Fine People
by Darrin Barker November 30, 2022
“Trump is such a racist! He referred to white supremacists as ‘Very fine people’”
Since August 2017 this slanderous falsehood has been repeated thousands of times by politicians, journalists, and a plethora of other mind-numbed followers of the left. Widely available transcripts and video clearly demonstrate this as disinformation. But that did not stop President Biden from using this left-wing conspiracy theory to kick off his 2020 campaign. The August 15, 2017 press conference did include the words "very fine people", however, no person with any intellectual honesty could believe that Trump were directing this at white supremacists. (Links to both the transcript and video are below)
About 30 seconds and six interruptions later Trump said, "I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists -- because they should be condemned totally." Yet for over five years Trump's specific 'fine people' qualification has not only been ignored - but the exact opposite has been reported as the truth. A disgusting display of the media acting as an arm of the democratic party while using the terrible murder of Heather Heyer as a political tool to 'get Trump'.
Dozens of times President Trump had to shout, “Excuse me, excuse me!” due to repeated interruptions by the Washington Press Corp. From inauguration day on such behavior were commonplace. For those who question the bias of the press just compare any Trump press conference to any during the Biden administration. Contrast between respectful treatment of President Biden and the hostile inquisition of President Trump is astounding.
You will notice Whitehouse correspondents ignoring the Presidents answers. Facts were required before making blanket statements about who were to blame for violence that day. The journalists in the room refused to hear that answer while repeatedly repackaging the same question. Anyone who opposed the removal of statues had to be a white supremacist in the eyes of the press. The Presidents questions about what other statues should be torn down apparently exceeded the comprehension level for any journalists in the room. The level of narrow-minded intolerance demonstrated by a media selected for purpose of finding the truth is stunning. How dare these democrats and journalist preach about 'disinformation'. Disinformation is their own primary political strategy.
To make the exchange easier to read (below) I have trimmed down the August 15, 2017 press conference - removing often repeated Trump comments as he tried to talk over the many interruptions. Not one word has been changed or added. To confirm my accuracy the actual transcript and video are linked below.
Transcript from August 15, 2017
Transcript Summary
Reporter: Let me ask you, Mr. President, it has been forty-eight hours. Why did you wait so long to blast neo-Nazis?
Trump: You don’t make statements that direct unless you know the facts. It takes a little while to get the facts. I don’t want to go quickly and just make a statement for the sake of making a political statement. I want to know the facts.
Reporter: So you why did you not condemn white supremacists?
Trump: I brought it up. We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence. It has no place in America.
Reporter: (Inaudible)
Trump: When I make a statement, I like to be correct. I want the facts. This event just happened. In fact, a lot of the event didn’t even happen yet, as we were speaking. The young woman, who I hear was a fantastic young woman, her mother wrote me through social media and thanked me for what I said. If the press were honest, the press would also say my statement was very nice.
Reporter: The CEO of Walmart said you missed a critical opportunity to help bring the country together. Did you?
Trump: Not at all. Look, I’ve created over a million jobs since I’m President. The country is booming. The stock market is setting records. We have the highest employment numbers we’ve ever had in the history of our country. We’re doing record business. We have the highest levels of enthusiasm. So the head of Walmart was making a political statement. When I make a statement I have to be sure that the statement is correct. There was no way of making a correct statement that early. I had to see the facts.
Reporter: Nazis were there.
Reporter: David Duke was there.
Trump: I didn’t know David Duke was there. I wanted to see the facts. Everybody said, ‘His statement was beautiful. If he would have made it sooner, that would have been good.’ I couldn’t have made it sooner because I didn’t know all of the facts. Frankly, people still don’t know all of the facts.
Reporter: Was this terrorism?
Trump: Well, I think the driver of the car is a disgrace to himself, his family, and this country. You can call it terrorism. You can call it murder. You can call it whatever you want. This gets into legal semantics. The driver of the car is a murderer. And what he did was a horrible, horrible, inexcusable thing.
Reporter: Sen. (John) McCain said that the alt-right is behind these attacks.
Trump: I don’t know. I’m sure Senator McCain must know what he’s talking about. But when you say the alt-right, define alt-right to me?
Reporter: Senator McCain defined them as the same group.
Trump: What about the alt-left that came charging in with clubs in their hands? Do they have any semblance of guilt? As far as I’m concerned, that was a horrible, horrible day. I watched the video very closely -- much more closely than you people watched it. You had a group on one side that was bad, and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent.
Reporter: Do you think that what you call the alt-left is the same as neo-Nazis?
Trump: I’ve condemned neo-Nazis. I’ve condemned many different groups. But not all of those people were neo-Nazis. Not all of those people were white supremacists. Many of those people were there because they wanted to protest the taking down of a statue of Robert E. Lee.
Reporter: Should that statue be taken down?
Trump: So this week it’s Robert E. Lee. I noticed that Stonewall Jackson is coming down. I wonder, is it George Washington next week? And is it Thomas Jefferson the week after? You know, you really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop?
Reporter: Should the statues of Robert E. Lee stay up?
Trump: I would say that’s up to a local town, community, or the federal government, depending on where it is located.
Reporter: "How concerned are you about race relations in America? And do you think things have gotten worse or better since you took office?
Trump: I think they’ve gotten better or the same. Look, they’ve been frayed for a long time. And you can ask President Obama about that, because he made many speeches about it. Millions of jobs and companies moving back into our country is going to have a tremendous, positive impact on race relations. What people want is great jobs with good pay, and when they have that, you watch how race relations will be. We’re spending a lot of money on the inner cities. Far more than ever done before. It’s a priority.
Reporter: Mr. President, are you putting what you’re calling the alt-left and white supremacists on the same moral plane?
Trump: I’m not putting anybody on a moral plane. What I’m saying is this: You had a group on one side and you had a group on the other, and they came at each other with clubs -- and it was vicious and it was horrible. And it was a horrible thing to watch.
Reporter: Both sides, sir. You said there was hatred, there was violence on both sides.
Trump: Yes, I think there’s blame on both sides.
Reporter: The neo-Nazis started this. They showed up in Charlottesville to protest.
Trump: You had some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides. You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down a statue and changing the Robert E. Lee park to another name.
Reporter: George Washington and Robert E. Lee are not the same.
Trump: George Washington was a slave owner. So will George Washington now lose his status? Are we going to take down statues to George Washington? How about Thomas Jefferson? What do you think of Thomas Jefferson? You like him?
Reporter: I do love Thomas Jefferson.
Trump: He was a major slave owner. Now, are we going to take down his statues? You’re changing history. You’re changing culture. And you had people -- and I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists -- because they should be condemned totally. But you had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists. Okay? And the press has treated them absolutely unfairly. Now, in the other group also, you had some fine people. But you also had troublemakers, and you see them come with the black outfits and with the helmets, and with the baseball bats. You had a lot of bad people in the other group.
Reporter: Sir, I just didn’t understand what you were saying. You were saying the press has treated white nationalists unfairly? I just don’t understand what you were saying.
Trump: I looked the night before -- there were people protesting very quietly the taking down of the statue of Robert E. Lee. I’m sure in that group there were some bad ones. The following day it looked like they had some rough, bad people -- neo-Nazis, white nationalists, whatever you want to call them. But you had a lot of people in that group that were there to innocently protest. They had a permit. The other group didn’t have a permit. There are two sides to a story. I thought what took place was a horrible moment for our country -- a horrible moment. But there are two sides to the country.
Reporter: Mr. President, have you spoken to the family of the victim of the car attack?
Trump: No, I’ll be reaching out. Thank you, all, very much. Thank you. Thank you.
