President Donald Trump responded angrily to Sen. Lindsey Graham after the South Carolina Senator criticized his response to the violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“Publicity seeking Lindsey Graham falsely stated that I said there is moral equivalency between the KKK, neo-Nazis & white supremacists and people like Ms. Heyer,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Such a disgusting lie.”
Since Trump’s press conference at Trump Tower, establishment media and Republicans accused him of creating “false equivalency” between two groups of protesters.
“The public is learning (even more so) how dishonest the Fake News is,” Trump wrote. “They totally misrepresent what I say about hate, bigotry etc. Shame!”
In a statement, Graham said that Trump “took a step backward by suggesting there is moral equivalency between white supremacists, neo-nazis, and KKK members who attended the Charlottesville rally and people like Heather Heyer.”
“I do not endorse this moral equivalency,” Graham said.
During his press conference, Trump specifically denounced the hate groups at the rally in Charlottesville, denying that he was suggesting moral equivalency.
“I am not putting anybody on a moral plane,” Trump said during his press conference on Tuesday, repeating that the “Neo-Nazis and the white nationalists should be condemned totally.”
The president reminded his followers that he beat Graham easily in the primaries, suggesting that he would lose his Senate seat in South Carolina.
“He just can’t forget his election trouncing,” Trump wrote. “The people of South Carolina will remember!”