Donald Trump criticised by Scottish party leaders over Charlottesville remarks

 

DONALD TRUMP has been criticised for not singling out white supremacist groups for criticism following deadly unrest in Virginia.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted:

When the likes of David Duke praise you, you are on the wrong side. There are no 'fine' Nazis. We must all stand firm against far right. https://t.co/usLCb9eCbj

— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) August 16, 2017

Scottish Conservatives leader Ruth Davidson tweeted: “The President of the United States has just turned his face to the world to defend Nazis, fascists and racists. For shame.”

The President of the United States has just turned his face to the world to defend Nazis, fascists and racists. For shame.

— Ruth Davidson (@RuthDavidsonMSP) August 15, 2017

Scottish Green Party Co-convener Patrick Harvie was also quick to condemn Trump.

 

He's every bit the thug we all expected. We must call on all governments to hold him in contempt and stand with the people he threatens. https://t.co/zNYTLhv1xh

— Patrick Harvie ?? (@patrickharvie) August 15, 2017

 

Kezia Dugdale expressed her ‘horror’ at the unfolding events in Charlottesville:

Looking on in abject horror + fear of what happens next. Time for all those with power to condemn this directly + unequivocally to Trump Gov https://t.co/vQrFSeL7nc

— Kezia Dugdale MSP (@kezdugdale) August 15, 2017

While Scottish Liberal democrat leader Willie Rennie shared this video:

 

Thank you, @TerryMcAuliffe, for dragging racists and nazis so hard. You gave the speech Trump should've given. pic.twitter.com/HldzdTHuy2

— shauna (@goldengateblond) August 12, 2017

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said it was “pretty obvious” that neo-Nazis are “bad” while anti-Nazis are “good” after Mr Trump did not condemn far-right demonstrators outright for violence that left a woman dead.

And Prisons Minister Sam Gyimah accused the United States president of failing to “call fascism by its name” for claiming “there is blame on both sides” during ill-tempered exchanges with reporters at Trump Tower on Tuesday.

Mr Trump’s comments appeared to equate the actions of far-right demonstrators with those protesting against them, provoking criticism from both Republicans and Democrats.

The intervention of two Tory ministers puts fresh pressure on Theresa May to cancel the president’s state visit to Britain.

In a tweet apparently aimed at Mr Trump, Mr Javid said: “Neo-Nazis: bad, Anti-Nazis: good, I learned that as a child. It was pretty obvious.”

Mr Gyimah posted: “Words matter. Silence matters. We must call out hate – unambiguously – to preserve the free & tolerant society many have fought & die for.

“The ‘leader of the free world’ loses moral authority when he cannot call fascism by its name.”

It came as a number of Labour MPs called for Mrs May’s offer of a visit with state honours for Mr Trump to be torn up.

Shadow defence secretary Nia Griffith tweeted: “A state visit by #DonaldTrump would shame this country and betray all we stand for. Theresa May should revoke the invitation immediately.”

A state visit by #DonaldTrump would shame this country and betray all we stand for. Theresa May should revoke the invitation immediately.

— Nia Griffith MP (@NiaGriffithMP) August 15, 2017

Violence erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday after a group of far-right extremists gathered to protest a decision to remove a statue of a Confederate general.

Heather Heyer, 32, later died when a car was driven into crowds as anti-fascist demonstrators clashed with the white supremacists.

Mr Trump faced heavy criticism in the immediate wake of the unrest after he said there was blame on “many sides”.

He took two days to condemn the actions of the far-right groups in particular, eventually branding the KKK, neo-Nazis and white supremacists as “repugnant to everything that we hold dear as Americans” in a statement on Monday.

However, during a turbulent press conference at his Manhattan residence on Tuesday, the president appeared to have reverted to his previous position.

He acknowledged there were “some very bad people” among the statue protesters, but added: “You also had people that were very fine people, on both sides”.

In the hours after the comments the hashtag £ImpeachTrump trended worldwide on Twitter, while Labour MPs criticised the president over his renewed stance.

Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner wrote: “Millions of Americans died fighting the Nazis in WW2, my husband’s dad fought alongside them with so many others, POTUS has brought such shame.”

Mrs May has faced repeated criticism over her decision to offer a state visit to her US counterpart shortly after he took office.

However the controversial occasion was reportedly put on hold after Mr Trump grew concerned that he would be greeted by protests on arrival.

Number 10 sources said at the time that no date had been fixed, but officials were believed to be looking at 2018.