Donald Trump wades into race controversy again as he slams Republican critics

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump jumped back into the roiling controversy over his response to a fatal rally of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia as he decried the “foolish” removal of Confederate monuments and attacked two Republican senators who criticised him.

In a series of tweets on Thursday, Trump said it was “sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments”. He wrote that history can’t be changed but “you can learn from it” and that “the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!”

He also accused one Republican senator of a “disgusting lie” and plugged a primary opponent of another GOP critic. “Publicity seeking Lindsey Graham falsely stated that I said there is moral equivalency between the KKK, neo-Nazis & white supremacists and people like Ms. Heyer,’’ Trump said on Twitter. “Such a disgusting lie. He just can’t forget his election trouncing. The people of South Carolina will remember!"

He also called Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona “toxic”. Trump’s defiant rebukes came as House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tried to distance themselves from Trump’s remarks blaming both sides in the violence by issuing statements condemning white supremacy.

Neither mentioned the president. None of the most senior GOP leaders in the House or Senate criticised Trump directly or called on him to repudiate his remarks.