Thanks for the link. It's been, what? a year and a half since I listened to that in full.
The 'fine sides' quote has been used as the single most vilifying factor in arguing that Trump is racist and/or supports and is supported by racists and white nationalists. I have said since that day that while I don't believe Trump is racist, that he hasn't done enough to distance himself from that faction.
However, listening to that interview, I think I can make a pretty clear distinction in my head that Trump was almost certainly referring to his opinion that both sides had their complex make-up, and that he was speaking specifically about some people that turned out to support leaving the statues in place.....NOT the most radical white nationalists. We'll never really know, because he skipped countless opportunities since to make his intent crystal clear, but he thrives on surrounding his statements in some ambiguity.
Bottom line, after listening to the news conference after all these months, I think that the true Trump haters may have put too much stock in the 'very fine people' quote.
dstieger wrote:
