Two days after the deadly Charlottesville protests on Monday, August 14th, Trump stated, "Racism is evil and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, Neo-Nazis, & White Supremacists." On Tuesday, August 15th, Trump held a press conference at Trump Tower. In reference to the event, he stated, "I think there's blame on both sides. And I have no doubt about it, and you don't have any doubt about it either." Not only were these two statements contradictory to each other but they also came too late after the event occurred where three people were killed and several others injured. Although the first statement came too late in the wake of the events, it seemed as though he was finally condemning racists and racism. However, the second statement he made showed his true colors as commander in chief and reminded us that if we change, we are going to make a change ourselves.

Trump's statement about putting blame on both sides caused negative reactions across social media. To point out the ridiculousness of his statement, one Twitter user said, "Sure, the cancer was aggressive. But the chemotherapy was also very aggressive. There was aggression on both sides." The both sides that Trump is referring are the white supremacists and Neo-Nazis versus the counter-protesters, who were fighting against racism. The white supremacists and Neo-Nazis were the cancer trying to spread and cause havoc and the counter-protestors were the chemotherapy trying to stop them in their path of destruction. There was malicious intent behind the Charlottesville protest that Trump is failing to acknowledge which perpetuates this hateful behavior.

The Charlottesville protests or the "Unite the Right" rally was formed in order to protect the statue of Robert E. Lee, a Confederate general during the Civil War. For white supremacists and Neo-Nazis, this rally was their way of practicing their first amendment rights, which is something that Trump empowers them to do. Throughout his campaign, he spoke bluntly and offensively of people of color and using any means necessary to get rid of them. Trump spoke such hateful words that former Ku Klux Klan leader, David Duke, supported him throughout his campaign run. David Duke was also at the protests and stated, "We are going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump. That’s what we believed in, that’s why we voted for Donald Trump. Because he said he’s going to take our country back." After Trump's statement blaming both sides, David Duke thanked the president on Twitter for being honest and courageous. Trump has perpetuated hate and is being endorsed by hate which has made events like Charlottesville possible. His condemnation of both sides is an insult to all those who are fighting evil and those who died in the line of duty fighting evil.

Events like Charlottesville makes me wonder if our ancestors are turning over their graves. They lived during a time where if a person of color fought back against racism, whether verbally or physically, there is a likely chance she or he would be killed or murdered. It turns out that it can still happen today and the commander in chief will not do anything about. Charlottesville was an unfortunate wake-up call for us to keep fighting against evil and keep our eye on the prize, which is equality for all colors and creeds. Hopefully, we will not need another reminder to keep on keeping on.