The Atlantic

An Indelible Image From Trump's 'On Both Sides' Press Conference

Once again, the chief executive chose his own words over the ones that had been prepared for him.
Source: Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

It read like a poem—or, perhaps, an elegy.

“We
strongest
this egregious
bigotry, and
no place in”

And there the words ended. They were snippets of the text of the statement President Trump had delivered on Saturday, reacting to the events that had taken place in Charlottesville. “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence,” he said—before adding, : “On many sides, on many sides.” They were words that the president had , when he made, under pressure from his colleagues and from American citizens, a more expansive statement on Charlottesville. The bigotry on display in that city, he said, , “has no place in America.”

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