The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
“America’s leaders must honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy, which run counter to the American ideal that all people are created equal,” Frazier said.
“As CEO of Merck and as a matter of personal conscience, I feel a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism.”
Trump was quick to lash out at Frazier’s move.
“Now that Ken Frazier of Merck Pharma has resigned from President’s Manufacturing Council, he will have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!” the president said on Twitter.
– ‘Dangerous fringe groups’ –
On Sunday, the White House and top administration officials strove to defend the president.
“The president said very strongly in his statement yesterday that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry and hatred,” the White House said in a statement.
“Of course that includes white supremacists, KKK, neo-Nazi and all extremist groups.”
On a visit to Colombia, Vice President Mike Pence said: “These dangerous fringe groups have no place in American public life and in the American debate, and we condemn them in the strongest possible terms.”
Pence also defended Trump, saying the president “clearly and unambiguously condemned the bigotry, violence and hatred” on display in Charlottesville.
The Charlottesville mayor, Michael Signer, a Democrat, however laid much of the blame for the violence directly at the president’s feet, saying on CBS that Trump had created an atmosphere of “coarseness, cynicism (and) bullying.”
Of the 19 people injured on Saturday, 10 remained hospitalized in good condition and nine had been released, the University of Virginia Health System said.
Two state police officers involved in the law enforcement deployment for the rally also died Saturday in a helicopter crash.
Trump faced criticism during last year’s presidential campaign for failing to quickly reject a vow of support from a former Ku Klux Klan leader, David Duke, though he eventually did so. Duke attended Saturday’s rally.
The president has long had a following among white supremacist groups attracted to his nationalist rhetoric on immigration and other hot-button issues.
