AP Photo/Evan Vucci
President Donald Trump in the White House.
Speaking from the White House, Trump said those who committed "racist violence" at a white nationalist protest over the weekend would be held accountable by law enforcement.
"As I said on Saturday, we condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence," Trump said. "It has no place in America."
He added moments later: "Racism is evil, and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and others hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans."
The president also noted that he met with FBI director Chris Wray and Jeff Sessions about the criminal investigation into a driver who rammed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing a 32-year-old woman, Heather Heyer.
Trump was heavily criticized by members of both parties after his statement on Saturday offered no specific condemnation of neo-Nazis, instead denouncing the violence on "many sides." Some white supremacists online cheered Trump's statement on Saturday for its ambiguity.
Several members of his administration such as Vice President Mike Pence and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster offered more explicit statements, while the White House communications office issued a number of statements on background justifying the president's initial hesitance to single out neo-Nazis specifically.