council, who had already begun to declare one-by-one that they could no longer stay with him, decided en masse to disband .
That was followed, in varying degrees, by Trump’s own party in Congress working to distance itself from the president. One prominent senator questioned whether Trump had the « stability » and « competence » for the job.
By the time Thursday arrived, a van load of terrorists slammed into a crowd in Barcelona, Spain on Thursday, killing 13 and injuring more than 80.
Trump, however, was still caught up in the furor over Charlottesville, criticizing the removal of statues honoring figures from the Confederacy, providing more material for his critics.
Even a tweet about Barcelona was provocative, as Trump again repeated a false anecdote an early 20th Century general’s dealings with Islamic militants in the Philippines.
Trump’s base remained loyal.
“There is a lot of unnecessary hysteria to distract attention from his accomplishments, ” said Steven Rogers, a Nutley councilman who was the first New Jersey elected official to endorse Trump for president last year. “I believe his statements have been grossly misinterpreted by the media.”
But Trump clearly left a mark over the past week-plus that will not fade easily, even with the departure Friday of chief strategist Steve Bannon, the champion of the so-called « alt-right. »
Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney even warned that an « unraveling of our national fabric » could be on the way.
So for those who shut their eyes or swiped past it all, here’s a recap;
A « Unite the Right » rally against the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville was shut down after bottle-throwing clashes between alt-right demonstrators, counter-protesters, white nationalists, neo-Nazis and supporters of Black Lives matter.
Crowds of counter-protesters were streaming away when a car allegedly driven by James Alex Fields, 20, of Ohio, crashed into them at high speed, killing Heyer and injuring at least 19 others. Later, two Virginia State Police died when the helicopter they were in crashed.
Trump, at his golf club in Bedminster, said: « We condemn in the strongest most possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides. On many sides. »
That did not go over well.
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Gov. Chris Christie, a Trump ally, did not mention the president but left little doubt what he expected from him.
« We reject the racism and violence of white nationalists like the ones acting out in Charlottesville, » Christie said. « Everyone in leadership must speak out. »
Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., was more direct.
« Mr. President – we must call evil by its name, » Gardner tweeted. « These were white supremacists and this was domestic terrorism. »
Lydia Ramirez, who works in a doctor’s office in Paterson, said she was rattled by images on the news of torch-bearing white supremacists, chanting anti-Semitic and racist slogans as they marched through University of Virginia campus.
“There’s always been racism, but I’ ve never seen it like that in my lifetime,’ ’ she said Friday. “I’m scared of living in fear of what we are. »
Vigils protesting the bigotry sprang up around the country, though one planned in Charlottesville was cancelled because of a « credible threat » from supremacists.
Pressure on Trump grew to say more.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-Newark: « On Saturday, President Trump demonstrated a hateful hypocrisy in failing to name the Neo-Nazi, white supremacist alt-right hate for what it is: not only the cause of horrific violence in Virginia, but the evil enemy of our nation’s hope and promise.
