micdotcom:

5 takeaways from Trump’s off-the-rails presser on Charlottesville violence

• The “real Donald Trump” showed up on Tuesday
  
• Trump finally named the hate groups responsible for Saturday’s violence on Monday — but he seemed to show his real feelings on the Charlottesville rally at the Tuesday presser.
• Trump echoed his “cherish our history” comment from Saturday — which many interpreted as a racist dogwhistle — by stating that “you’re changing history and you’re changing the culture” by removing Confederate monuments.
• Trump’s remarks spark outrage on “many sides”
  
• Trump’s flip-flop on Tuesday drew immediate outrage from politicians, commentators and Americans on “many sides” of the political spectrum.
• The comments were celebrated by white supremacists
  
• While the president’s latest remarks were met with outrage by both Republicans and Democrats, the comments were cheered by the white nationalists, including David Duke and Richard Spencer.
• The president goes rogue…again
  
• The press gathering was originally convened for Trump to announce an executive order aimed at speeding up the permitting process for infrastructure projects.
• Instead, Trump made more improvised comments on Charlottesville — apparently the second time now that he’s done so.
• Is this a defining moment in Trump’s presidency?
  
• That Trump essentially defended neo-Nazis and white supremacists will represent a defining moment in Trump’s presidency, said Laurence Tribe, a professor of constitutional law at Harvard University. Read more (8/15/17 8 PM)