Youve just called them the left that came violently attacking the other group. You can say what you want but thats the way it is. I think theres blame on both sides. You look at both sides. I think theres blame on both sides. I have no doubt about it, and you dont have any doubt about it either. You had a lot of people there were there to innocently protest and very legally protest. I dont know if you know, they had a permit. They other group didnt have a permit. They had a permit. What message does that send to these White Nationalists groups and people around the world . Heres one answer. This is brand new tonight. Former kkk leader david duke welcoming the president crediting his honesty and courage to tell the truth about charlottesville and condemn the leftist terrorists. President trump said it first. He didnt know david duke was at that rally, but he knows now. The president claimed tonight that not everyone was a White Nationalist at that White Nationalist rally. Ive don demonstrated neonazis. Ive condemned many different gro groups in n groups. Not all were neonazis. Those people were there because they wanted to protest the taking down of a statue, robert e. Lee. Some facts for you on this. The Justice Department, under the Trump Administration, right now, is investigating charlottesville as a potential hate crime and potential terrorist activity. Today, in these new remarks, President Trump was not so sure. You can call it terrorism. You can call it murder. You can call it whatever you want. I would just call it as the fastest one to come up with a good verdict. Thats what id call it. Theres a question. Is it murder . Is it terrorism . Then you get into legal semantics. The driver of the car is a murderer and what he did was a horrible, horrible, inexcusable thing. These remarks appeared to be unplanned and they were certainly significant. I think in a series of events that we have called significant in the trump era tonights fit the bill. Were going to play those full remarks in full context later this hour. Now, for immediate context and response, i want to bring in california congressman ted lu, heather mcgee. Let me start with you. You look at this situation, what more do we understand now about the president s views of all this . I think that many people in the country, including the majority of people who did not vote for donald trump knew that from the beginning when he started his Campaign Calling mexican immigrants rapists and criminals, throughout the dog whistle, the inciting of violence. In the good old days a protester would have been dragged out in stra stretcher. Refusing to distance himself from the kkk. Who he put in the white house has his staffers including three known White Supremacists. We have felt this is a president who is a president of a movement to make America White again. That is obviously what the core base of his supporters who are on the rise right now, who have felt very embolden, who have felt this is a moment when this rising sort of zero sum idea of progress in the country. If you have progress for people of color, if you have more immigrants coming into the country that somehow that means its going to be at the expense of white people. That idea is at the core of Donald Trumps story about this country and at the core of what you saw on friday and saturday in charlottesville. Ive been so moved by the out pouring of exactly the opposite impression of this country. That diversity is what makes our great. Our people are what makes us strong. We all have to recognize that there are two sides of this story. There are two sides of the national story. One that says that the fight for the confederacy of white iss suprema supremacy, Holding People in bondage is still something that needs to be elevated and celebrated and one that says that we have to keep growing as a country and finally face up to our past so that we can move together as one people into the future. Congressman, you hear heathers very eloquent statement about what we just heard from the president of the united states. As the one who has to work with him in government, your view on what we heard and what it reflects days out from this killing. Thank you, ari. That was an abomination of the press conference. Hes intentionally enabling white issue pr White Supremacists. These are some of his strongest supporters but he shouldnt be playing to them. Theres a side of hay thretred bigotry and theres everybody else. Today we know where the president stands and that is completely unacceptable. Thank you congressman. I hear your call. We often talk politically about what the other side should do. I want to add a former may i dont recall candidate in baltimore. I want to play for you donald trump bringing up david duke in these remarks today. There were Great Questions about whether donald trump knew who david duke was. He said he was just ignorant although other Video Evidence proved he knew him. Here was the president on that today. There was no way of making a correct statement that early. I had to see the facts. David duke was there. Unlike a lot of reporters. I didnt know daifrvid duke was there. I wanted to see the facts. We know that white issue sup is ideology of hatred. When we hear speeches like this today we know hes making sure hes promoting these