On Saturday, after a woman was murdered and two police officers died in a helicopter crash at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, President Trump blamed “many sides” for the violence. After being criticized by Democrats and his own party for being unable to distinguish the good guys from the bad, on Tuesday, Trump doubled down on his statement.
“I think there is blame on both sides,” he said in a press conference. “You had a group on one side that was bad. You had a group on the other side that was also very violent. Nobody wants to say that. I’ll say it right now.”
By treating white supremacists and those who oppose their violence and bigotry as equals, Trump both legitimized and strengthened the white supremacist cause. To illustrate Trump’s amoral view of an obviously clear-cut situation, Twitter users have been giving historical conflicts and iconic moments in pop culture the “blame on both sides” treatment.
Pictured: the violent alt-left charging the Nazis during WWII. pic.twitter.com/a6BqW51V8g
— オタク Richie B. (@richiebranson) August 15, 2017
Trump says there is blame on both sides. Trump is wrong. pic.twitter.com/8hw7kePELd
— TDPattillo (@TDPattillo) August 16, 2017
D-Day, June 1944, Allied Forces land at Normandy, where, by @realDonaldTrump's logic, there was blame on both sides for the violence. pic.twitter.com/yT4HRGTRQ0
— Jeffrey Wright (@jfreewright) August 15, 2017
Violence On Both Sides pic.twitter.com/DrnxumTDCk
— Black Girl Nerds (@BlackGirlNerds) August 16, 2017
There was violence on both sides. pic.twitter.com/VMLsRY4wCs
— DEREK DELGAUDIO (@derek_del) August 14, 2017
"Some armed antifa thugs heading to disrupt a peacefully-assembled white nationalist gathering." - Jay Braun pic.twitter.com/Gdp0hecs3w
— Steve Silberman (@stevesilberman) August 15, 2017
There is blame on both sides, Anne Frank was being a very loud and rude houseguest
— Megan Amram (@meganamram) August 15, 2017
There's violence on both sides. The crooked media won't talk about the many fine death eaters. Very unfair! pic.twitter.com/ZHBa1r0rbN
— Rieti Gengo (@RietiGengo) August 17, 2017
Sure, the cancer was aggressive. But the chemotherapy was also very aggressive. There was aggression on both sides
— elan gale (@theyearofelan) August 16, 2017
Donald Trump: "Look, BOTH SIDES ARE BAD– the Nazis who set the house on fire, and the firemen who put it out so violently."
— Top Conservative Cat (@TeaPartyCat) August 16, 2017
NeoNazis: Death to Jews.
— Donald J Orwell (@DonaldJOrwell) August 15, 2017
Counter-protesters: No death to Jews.
Trump: See? Disagreement on both sides.