Donald Trump on Thursday denounced the pro-Palestinian protests rocking American college campuses, saying the infamous far-right rally in Charlottesville was “nothing” compared to the “level of hate” of the current protests.
“Charlottesville was nothing at all, nothing compared to the level of hate you have here, it’s massive hate,” said the Republican former president, a candidate for the US presidency in the November 5 election.
He was referring to the far-right rally in Virginia in 2017, which began with torch-wielding neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan members marching.
The next day, skirmishes broke out between supporters of supposed white supremacy and anti-racist counter-protesters. A neo-Nazi drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing young Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others.
Then-President Trump had then condemned the violence “on both sides”. He has also been accused of tolerance as a favor to the extreme right.
Demonstrations against the war in the Gaza Strip have been taking place in American universities for days, which were met in many cases with violent interventions by the police. Many politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, condemned the demonstrations, calling them actions of an anti-Semitic nature.
Donald Trump had already criticized the student movement earlier this week, saying on Tuesday, for example, that it involves “very radicalized guys” who want to “dismantle” universities.
The campaign of Democratic President Joe Biden, Donald Trump’s opponent in November, reacted with irony to the Republican’s post, uploading videos of far-right violence in Charlottesville.
The White House, despite several Democrats strongly reacting to the protests, defended the students’ right to free speech.
SOURCE: APE-ME
Tags: Trump compares Gaza protests farright rally Charlottesville
