Trump Retweets Prominent Alt-Right Conspiracy Theorist After Reluctantly Denouncing White Supremacists
Donald Trump on Monday retweeted a post by prominent alt-right activist Jack Posobiec, despite weathering bipartisan criticism over his tepid response to a white supremacist attack in Charlottesville, Virginia that killed one and wounded 19 others.
Thank you, Mr President http://pic.twitter.com/siKWF7hIrY
— Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) August 15, 2017
Trump took two full days to unequivocally disavow the white supremacists who violently attacked counter-protesters over the weekend. His retweet is unlikely to quell bipartisan concerns that the president is not forceful enough in his condemnation of the white nationalists and neo-Nazis who help elevate him to the presidency.
On Monday, Trump railed against the “fake news media” which he argued is full of “truly bad people” who will never be satisfied by his remarks in Charlottesville. With his decision to retweet Posobiec—who organized the alt-right DeploraBall, discredited anti-Trump protestors by planting a fake “rape Melania” and pushed the bogus “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory (among other controversies)—the president’s “fake news” tweet will likely prove a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Some reactions:
POTUS retweeting one of the Pizzagate conspiracy theorists 2 say he's being treated unfairly in criticism of his response to Charlottesville
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) August 15, 2017
Retweeting a major alt-right activist wouldn’t be the move I’d advise Trump to make post-Charlottesville, but here we are. http://pic.twitter.com/YQaAKlddtt
— Nicole Hemmer (@pastpunditry) August 15, 2017
The president is sitting up at home after 11, retweeting an alt-right conspiracy theorist defending his grudging condemnation of Nazis.
— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) August 15, 2017
Politics is a tiny world. http://pic.twitter.com/27jD0d5ufW
— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) August 15, 2017
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