Writers Guild of America East Urges President Trump to Condemn White Supremacy
The Writers Guild of America East has issued a strong condemnation of Saturday’s violence in Charlottesville, Va., and urged President Donald Trump to condemn white nationalism.
The New York-based WGA East, which represents about 4,000 writers, issued the statement in the wake of the death of a 32-year-old woman after a car plowed into a crowd. At least 30 others were injured as white nationalists and counter-protesters clashed over the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee at a “Unite the Right” rally.
The event had drawn the members of the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis, as well as movement leaders including David Duke and Richard Spencer.
Governor Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency and the National Guard joined local police in clearing the area. Trump, speaking at a veterans’ event at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., described the situation as “the terrible events unfolding in Charlottesville, Virginia.”
Trump blamed “hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides” but did not single out the white nationalists — leading to the WGA East’s pointed criticism.
“To proclaim that white people are superior to anyone else for any reason or that violence in defense of such a hateful notion is repugnant and intolerable,” the guild said. “The American people do not want neo-Nazis and Klansmen to dictate policy to the White House. We believe the time has come time to put an end to the vile narrative that on Saturday cost a life in Virginia and wounded many more. President Trump must stand up and directly condemn white supremacy and the domestic terrorism it engenders.”
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