lies in an effort to get people cover for white supremacy. That cant be okay. Im worried this will enable more people across the country to be hateful and openly and boldly racist like we saw in charlottesville. The david duke comment here. We dont always make a habit of showing what david duke is saying. It is newsworthy. He responded tonight. Thank you President Trump for your honesty and courage to quote tell the truth about charlottesville and condemn the leftist terrorists in the blm, i think a reference to a group youre associated with, black lives matter. This is so overt. Hes a known leader of the kkk. When hes praising the president for his remarks about race when hes defending white supremacy, thats a problem. Im hopeful this does not encourage people to be more hateful and openly racists. These statements are turoubling at best. Congressman, i want to play the other charges the president levelled. The country has spent a few days not just the Political Part of the country but ceos, business leaders, Civic Leaders talking about what is the necessary requisite for a president. Not something that, according to authorities was blurry. Now im going to play this new sound, new remarks from the president trying to apportion the blame to what he calls the altleft. What about the altleft that came charging at the altright. Do they have any semblance of guilt . Let me ask you this. What about the fact they came charging with clubs in their hands swinging clubs. Do they have any problem . I think they do. You had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. Nobody wants to say that. Ill say it right now. You had a group on the other side that came charging in without a permit and they were very, very violent. Congressman, your response. Keep in mind it was a White Supremacists that killed a young woman, not the other way around. It is not equivalent to put the kkk and nazis against other groups. These are hate groups. These are groups that have terrorized americans throughout our history. The president needs to condemn them. By trying to say all sides are the same, he is enabling them. Thats whats so disturbing them. This has got to stop. Were just getting into our news room a lot of reaction to the president s latest remarks. From what i can tell, a lot of folks here in political and Civic Leadership believe its the worst thing hes said about this tragic incident. Democratic governor of virginia saiding quote neonazis klanmen came heavily armed looking for a fight. One of them murdered a woman in domestic terrorism. Two of our finest officers were killed in tragic accident and here addressing the president he said this was not both sides. I think thats the kind of more clarity we need to see right now. I really do commend the governor and many other people, including some republicans finally who have been willing to stand up and say that this is evil. This leading cause of domestic terrorism on u. S. Soil is from White Supremacists fringe groups. The inability of donald trump to distance himself really its shocking to our political system and our Economic System and to the moral fabric of our country. It shouldnt be surprising because this is who he has been from the beginning of his campaign. From the moment he walked into public life by being the most visible and loud birther. Far right Conspiracy Theory to undermine the citizenship of our first africanamerican president. This question is now who are we as americans. Who are the people in congress who have the only authority to stop this person who is in the white house from continuing to im afraid really bring the country to the brink of a level of violence that we havent seen from White Supremacists who feel they are losing their country and that is exactly what donald trump is saying do them, has been saying throughout his campaign. Youre losing your country. You have to take it back. Men with ar15 and ak47 were armed in charlottesville for that reason. Were reeling from a situation where this killing took place. The authorities will determine whether they can uphold the seconddegree murder charge. A new tweet from paul ryan. We must be clear. White supremacy is repulsive. The bigotry is counter to all this country stands for. There can be no moral basic amb. I want to add in howard dean. I would like your vus aiews, an ill throw one more piece of reporting. Nbc confirms from a senior white house official that these remarks were not supposed to be part of any q and a today. That is relevant not because of the political gamesmanship that goes up to setting up a press event because it goes back to the big question of whether were hearing the real donald trump. Im not entirely sure there is a real donald trump. I think this guy is deeply ill. I really do. Hes completely out of control. He has no consistency from one day to another. Were ka were a country without a president. I think well rise to the occasion. Its a very difficult situation. This is not a guy who understands anything about people. Its not a guy who understands anything about the foreign policy. This is a problem. This is the first time probably since Andrew Johnson that we really havent had any kind of a capable president. Congressman, do you echo that or do you think part of the problem is President Trump seems to no no