'Racism is evil': Donald Trump FINALLY condemns neo-Nazis and white supremacists after three days of silence
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After three days of silence and criticism, Donald Trump finally condemned white supremacists as "criminals and thugs" in an unscheduled statement.
Speaking from the White House, the President said racist violence had "no place in America" and branded racism "evil."
He specifically called out the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and white supremacists for the first time, after days of criticism for failing to do so.
Speaking the morning after the rally, Donald Trump condemned violence "on many sides" at the rally, and refused to answer questions about the far-right and neo Nazi groups' support for his presidency.
One person died and 20 injured at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday, after a man drove a car into a group of anti-fascist protesters.
Far-right protester James Alex Fields Jr, 20, has been charged with second-degree murder following protester Heather Heyer's death.
(Image: AFP)
(Image: REUTERS)
The President's silence led to days of criticism for the President, who was accused of suggesting anti-fascist campaigners were just as bad as the Nazis they were protesting against.
Trump returned to Washington from his New Jersey golf club this morning to take meetings.
He met this morning with FBI director Andrew McCabe and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and announced the Department of Justice had opened a civil rights investigation into the car attack.
Trump said: "To anybody who acted criminally in this weekend's racist violence, you will be held fully accountable. Justice will be delivered.
"As I said on Saturday, we condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence. It has no place in America.
And as I have said many times before, no matter the colour of our skin, we all live under the same laws. We all salute the same great flag. And we are all made by the same almighty god.
(Image: AFP)
(Image: AFP)
"We must love each other, show affection for each other and unite together in condemnation of hatred, bigotry and violence. We must rediscover the bonds of love and loyalty that bring us together as Americans.
"Racism is evil, and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans."
He added: "Those who spread violence in the name of bigotry strike at the very core of America."
He paid tribute to the young woman killed in the attack, Heather Heyer.
"He death fills us with grief," he said. "And we send her family our thoughts, our prayers and our love."
He also paid tribute to the two Virginia state troopers, Jay Cullen and Berke Bates, who died in a helicopter accident while policing the rally.