A top Democratic group is running a chilling ad linking Trump to white supremacists
Bridge Project, the non-profit research arm of Democratic-aligned super PAC American Bridge, released a report called "Uniting The Right: The Trump Administration And White Supremacy," which lays out instances in which members of Trump's administration took actions that made them, according to the group, "white supremacist sympathizers."
The report singles out 14 administration officials such as chief strategist Steve Bannon, noting his leadership of Breitbart News and praise by many far right groups, as well as Attorney General Jeff Sessions' previous racially charged statements, which he has repeatedly denied.
The report corresponded with video that shows footage of neo-Nazis and white supremacists at a violent protest in Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend.
The images are set to Trump's comments at a press conference on Tuesday in which he defended some people at the white nationalist protest, saying "not all of those people" were neo-Nazis.
"They didn't put themselves down as neo-Nazis," Trump said. "And you had some very bad people in that group. But you also had people that were very fine people on both sides."
Jessica Mackler, the president of American Bridge, said that Trump's response to Charlottesville was "entirely predictable" given his past statements detailed in the report.
"What hasn't been receiving enough attention is how these bigoted views have hijacked the Executive Branch in an unprecedented fashion ever since Trump took office," Mackler said.
"Trump has empowered hate groups and given their beliefs a platform through the federal government, and that cannot stand. Our report shines a bright light on the culture of bigotry and hate that Donald Trump has cultivated across the highest levels of our government. The public deserves to know the truth."