WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman John Yarmuth (KY-03) wrote to President Donald Trump in response to his latest remarks on the tragedy in Charlottesville during Tuesday’s press conference.

Text of the letter can be found below, and a copy of the letter is available here:

August 16, 2017

President Donald J. Trump

1600 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20500

President Trump,

I am depressed and horrified that I must once again respond to your position on the Charlottesville incident. However, as an elected official, like you, who has sworn to preserve and protect the Constitution, I cannot be silent when you violate your oath of office.

Your comments yesterday were truly deplorable (yes, I went there), but I confess you were right about one thing: there were two sides to the Charlottesville story. Sadly and inexplicably, you refused to take sides. One side was standing up for American values; the other was subverting our democracy. By suggesting that blame for the incident was shared, you ignored the most critical point: American citizens committed to the denial of rights and freedoms for their fellow citizens were openly marching through an American city, making a mockery of the foundational principles of the country.

You appear to be focused on the physical battle in Charlottesville, which was horrible, and in the case of the murder of Heather Heyer, tragic. But the question of which group was more violent is meaningless. The issue is which group deserves the unequivocal denunciation of the leader of the free democracy of the United States. On that question you have failed your fellow citizens and violated the pledge you made on January 20th.

Please be assured that I will never become inured to your degradation of the Presidency, and I will continue to speak out each time you undermine our democracy.

Sincerely,

John Yarmuth

Member of Congress

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