I was appalled to read the letter ("American Values," Aug. 30) by a group of Democrat politicians, libeling Donald Trump. No fair-minded person could honestly construe anything Mr. Trump said as a "defense of Nazism."
Mr. Trump's initial response was: "We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides." Who but an actual fascist could disagree?
Trump then re-stated: “Racism is evil — and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans.” No honest person — politician or not — could interpret this as support of Nazism.
As to the facts in Charlottesville, many of the original protestors were not neo-Nazis or Klansmen, but simply there to protest the removal of Robert E. Lee's statue from the park named after him. Similarly, not all the counter-protestors were club-wielding, rock-throwing antifa — some just believed the statue should be removed. So again, Mr. Trump was undeniably correct that some [not all] on both sides were fine people.
It's hard to avoid the conclusion that the Democrat politicians who signed the defamatory letter to the Connection are primarily interested in fomenting disunity and hate by hyping fears of neo-Nazis among the voters.
Michael Crawford
Great Falls
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