A Republican congressman questioned why liberals haven’t condemned violence from Black Lives Matter and Antifa, in light of outrage from the left over President Donald Trump’s statement on the Charlottesville, Va. riots
North Carolina Rep. Robert Pittenger questioned why there was such outrage over Trump’s blaming both sides for violence during a white supremacist rally in a guest appearance Tuesday on WFNC’s “Good Morning Fayetteville.”
“You look at the actions of Black Lives Matter and people like Al Sharpton who have not condemned it — we never heard President Obama condemn the violence of Black Lives Matter,” Pittenger said on the show. “And so it’s a bit disingenuous to me that so much pressure and criticism has been put on President Trump for what he didn’t say, and yet when these things happen on the other side, there’s silence. Yes you need to call both of them out.”
Trump faced a lot of criticism for his reluctance to explicitly call out white supremacists and neo-Nazis after a white supremacist rally devolved into violence two weeks ago, leading to the death of Heather Heyer. Trump did not condemn white supremacists specifically until a day after the riots.
In response to the host questioning whether Pittenger was comparing Black Lives Matter to the KKK, Pittenger responded by saying “hate comes in many forms.”
“Hate in all forms is wrong…are we justified to give a pass to ‘Antifa,’ who promote violence, and instigators?” Pittenger continued.
Pittenger later clarified hat he wasn’t trying to compare Black Lives Matter to the KKK, but to point out that the group’s actions are often given a pass.
“While I have condemned white supremacists, I made no direct connection between Black Lives Matter and KKK,” he told McClatchy. “However, there is the reality of hate and violence with Black Lives Matter and Antifa, and why should they be given a pass?”
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