Former President Donald Trump downplayed the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, against the backdrop of the mass college demonstrations over the war in Gaza.
“Crooked Joe Biden would say, constantly, that he ran because of Charlottesville. Well, if that’s the case, he’s done a really terrible job because Charlottesville is like a ‘peanut’ compared to the riots and anti-Israel protests that are happening all over our Country, RIGHT NOW. … And it’s Crooked’s fault because he sends the wrong message every single time,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday.
“The fact is that Crooked Joe Biden HATES Israel and Hates the Jewish people,” he said. “The problem is that he HATES the Palestinians even more, and he just doesn’t know what to do!?!?”
The 2017 “Unite the Right” rally was sparked by Charlottesville’s decision to remove the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Protesters chanted antisemitic phrases and carried tiki torches. Fights broke out after opposing protesters showed up. One woman died after a car plowed into a crowd. Two state troopers died after a helicopter that was monitoring the incident crashed.
Mr. Trump was quoted as saying “very fine people” were on both sides of the protests, but he actually said, “I think there is blame on both sides” for the violence.
President Biden condemned the antisemitism expressed at the current protests, but also denounced “those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.”
The former president’s post comes as hundreds of university students across the country have participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, including at Columbia University and the University of Southern California. The students call for their schools to cut ties with Israeli entities.
Mr. Biden signed a measure Wednesday that sends money to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, with some of the funds for Israel reserved for aid for Palestinians.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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