Trump response to racist rally ‘wasn’t fine,’ says US ambassador to Israel

Speaking with a reporter at a ceremony marking the arrival of 16 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft purchased by El Al at Ben-Gurion Airport, David Friedman, Trump’s Israel ambassador, said the president is doing a good job but is treated unfairly by the media and should be given a chance.

Asked, however, if he agreed with Trump’s statement after the August 12 Charlottesville rally, where white supremacists marched, chanting racist and anti-Semitic slogans, and which ended with the death of a 32-year-old counter-protester, Friedman said, “I think the reaction wasn’t fine, but, you know, I’d rather talk about Boeing today.”

השגריר שטראמפ מינה לישראל דיוויד פרידמן אומר ל @NeriaKraus ב”הכל כלול” שתגובת הנשיא לאירועים בשרלוטסוויל לא הייתה בסדר. @sivanhakolkalul pic.twitter.com/4IPH5HPxHO

— נדב איל Nadav Eyal (@NadavEyalDesk) August 23, 2017

Trump blamed “both sides” for the violence in his initial statement, including the “alt-right and the alt-left.” The reaction across the Jewish community was overwhelmingly critical. Most felt he should have included a swift, clear condemnation of the neo-Nazi marchers.

The next day, Trump slammed the White Supremacists, KKK and neo-Nazis, saying hatred has no place in America, although he stood by his statement blaming both sides. At a press conference that followed, he said there were also “very fine people” on both sides, which further infuriated the community.

BoeingCharlottesvilleDavid FriedmanEl Al