'The President Was Entirely Correct'

Every day, the White House communications office sends official talking points to Republican members of Congress. These communiqués help the GOP stay on the same page (and, in the Trump era, help the embattled president’s allies come up with arguments in his defense).

On Tuesday evening, a few hours after the president’s inflammatory press conference defending white nationalist protesters in Charlottesville, the office issued an “evening communications briefing,” which was passed along to me by a Republican congressional aide. It encourages members to echo the president’s line, contending that “both sides … acted inappropriately, and bear some responsibility.”

You can read the talking points in their entirety here. The links in the text are the White House’s. The briefing goes on to include a transcript of the president’s question-and-answer session with reporters at Trump Tower, followed by commentary on other issues.

NEWS OF THE DAY

Charlottesville

• The President was entirely correct -- both sides of the violence in Charlottesville acted inappropriately, and bear some responsibility.
• Despite the criticism, the President reaffirmed some of our most important Founding principles: We are equal in the eyes of our Creator, equal under the law, and equal under our Constitution.
  • He has been a voice for unity and calm, encouraging the country to “rediscover the bonds of love and loyalty that brings us together as Americans.”
  • He called for the end of violence on all sides so that no more innocent lives would be lost.
• The President condemned - with no ambiguity - the hate groups fueled by bigotry and racism over the weekend, and did so by name yesterday, but for the media that will never be enough.
  • The media reacted with hysteria to the notion that counter-protesters showed up with clubs spoiling for a fight, a fact that reporters on the ground have repeatedly stated.
  • Even a New York Times reporter tweeted that she “saw club-wielding "antifa" beating white nationalists being led out of the park.”
  • The local ACLU chapter also tweeted that
• We should not overlook the facts just because the media finds them inconvenient:
  • From cop killing and violence at political rallies, to shooting at Congressmen at a practice baseball game, extremists on the left have engaged in terrible acts of violence.
  • The President is taking swift action to hold violent hate groups accountable.
    • The DOJ has opened a civil rights investigation into this weekend’s deadly car attack.
    • Last Thursday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced it had completed the largest prosecution of white supremacists in the nation’s history.
• Leaders and the media in our country should join the president in trying to unite and heal our country rather than incite more division.

Transcript of President's Q&A:

Q    Mr. President, why do you think these CEOs are leaving your manufacturing council?

THE PRESIDENT:  Because they're not taking their job seriously as it pertains to this country.  And we want jobs, manufacturing in this country.  If you look at some of those people