OPINION:
In reviewing the stunning twists and turns of the Trump administration in the days following the atrocity that took place in Charlottesville, one recognizes that perhaps the most laughable pledge made by the president is that he would bring us together. Meanwhile he pours gasoline on our wounds and lights a match.
President Trump’s white-supremacist backers were right. When the president first spoke about the rally that took the lives of three innocent people and injured many more, he meant what he said: that “many sides” were responsible for the bloodbath. He did not condemn the haters whose presence and provocation set the stage for what took place, nor did he call them by name or distance himself from them.
It was only after facing intense pressure that two days later he mouthed from a Teleprompter beautiful words written for him — words he did not mean. The white supremacists were right in taking no offense at his revised remarks, recognizing that their man was only doing what he had to do.
The president’s off-the-cuff remarks made the following day clarify where he stands. It was then we saw the real Donald Trump: squarely in the corner with the haters who are seeking to change the fundamental character of a once-great country.
Some, including a number of honorable individuals in his party, have criticized the president and distanced themselves from a “leader” who has not a shred of integrity, decency or compassion, and who has no knowledge of what our country represents.
It is a frightening time to be a member of a minority race, heritage or religion in America. May God help our beleaguered United States and enable us someday to recover from the stain of what has befallen us.
OREN M. SPIEGLER
Upper Saint Clair, Pa.
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