Verdict: Fake News
Fact Check: Did Trump Call White Supremacists “Very Fine People”?
The claim that Donald Trump called white supremacists “very fine people” is misleading and has been widely debunked. This narrative stems from his comments following the events at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017. While Trump did use the phrase “very fine people,” the context of his statement was deliberately misrepresented, as he explicitly condemned neo-Nazis and white supremacists in the same remarks.
Claim
Donald Trump called white supremacists “very fine people” in response to the violence at the Charlottesville rally.
Fact-Check Breakdown
The Origin of the Claim
The claim stems from remarks made by Trump on August 15, 2017, during a press conference following the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The rally attracted white supremacist groups, counter-protesters, and individuals protesting the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Tragically, a counter-protester was killed when a white supremacist drove his car into a crowd.
In his comments, Trump mentioned that there were “very fine people on both sides,” leading to accusations that he was equating white supremacists with peaceful protesters. However, critics often omit the context of this statement.
The Event
The Unite the Right rally took place in Charlottesville to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. It drew white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and other extremist groups, who clashed with counter-protesters. The violence escalated tragically when a car was driven into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one person and injuring several others.
Trump’s Initial Comments: August 12, 2017
Following the violence, President Trump held a press conference in which he condemned violence “on many sides.” This comment was met with backlash for not explicitly singling out the white supremacist groups responsible for the chaos.o were there to peacefully protest the removal of the Confederate statue, not extremists.
Clarification: August 15, 2017 Press Conference
On August 15, Trump further clarified his remarks in a second press conference, saying:
“You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down of, to them, a very, very important statue, and the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name.”
However, in the same statement, Trump explicitly stated:
“I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and white nationalists because they should be condemned totally.”
Trump drew a distinction between peaceful protestors who were there to defend or oppose the removal of Confederate monuments and violent extremist groups like neo-Nazis and white supremacists.
Fact-Check Conclusion: Fake News and Misrepresentation
The claim that Trump called white supremacists “very fine people” is false. While Trump’s initial comments on the violence in Charlottesville were vague and drew criticism, he later clarified his position, stating that his remark about “very fine people” applied to peaceful protestors on both sides of the debate over Confederate statues. He specifically condemned neo-Nazis and white supremacists multiple times.
This misrepresentation has been used frequently for political purposes, but when reviewing Trump’s full statements, it is clear that he never referred to white supremacists as “very fine people.” His comments were directed at individuals peacefully protesting the removal of historical monuments, not the extremist groups involved in the violence.
