Members: Charlottesville remarks a “moral outrage”
DECATUR, GA – Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) today joined Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and 75 other members of Congress to introduce a resolution censuring Donald Trump for the comments he made this week comparing counter protestors with neo-Nazis and white supremacists.
“Tuesday’s comments from President Trump that compared counter protestors with neo-Nazis and white supremacists – and doubling down that there were ‘very fine people’ among the hate groups – should be met with censure proceedings in the House of Representatives,” said Johnson. “President Trump’s intentional and not-so subtle appeals to the sentiments of racists before, during and after the election makes him directly responsible for the empowered emergence of in-your-face racism that has no place in America.”
The resolution both censures and condemns Trump for his inadequate response to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 12, 2017, including his failure to immediately name and denounce the white supremacist groups responsible for the domestic terrorism, and urges Trump to fire any and all White House advisors who counseled him to cater to the alt-Right movement in the United States.
Nadler, Watson Coleman, and Jayapal issued the following joint statement:
“The President’s remarks following the violence in Charlottesville over the weekend are a moral outrage. Refusing to completely and unambiguously denounce white supremacist groups and individuals provides encouragement for their bigoted, nationalist ideology and policies. This is not the position of the United States government, and we must send a clear message to President Trump that his comments are not only wrong, but an affront to the moral convictions and ideals of this country. History will remember how we responded, not just in tweets and prepared statements, but through action and a unified voice. It is incumbent on all Members, from all parties, to not only condemn the President’s remarks, but to issue this censure of the President for the way he has represented our country and constitution.”
###
