https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/15/us/politics/trump-press-conference-charlottesville.html?mcubz=3
What bothered me in particular, is that he said there is blame on both sides. What went on Charlottesville is, at least in the opinion of me, my family and my schoolmates, an act of terrorism. Trump did not call it that. He never acknowledged it as an act of terrorism, nor does he call those involved terrorists despite the fact that is what went down. Perhaps it's because they were white, perhaps he himself didn't want to recognize it as that. However, he did say that he believes there is "blame on both sides" to which I find ridiculous. Clearly, there is a side of people who intended to cause chaos and harm to others. The other side was being targeted, it's not that both sides were very violent it's that one side started the violence and the other side became victims with one person (whose family I pray for) dead.
A 32-year-old woman was killed while walking across the street, Charlottesville Police Chief Al Thomas said. Police were still in the process of notifying her family. (taken from CNN)
“I think there is blame on both sides,” the president said in a combative exchange with reporters at Trump Tower in Manhattan. “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.” (Taken from The New York Times)
Nobody wants to say that because very few people think like that. It is clear to the rest of the world that one side created an uproar and the other was being attacked but apparently he is the only one who does not understand that.
Speaker Paul D. Ryan called white supremacy “repulsive” and said “there can be no moral ambiguity.” Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Republican of Florida, tweeted: “Blaming ‘both sides’ for #Charlottesville?! No.” Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, said white nationalists in Charlottesville were “100% to blame” and wagged his finger at the president for suggesting otherwise. (taken from The New York Times)
His own party is against him, I don't know what else to say. This is probably very messy, I got heated while typing.
Yes, he never explicitly stated Charlottesville was okay. But he hasn't exactly stated it "wasn't okay" either, if anything he doesn't seem to understand what went down, nor does he actually understand the impact of the event and what it says about the country's current state. I have watched the videos, read the interviews of him addressing it. But to me, it appears he doesn't comprehend that some of the things he stated were disrespectful and ignorant to those hurt, especially considering there is now a family in mourning.