boundaries. I believe we have in our control room some of the footage and the photograph of the general john kelly who is expected to be some sort of source of discipline but has not yet been that way. Theres a photo of him behind the stage during what was supposed to be there. There it is him with his arms folded, if you want to read the body language, you can read it f for yourself at home whether he looks like something this is the right call. Ka congressman, is this a managerial issue or do you think the president to double down on what he sees as an equivalence between the people who perpetrated violence and those peaceful or victims, is this something that hobbles the president . Every now and then we see glimpses of the real donald trump when hes not being constrained by his handlers such as today and when he tweets by himself. Its horrifying. We can tell him views are much closer to nazis and the kkk and White Supremacists than to every day normal americans. John kelly can do all he wants but when donald trump goes unhinged, the American People see who he really is. We can keep shuffling staff around at the white house. Its not going to change because the president is at the very top. Thats with the president. He hope he changes. I dont think thats going to happen. Whats going on is deeply disturbing. Thank you for joining us. Ahead, President Trumps comments on these confederate statues and how he dug in and seemed to draw moral equivalence between Thomas Jefferson and leaders of the confederacy. We have a historical perspect e perspective. If you missed it, we are going to show for confection the remarks from the president here. A turning point in his reaction to this what many have called domestic terror. Youre watching the beat on msnbc. Liberty mutual stood with me when i was too busy with the kids to get a repair estimate. I just snapped a photo and got an estimate in 24 hours. My Insurance Company definitely doesnt have that. You can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™ Liberty Mutual insurance. A penny its ourr back to school one cent event at Office Depot Office Max. Notebooks one cent rulers, glue and 12pack pencils all one cent each hurry to Office Depot Office Max taking care of business when i feel controlled by frequent, unpredictable abdominal pain or discomfort and diarrhea. 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President trump spoke today with new and probably his most extensive comments on the controversial statues devoted to a confederate leader that ignited the protests. It was charlottesville official city plan to remove this statue that drew White Supremacists to that city. It was at the statue where they carried on friday carrying those infamous torches before marching through the university of virginia campus. You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down, to them, a very important statue and renaming of mar park. You had a lot of people there to innocently protest. I dont know if you know, they had a permit. The other group didnt have a permit. They may have had a permit to gather. They did not have a permit to kill. It was extraordinary here just moments ago watching President Trump saying that some of those marchers were there to innocently protest when we know what happened. Then he took this argument further delving deeper into the academic debate about this history or historical revisionism. He brought up the Founding Fathers and their role this american history. Many of those people were there to protest the taking down of the statue of robert e. Lee. This week its robert e. Lee. I notice that Stonewall Jackson is coming down. I wonder is it George Washington next week and is it Thomas Jefferson the week after. You really do have to ask yourself where does it stop. George washington was a slave owner. Was George Washington a slave owner. Will George Washington now lose his status. Are we going to take down excuse me. Are we going to take down statues to George Washington . How about Thomas Jefferson . What do you think of Thomas Jefferson . Do you like him . I love him be. He was major slave owner. Are we going to take down his . Its fine. Youre changing history. Youre changing culture. Changing culture. That was where Donald Trumps presentation landed on today. Igniting controversies all of this is significant because these fights over history are not about the past. They are also about the future. They dont appear to be going away. With me is the new yorker cobb who has written about charlottesville and the former may mayoral candidate of baltimore. When you hear this president go down that road of saying that, to him, robert e. Lee is maybe like George Washington and a few days out of these deaths his focus is on the statues and not the real people. The people who lost their lives in america this week. What do you think . First off i dont think this is Donald Trumps thinking. Hes never been someone who displayed a great deal of interest in history. I think this is a conversation, i dont know who it is that is in his ear. He doesnt even express the ability to countenance that maybe slavery should tarnish the representations of these individuals. My colleague just put out a book recently about George Washingtons pursuit of a run away slave. A woman he pursued for all o