Hatch urged Trump to ‘speak clearly’ against hate groups

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) urged President Trump to “clearly and unequivocally” condemn white supremacy in a phone call after Trump’s bombastic Tuesday press conference in which he blamed “both sides” for violence in Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday that left one anti-racist protester dead and more than 19 injured during a white supremacist rally.

“Hatch urged [Trump] to speak clearly and unequivocally on these issues because even the appearance of tolerating hate and bigotry only divides us further,” an aide to the No. 2 Senate Republican told ABC on Wednesday.

Hatch condemned white nationalist protests in Charlottesville earlier in the week, saying that World War II veterans, including his brother, didn’t fight so Nazi ideas could persist in the United States today.

{mosads}”We should call evil by its name. My brother didn’t give his life fighting Hitler for Nazi ideas to go unchallenged here at home. -OGH,” Hatch tweeted, signing the tweet to signal he, not staff, shared it on social media.

Trump doubled down on his initial remarks on Tuesday, blaming the “alt-left” for initiating violence with white nationalists and insisting that there were “very fine people” on “both sides” of the issue at the protest that day, which was organized by white supremacist groups to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Anti-racist counterprotesters gathered on Saturday, leading to violence before police broke up the rally.

“What about the alt-left that came charging at the — as you say, the alt-right?” Trump asked reporters Tuesday. “Do they have any semblance of guilt? What about the fact they came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs? Do they have any problem? I think they do. As far as I am concerned, that was a horrible, horrible day.”