U.S. President Donald Trump continues to face a barrage of criticism for his contention that both white supremacists and counter-protesters were to blame for the deadly violence that erupted last weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia.
On Wednesday, the president announced that he had dissolved two business advisory committees composed of top American corporate executives, after at least seven CEOs announced they were resigning from the councils because of his remarks.
Trump said that "rather than putting pressure on the businesspeople ... I am ending both. Thank you all!" A day ago, Trump had branded those quitting the panels as "grandstanders" and said they could be easily replaced with more corporate leaders.
In announcing her resignation from Trump's manufacturing jobs initiative before he disbanded it, Campbell's Soup CEO Denise Morrison said: "Racism and murder are unequivocally reprehensible and are not morally equivalent to anything else that happened in Charlottesville. I believe the president should have been - and still needs to be - unambiguous on that point."
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters in Washington, D.C., that he condemns the "hate and violence" displayed on Saturday in Charlottesville, adding, "There is just simply no place for that in our public discourse."
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, speaking at an event in Miami, Florida, said, "In no way can we accept [or] apologize for racism, bigotry, hatred, violence, and those kind of things that too often arise in our country."
Also Wednesday, two former U.S. presidents, George H.W. Bush and his son George W. Bush, the last two Republicans elected to the White House before Trump, said in a joint statement, "America must always reject racial bigotry, anti-Semitism, and hatred in all forms."
The two former presidents added, "As we pray for Charlottesville, we are reminded of the fundamental truths recorded by that city's most prominent citizen in the Declaration of Independence: we are all created equal and endowed by our Creator with unalienable rights," a reference to Thomas Jefferson, one of the country's Founding Fathers. "We know these truths to be everlasting because we have seen the decency and greatness of our country."
President Trump's remarks have been roundly criticized by a broad range of U.S. leaders, including top Republican party officials and business executives. U.S. military commanders spoke out against racism following the death in Charlottesville.
Trump announced Wednesday he will hold a campaign rally next week in Phoenix, Arizona, but the city's mayor said that while the president has the right to stage the event, he hopes Trump will delay the visit.
"I am disappointed that President Trump has chosen to hold a campaign rally as our nation is still healing from the tragic events in Charlottesville," Mayor Greg Stanton said. "If President Trump is coming to Phoenix to announce a pardon for former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, then it will be clear that his true intent is to enflame emotions and further divide our nation."
Arpaio was convicted last month in a federal court for disobeying a judge's order to stop traffic patrols that targeted immigrants. Trump said in an interview this week he was considering pardoning Arpaio, who was one of the speakers at last year's Republican National Convention where the now-president accepted the party's nomination for the November election.
美国维吉尼亚州夏洛茨维尔市上周末爆发致命暴力冲突事件之后，美国总统唐纳德.川普指称白人至上主义示威者和反示威者双方都有过错，川普因此不断受到批评。
至少7名大公司首席执行官因为对川普言论不满而宣布退出总统顾问小组后，川普周三宣布解散由美国企业高管组成的两个顾问委员会“制造业委员会”和“战略与政策论坛”。
川普说， “与其给商界人士压力... 我索性解散这两个委员会。谢谢大家！” 一天前，川普说这些辞职的人是 “哗众取宠”，并且说有很多人可以取代他们。
金宝汤公司首席执行官丹尼丝.莫里森宣布退出川普制造业就业计划理事会时表示：“种族主义和谋杀都是明确必须受到严厉谴责的，而且与发生在夏洛茨维尔市的任何事情无法在道德上相提并论。我相信总统之前就应该而且现在仍必须明确表达这一点。”
美国国务卿蒂勒森在华盛顿告诉记者说，他谴责上周六夏洛茨维尔出现的“仇恨和暴力”。蒂勒森补充说，“这是在我们的公共话语空间里不可以出现的。”
美国司法部长塞申斯在佛罗里达州迈阿密参加一次活动时说：“我们无论如何都不能接受或是为种族主义、偏见、仇恨、暴力寻找借口，但这雷现象往往又会在我们的国家发生。”
美国两位前总统老布什和小布什，也就是川普上任前入主白宫的两位共和党总统，周三发表联合声明说：“美国永远必须抵制种族偏见，反犹太主义，以及任何形式的仇恨。”
这两位美国前总统援引美国开国先驱之一托马斯·杰弗逊的话说， “当我们为夏洛茨维尔市祈祷的同时，由该城市最显要的公民在独立宣言中记录下来的根本真理也提醒着我们：我们皆是生而平等，享有造物主赋予我们不可剥夺的权利。” “我们知道这些真理将恒远留长，因为我们已经看到了我们国家的正直和伟大。”
川普总统的言论受到美国各界领袖广泛的批评，包括共和党高级官员和商界高管。在夏洛茨维尔暴力事件发生后，美国军方将领也公开谴责了种族主义。
川普总统星期三宣布，他下周将在亚利桑那州凤凰城召集竞选集会，但是凤凰城市长说，虽然总统有权利组织机会，但是他希望川普能推迟此行。
凤凰城市长斯坦顿说：“发生夏洛茨维尔悲剧事件后，我们的国家还在疗伤，川普总统却选择此时举行竞选集会，让我很失望。如果川普总统到凤凰城来是要宣布特赦前警长乔·阿尔帕约的话，那很显然，他的真正意图是点燃民众情绪，进一步让我们的国家陷入分歧。”
阿尔帕约因为违抗法官的命令，不停止针对移民的交通巡查，上星期被一家联邦法院判定有罪。川普本周接受采访时说，他正在考虑赦免阿尔帕约。