Edition · August 12, 2017
Trump’s Charlottesville Damage Control Falls Apart
A violent white nationalist rally in Virginia forced Trump into a day of half-statements, awkward spin, and instant backlash from inside and outside his own party.
Saturday brought the kind of Trump-world mess that can’t be shrugged off as mere trolling: a deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, an initially muddled response from the president, and a fast-growing bipartisan backlash over his refusal to plainly name the extremists at the center of it. The fallout was immediate, with Republicans, Democrats, and even members of Trump’s own family moving faster and clearer than he did. ([govinfo.gov](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/DCPD-2017DIGEST/pdf/DCPD-2017DIGEST.pdf))
Closing take
August 12 was one of those days when Trump’s instinct for vagueness stopped being a communication strategy and started looking like a political liability. The damage was already visible by nightfall, and it was only going to get worse once the television circuit and Sunday shows got hold of it. ([govinfo.gov](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/DCPD-2017DIGEST/pdf/DCPD-2017DIGEST.pdf))
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Charlottesville muddle
Confidence 5/5
★★★★★Fuckup rating 5/5
Five-alarm fuckup
A deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville put Trump on the spot, and his first public response on August 12 landed as evasive, delayed, and politically poisonous. The statement condemned violence in broad terms but did not directly call out the racist groups at the center of the event, triggering immediate criticism from lawmakers and allies alike. ([govinfo.gov](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/DCPD-2017DIGEST/pdf/DCPD-2017DIGEST.pdf))
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Awkward signing
Confidence 5/5
★★★★☆Fuckup rating 4/5
Serious fuckup
Trump’s appearance at a veterans bill signing in Bedminster became an awkward stage for his Charlottesville remarks, with reporters pressing him on white supremacy as he tried to move on. The event underscored how badly the White House had misjudged the optics of the day, and it handed critics a fresh image of a president ducking a direct answer. ([washingtonpost.com](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-confronts-backlash-over-trumps-remarks-on-charlottesville/2017/08/13/de027622-8036-11e7-ab27-1a21a8e006ab_story.html?tid=a_inl))
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GOP distance
Confidence 4/5
★★★★☆Fuckup rating 4/5
Serious fuckup
The first wave of backlash did not come only from Democrats. By the end of the day, Republicans including Speaker Paul Ryan were publicly condemning the hate on display, and even some GOP figures were pressing Trump to name the violence for what it was. ([cbsnews.com](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-condemns-all-that-hate-stands-for-after-white-nationalist-rally-in-charlotte/))
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