President Donald Trump has defended the timing of his "excellent" statements on the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The President – who had labelled the London Bridge attack an act of terrorism even before the British authorities – said he waited to condemn white nationalist protestors because he needed "the facts"

"When I make a statement, I like to be correct. I want the facts," he told reporters assembled at Trump Tower.

Democrats and Republicans alike had criticised the President for failing to explicitly condemn the KKK and other white supremacist groups over the weekend. When he did call out these groups by name – in scripted remarks from the White House Diplomacy Room – it was three days after the protests began.

Standing behind a podium embossed with the White House seal on Tuesday, Mr Trump removed a copy of his previous remarks from his jacket pocket and began reading them aloud – eliminating his controversial comments about violence and hatred "on both sides".

"Honestly, if the press were not fake, and if it were honest, the press would have said what I said was very nice," he said, adding that the mother of a young woman who died at the rally had thanked him for his comments.

"Making the statement when I made the statement, it was excellent," he said.

The President's handling of the situation over the weekend drove three prominent business leaders to step down from his manufacturing advisory council. It drove fellow Republicans – such as Senators Tim Scott, Orrin Hatch, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Cory Gardner – to rebuke his initial statement. And it drove white nationalists, posting on the Daily Stormer website, to celebrate his tepid comments.

Mr Trump, however, appeared convinced that the negative reaction stemmed from inside the "fake news" media.

"I watched [the protests] very closely - much more closely than you people watched it," he told reporters on Tuesday. "And you had a group on one side that was bad, and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. And nobody wants to say that, but I'll say it right now."

Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Show all 9 1 /9 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Protesters clash and several are injured White nationalist demonstrators clash with counter demonstrators at the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Virginia. A state of emergency is declared, August 12 2017 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Trump supporters at the protest A white nationalist demonstrator walks into Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. Hundreds of people chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Saturday after violence erupted at a white nationalist rally in Virginia. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville State police stand ready in riot gear Virginia State Police cordon off an area around the site where a car ran into a group of protesters after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Militia armed with assault rifles White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' with body armor and combat weapons evacuate comrades who were pepper sprayed after the 'Unite the Right' rally was declared a unlawful gathering by Virginia State Police. Militia members marched through the city earlier in the day, armed with assault rifles. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee The statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee stands behind a crowd of hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' during the 'Unite the Right' rally 12 August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. They are protesting the removal of the statue from Emancipation Park in the city. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Racial tensions sparked the violence White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' exchange insults with counter-protesters as they attempt to guard the entrance to Lee Park during the 'Unite the Right' rally Getty Violence on the streets of Charlottesville A car plows through protesters A vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The incident resulted in multiple injuries, some life-threatening, and one death. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Rescue personnel help injured people after a car ran into a large group of protesters after an white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville President Donald Trump speaks about the ongoing situation in Charlottesville, Virginia from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. He spoke about "loyalty" and "healing wounds" left by decades of racism.

The protests in question started when white nationalists, alt-right activists, and others poured into Charlottesville, Virginia to protest the removal of a Confederate monument. On Friday night, protestors marched on the University of Virginia campus, carrying tiki torches, some of them shouting "Jews will not replace us".

By Saturday, the group had started clashing with counter-protestors. