President Donald Trump takes a harsher stand against the media than he has against white supremacists in a campaign video released on Sunday.
The video, which is titled “Let President Trump Do His Job,” says the media has been “attacking our president” and labels them “enemies” that are preventing his “plan” from succeeding. The ad ends with the signature “I approve this message.”
While the ad sharply criticizes Trump’s perceived “enemies,” he has yet to do the same for the group of white supremacists who were the catalyst for a weekend of violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. One woman was killed when a car driven by a man who reportedly had ties to neo-Nazi groups plowed his car into a group of counterprotesters and sped away.
While several members of Trump’s administration have denounced the violence that erupted as a result of the white supremacy rally, Trump’s tepid response has been criticized by members of both political parties.
On Sunday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the incidents in Charlottesville met the definition of domestic terrorism, a phrase that lawmakers have urged Trump to use in wake of the weekend’s eruption of violence. Vice President Mike Pence also said the White House has “no tolerance for hate and violence from white supremacists, neo-Nazis, of the KKK.”
Instead of directly calling out the white supremacists, Trump condemned the violence from “many sides”—forcing White House aides to try and clarify his statement.
“The president said very strongly in his statement yesterday that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry and hatred. Of course that includes white supremacists, KKK, neo-Nazi and all extremist groups,” the White House said after the president’s initial remarks.
You can watch Trump’s campaign ad here: