McCain, Flake criticize President Trump’s comments on Charlottesville

PHOENIX — President Donald Trump commented Tuesday on the violence in Charlottesville, saying “there is blame on both sides.” Arizona Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake responded.

There's no moral equivalency between racists & Americans standing up to defy hate& bigotry. The President of the United States should say so

— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) August 16, 2017

We can't accept excuses for white supremacy & acts of domestic terrorism. We must condemn. Period.

— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) August 15, 2017

At the news conference Tuesday, Trump’s insistence appeared to once again equate the actions of white supremacist groups and those protesting them.

“There are two sides to a story,” he said.

Trump was asked a question regarding McCain during the conference and did not hold back his frustration.

“Senator McCain? You mean the one who voted against ‘Obamacare’?” Trump said. “You mean Senator McCain who voted against us getting good health care?”

Trump later commented again on health care and McCain.

“We came very close with health care. Unfortunately, John McCain decided to vote against it at the last minute,” Trump said. “You’ll have to ask John McCain why he did that. But we came very close to health care. We will end up getting health care, but we’ll get the infrastructure. And actually, infrastructure is something that I think we’ll have bipartisan support on. I actually think Democrats will go along with the infrastructure.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Related

Thunderstorms outside Valley bring dust, winds to Phoenix metro areaPolice investigating homicide after man dies being detained during southeast Phoenix fightMotorcyclist critically hurt after crash involving car in west PhoenixApache Junction officer resigns after misusing Flock cameras for personal reasonsMan injured in early morning shooting in north PhoenixHeidi’s Village launches pilot program to find homes for long-stay shelter dogs