By NAN Staff Writer
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Weds. Aug. 16, 2017: Caribbean roots lawmakers in Congress, like many of their colleagues on both sides of the aisles and millions of Americans, were Tuesday afternoon taking to Twitter to denounce erratic statements made by US President Donald Trump at a shocking impromptu press conference at Trump Towers in New York City.
At the presser, Trump said both sides – right wing Nazi sympathizers and White Supremacists as well as counter protestors on the left – were to blame for the deaths and tumult that occurred in Charlottesville on Saturday, Aug. 12th.
“I think there is blame on both sides,” Trump said during a contentious back-and-forth with reporters in the lobby of his Midtown Manhattan building.
But Caribbean roots Senator, Kamala Harris, retorted: “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: there are not “many sides” to this. … “Many sides” suggest there is a right or wrong side, that all are morally equal, But I reject that. It’s not hard to spot the wrong sides here. They’re the ones with the torches and swastikas.”
Dominican Republic-born, NYC Congressman Adriano Espaillat called Trump’s comments “absurd, illogical, shameful & disgusting.”
“You CANNOT defend Hate or white supremacists anytime, anyway or for any reason,” he added.
Brooklyn, Caribbean-American Congresswoman Yvette Clarke said Trump ”owns this problem” while Puerto Rico-born Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez called Trump’s remarks “even more alarming than his previous statements.”
“Condemning white supremacists should not be this confusing,” she added.
Cuban-born Republican Congresswoman, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, also slammed Trump on Twitter.
“Blaming “both sides” for #Charlottesville?! No. Back to relativism when dealing with KKK, Nazi sympathizers, white supremacists? Just no,” she added Tuesday afternoon.
