President Donald Trump staged one of the most memorable press conferences in U.S. history Tuesday afternoon: a combative exchange about last weekend's violence in Charlottesville, Va. It was an opportunity to reinforce his heavily scripted message from Monday, condemning neo-Nazis and white supremacists. Instead, he went off script, reiterating talking points of the self-described 鈥渁lt-right.鈥�
Politicians of the modern era have generally taken a hard line on overt racism and anti-Semitism 鈥� nearly every modern president has had an opportunity to condemn neo-Nazism and has done so without the appearance of hesitation, thus setting a tone for the nation. Denouncing racism is easy, so it鈥檚 unclear why President Trump seems to have such a hard time doing so.
Texas Standard host David Brown talked with four Texans about their perspective on Trump鈥檚 stance following the violence in Charlottesville.Sister Norma Pimentel is executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley.
On Trump鈥檚 missed opportunity to promote unity:
鈥淭his was a lost opportunity, for a moment, to bring us together and to denounce what is completely wrong and divisive.鈥�
On how multi-faith gatherings bring the community together:
鈥淗osting gatherings where we bring us together form different faith denominations鈥hese type of events begin to take away that sense of fear and that sense of I don鈥檛 know you.鈥�
Troy Nehls is Fort Bend County sheriff. He recently held a "Diversity and Living Together" forum there.
On the idea that President Trump is misrepresented by the media:
鈥淚 think the left has, and will continue to be, critical of everything Donald Trump says from here forward. 鈥his fake news, it is out there. I don鈥檛 think Donald Trump, our president, is a racist.鈥�
On America鈥檚 volatile political climate:
鈥淚 think you鈥檙e seeing people starting to stand up more, exercising their First Amendment right. Whether we agree with it or not isn鈥檛 the point. 鈥he point is is that this is a very, very emotional time in this country when it deals with race, when it deals with immigration issues and everything else.鈥�
On Fort Bend County鈥檚 effort to promote diversity:
鈥淲e are considered, according to the Rice University鈥檚 Kinder Institute, the most diverse county in the entire country. 鈥e鈥檝e done a great job brining people together, understanding each other鈥檚 cultures.鈥�
Omar Rachid is a member of the Victoria Islamic Center, which was burned down in January by an alleged arsonist charged with a hate crime.
On Trump鈥檚 missed opportunity to unite Americans after Charlottesville:
鈥淚t was the wrong message to be confrontational yesterday. It only adds to the divide.鈥�
On Trump not condemning Nazism:
鈥淗e basically condones the neo-Nazis and people cheering, basically saluting and using the Adolf Hitler salute. This is not (the) America, that our soldiers fought for to defeat Nazism.鈥�
On feeling unsafe as an immigrant since Trump began his presidential campaign:
鈥淚鈥檓 an immigrant, I鈥檓 a Muslim-American. 鈥鈥檝e been in Victoria 24 years; I have never felt threatened or discriminated against until President Trump, or candidate Trump at the time, began to just throw rhetoric against Muslims.鈥�
On how the solution starts with Trump:
鈥淭he solution also begins with President Trump. He needs to bring the country together. He needs to condemn the acts of racism, bigotry鈥� (and) within our own community, we have to provide the dialogue.鈥�
Vincent Harding is an African-American attorney and chairman of the Travis County Democratic Party.
On what changed after Trump鈥檚 press conference:
鈥淭hat goes from being someone who turns a blind eye to being a cheerleader for white supremacy and neo-Nazis. 鈥 believe, ultimately, there is no common ground here: Either you are against white supremacists and neo-Nazis, or you鈥檙e wrong.鈥�
On how debates over race get passionate:
鈥淭here may be some yelling, or some screaming or some cursing, but I believe it is better to yell and to scream and to curse as opposed to get into fights. 鈥hen you have that honest dialogue and you have corresponding action鈥hese are the types of things that will move this country forward.鈥�
Written by Caroline Covington.
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