Trump under fire over 'blame on both sides' Charlottesville comment

The United States President Donald Trump insisted on Aug. 15 that left- and right-wing extremists became violent during a weekend rally by white nationalists in Virginia, reigniting a political firestorm over U.S. race relations and his own leadership of a national crisis.

Trump, who drew sharp criticism from Republicans and Democrats for his initial response, reverted on Aug. 15 to his position that both sides were at fault for the violence, a day after bowing to pressure to explicitly condemn the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups.

Appearing angry and irritated, the president maintained that his original reaction was based on the facts he had at the time. In a rowdy exchange with journalists at Trump Tower in New York, Trump made clea that he was fed up with continued questioning about the issue. Blame, he said, belonged on both sides.

"You had a group on one side that was bad, and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. And nobody wants to say that, but I'll say it right now," Trump said, referring to right- and left-wing protesters.

From there, the back and forth with reporters turned tense. 

"Not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me. Not all of those people were white supremacists by any stretch," Trump said of the participants in the deadly protest. 

"There was a group on this side.  You can call them the left ... that came violently attacking the other group. So you can say what you want, but that's the way it is."

As Trump talked, his aides on the sidelines in the lobby stood in silence. Chief of staff John Kelly crossed his arms and stared down at his shoes, barely glancing at the president. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders looked around the...