Clinton: Leaders need to ‘be strong’ and decisive after Virginia violence

Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton condemned the “incitement of hatred” that she said led to violence at a white nationalist rally in Virginia Saturday.

“My heart is in Charlottesville today, and with everyone made to feel unsafe in their country,” she tweeted. “But the incitement of hatred that got us here is as real and condemnable as the white supremacists in our streets.

“Every minute we allow this to persist through tacit encouragement or inaction is a disgrace, & corrosive to our values,” she continued.

{mosads}Clinton’s comments were made following the news that one person was left dead after a car plowed through a crowd of anti-fascism protestors at a white supremacy rally in Charlottesville, Va. White nationalists had gathered in the town over the weekend for a “Unite the Right” rally to protest the removal of a Confederate statue.

“Now is the time for leaders to be strong in their words & deliberate in their actions,” Clinton tweeted. “We will not step backward. If this is not who we are as Americans, let’s prove it.” 

My heart is in Charlottesville today, and with everyone made to feel unsafe in their country.

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 12, 2017

But the incitement of hatred that got us here is as real and condemnable as the white supremacists in our streets.

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 12, 2017

Every minute we allow this to persist through tacit encouragement or inaction is a disgrace, & corrosive to our values.

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 12, 2017

Now is the time for leaders to be strong in their words & deliberate in their actions.

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 12, 2017

We will not step backward. If this is not who we are as Americans, let’s prove it.

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 12, 2017

President Trump also hit at the “violence on many sides” in response to the rally, refusing to single out a specific group in his comments.

“It’s been going on for a long time in our country. Not Donald Trump, not Barack Obama.This has been going on for a long, long time,” he said.