GOP lawmaker on condemning neo-Nazis: ‘I don’t understand what’s so hard about this’

Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) rebuked President Trump on Tuesday for saying “both sides” were to blame for violence at a Charlottesville, Va., white supremacist rally.

“I don’t understand what’s so hard about this. White supremacists and Neo-Nazis are evil and shouldn’t be defended,” Stivers, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, tweeted. 

I don’t understand what’s so hard about this. White supremacists and Neo-Nazis are evil and shouldn’t be defended.

— Steve Stivers (@RepSteveStivers) August 15, 2017

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Stivers was one of a number of prominent Republicans, including Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), to criticize the president’s remarks.

Trump at a press conference Tuesday doubled down on his claim that both sides were to blame for the Charlottesville violence.

White supremacists held a rally there over the weekend. On Saturday, a woman was killed and 19 injured when a man attending the rally drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters.

On Saturday, Trump had said “many sides” were to blame, drawing backlash from both Republicans and Democrats.

Trump made another public statement Monday to try and end the controversy in which he said “racism is evil” and singled out specific hate groups, including the KKK and neo-Nazis.