Leftist 'fact-checker' admits truth about what Trump said of neo-Nazis
For seven years, a long list of leftist "fact-checkers" have claimed that President Donald Trump called neo-Nazis "very fine people." Chuck Schumer repeated it on the Senate floor. Joe Biden launched a presidential campaign based on the now-debunked allegation.
Now Snopes has broken ranks, admitting it was a made-up charge.
The truth is that Trump said there were "very find people, on both sides" of the dispute which at the time involved leftist demands that statues of and references to some of America's historic figures be destroyed because they do not align with today's leftist values. Specifically, some of the icons that were condemned were heroes, to the South, in the Civil War.
A riot developed when protesters and counterprotesters arrived in Charlottesville, Virginia, and clashed over the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Trump, commenting on those developments, said:
But you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides. You had people in that group — excuse me, excuse me, I saw the same pictures as you did — 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. George Washington was a slave owner. Was George Washington a slave owner? So will George Washington now lose his status, are we gonna take down — excuse me — are we gonna take down statues of George Washington? How about Thomas Jefferson? What do you think of Thomas Jefferson? You like him? Okay good. Are we gonna take down the statue? Cause he was a major slaveowner. Now are we gonna take down his statue? So you know what? It's fine. You're changing history, you're changing culture, and you had people — and I'm not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists, because they should be condemned totally. But you had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists, okay? And the press has treated them absolutely unfairly. Now, in the other group also, you had some fine people, but you also had troublemakers, and you see them come with the black outfits, and with the helmets, and the baseball bats, you got a lot of bad people in the other group too.
For years, Trump's comments were deliberately mischaracterized, as Sen. Chuck Schumer did during a rant on the Senate floor:
Nobody who meets with antisemites like Nick Fuentes, called white supremacists in Charlottesville “very fine people,” disgustingly said Hitler “did some good things” has any right to lecture Jewish Americans on their personal political beliefs
Everyone must condemn Trump’s words pic.twitter.com/EJgRLIr1mC
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 19, 2024
Now Snopes is confirming the truth about Trump's statements.
It took them 7 years to admit it but better late than never pic.twitter.com/jTER45CcU0
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 23, 2024
Fox News reported that Joe Biden "was chief among those critics, citing the supposed incident as a mean reason for launching his 2020 campaign."
In fact, when Biden unleased his 2020 campaign announcement video, the first words he said in it were "Charlottesville, Virginia," a series of allegations that Snopes now has conceded is false.
Biden, in fact, falsely claimed, "The President of the United States assigned a moral equivalence between those spreading hate and those with the courage to stand against it. And in that moment, I knew the threat to this nation was unlike any I’d ever seen in my lifetime."
Snopes' new explanation aligns with the explanations that have come from the Trump campaigns and Trump's White House for years.
A report at BizPacReview slammed Biden for repeating the lie over and over, "as recently as just a few weeks ago."
The report commented, "Not that it matters. As has been well established by now, the media will twist the truth at their pleasing to support an anti-Trump narrative they feel morally obligated to advance."
Social media commenters joined in with:
"Does this mean Joe Biden has to drop out now since this was the main reason for him running?"
And, "Joe Biden still uses this line."
For 25 years, WND has boldly brought you the news that really matters. If you appreciate our Christian journalists and their uniquely truthful reporting and analysis, please help us by becoming a WND Insider!
Content created by the WND News Center is available for re-publication without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@wndnewscenter.org.
SUPPORT TRUTHFUL JOURNALISM. MAKE A DONATION TO THE NONPROFIT WND NEWS CENTER. THANK YOU!