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Mitt Romney.
"Whether he intended to or not, what he communicated caused racists to rejoice, minorities to weep, and the vast heart of America to mourn," Romney wrote. "His apologists strain to explain that he didn't mean what we heard."
"But what we heard is now the reality, and unless it is addressed by the president as such, with unprecedented candor and strength, there may commence an unraveling of our national fabric."
Romney warned that the "potential consequences" of Charlottesville are "severe in the extreme."
Last weekend, a white supremacist rammed his car into a group of counterprotesters, killing one person and injuring roughly 20 more during days of protests centered on the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
Trump initially blamed "many sides," for the violence before condemning on Monday the racist movements that gathered. But during a Tuesday press conference at Trump Tower that was supposed to focus on infrastructure, Trump reverted to his earlier position, claiming that the "alt-left" was at least partially responsible for the violence as well and wondering whether the counterprotesters have any "semblance of guilt."
The president also said that although "you had some very bad people in that group," you "also had people that were very fine people, on both sides."
"You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down of, to them, a very, very important statue and the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name," he said of "some" of those who were involved in the white nationalists' protest.
The remarks were widely panned on both sides of the aisle, and Trump has since taken to Twitter to say the removal of Confederate monuments is ripping apart the "culture of our great country."
In his Friday statement, Romney called on Trump to "take remedial action in the extreme."
"He should address the American people, acknowledge that he was wrong, apologize," Romney said. "State forcefully and unequivocally that racists are 100% to blame for the murder and violence in Charlottesville. Testify that there is no conceivable comparison or moral equivalency between the Nazis - who brutally murdered millions of Jews and who hundreds of thousands of Americans gave their lives to defeat - and the counter-protestors who were outraged to see fools parading the Nazi flag, Nazi armband and Nazi salute."
"And once and for all, he must definitively repudiate the support of David Duke and his ilk and call for every American to banish racists and haters from any and every association," he continued.
The former Massachusetts governor said the ordeal "is a defining moment for" Trump.
"But much more than that, it is a moment that will define America in the hearts of our children," he continued. "They are watching, our soldiers are watching, the world is watching. Mr. President, act now for the good of the country."
Romney was staunchly critical of Trump during the presidential campaign. But in 2012, Romney actively sought Trump's endorsement, which he received. After Trump won the November election, Romney was considered a frontrunner to be his secretary of state, and Romney dined out with Trump and visited him at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club in hopes of getting the nomination. That nomination eventually went to Rex Tillerson, who was then the CEO of ExxonMobil.
In the immediate aftermath of Trump's Tuesday press conference, Romney tweeted that both sides in Charlottesville were "not the same."
"No, not the same," he wrote. "One side is racist, bigoted, Nazi. The other opposes racism and bigotry. Morally different universes."
Read Romney's full statement:
"I will dispense for now from discussion of the moral character of the president's Charlottesville statements. Whether he intended to or not, what he communicated caused racists to rejoice, minorities to weep, and the vast heart of America to mourn. His apologists strain to explain that he didn't mean what we heard. But what we heard is now the reality, and unless it is addressed by the president as such, with unprecedented candor and strength, there may commence an unraveling of our national fabric."
"The leaders of our branches of military service have spoken immediately and forcefully, repudiating the implications of the president's words. Why? In part because the morale and commitment of our forces - made up and sustained by men and women of all races - could be in the balance. Our allies around the world are stunned and our enemies celebrate; America's ability to help secure a peaceful and prosperous world is diminished. And who would want to come to the aid of a country they perceive as racist if ever the need were to arise, as it did after 9/11?"
"In homes across the nation, children are asking their parents what this means. Jews, blacks, Hispanics, Muslims are as much a part of America as whites and Protestants. But today they wonder. Where might this lead? To bitterness and tears, or perhaps to anger and violence?"
"The potential consequences are severe in the extreme. Accordingly, the president must take remedial action in the extreme. He should address the American people, acknowledge that he was wrong, apologize. State forcefully and unequivocally that racists are 100% to blame for the murder and violence in Charlottesville. Testify that there is no conceivable comparison or moral equivalency between the Nazis - who brutally murdered millions of Jews and who hundreds of thousands of Americans gave their lives to defeat - and the counter-protestors who were outraged to see fools parading the Nazi flag, Nazi armband and Nazi salute. And once and for all, he must definitively repudiate the support of David Duke and his ilk and call for every American to banish racists and haters from any and every association."
"This is a defining moment for President Trump. But much more than that, it is a moment that will define America in the hearts of our children. They are watching, our soldiers are watching, the world is watching. Mr. President, act now for the good of the country."