Carter Elliot, Staff Columnist~
With the recent tragedies occurring in Charlottesville it is safe to say that the United States has been shaken to its core.
Since Nazis and White Supremacists marched in the streets of Charlottesville, the city and nation have been on high alert. The marchers in Charlottesville were met with countless amounts of protesters creating a chaotic scene.Across the nation, celebrities, congressman, congresswomen and senators have been voicing their strong opinions against this hate occurring in our country. It seems like nearly every person in a position of power in Washington, D.C. called out the hate groups – well, except for one, and unfortunately he currently holds the highest elected office in the United States of America.
President Donald Trump, in several tweets and public announcements, refused to call out by name the hate groups ransacking this beautiful Virginian city, even stating that “both sides” were to blame. He then defended that statement at a political rally in Phoenix, Arizona by dodging the topic at hand and stating “I love all the people of our country.”
On Aug. 27, Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson commented on Trump’s stateme
nts on Charlottesville by stating, “The president speaks for himself,” implying that our President’s statement was not in our nation’s best interests.
With our president’s approval rating hovering around 36 percent, according to the FiveThirtyEight website, one would think that the president would be doing anything to shed a better light on himself to the public.
After these events in Charlottesville, he was handed the opportunity to be a leader for this country and to be the true patriot that the people of the United States deserve. Instead, he tried to appeal to all sides and dodged the topic.
Trump had the opportunity to bring the nation together, and instead we still find ourselves arguing and fighting. This will forever be a stain on his presidential legacy, and I firmly believe that this will always be remembered as what should have been a defining moment in Trump’s Presidency.
