Sen. Tim Scott said Thursday that President Trump’s “moral authority” had been “compromised” in the comments he made blaming “both sides” for the violence in Virginia last week.
“I’m not going to defend the indefensible. … [Mr. Trump’s] comments on Monday were strong. His comments on Tuesday started erasing the comments that were strong. What we want to see from our president is clarity and moral authority. And that moral authority is compromised when Tuesday happened. There’s no question about that,” Mr. Scott, South Carolina Republican, said in an interview with Vice News.
Mr. Trump came under fire for not calling out white supremacist, KKK and neo-Nazi groups directly in his reaction to violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend. He then gave a more direct denouncement of the groups at a press conference on Monday, but then on Tuesday reiterated he felt there was “blame on both sides” in the situation. The protests over a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee resulted in the deaths of three people, including two police officers.
Mr. Scott said the comments won’t prevent him from working with Mr. Trump on areas where they agree, but did say that he would speak out when they disagreed.
“I’m gonna work with him wherever we are in agreement. I’m going to speak out against him when we are not in agreement. And that’s the bottom line,” Mr. Scott said.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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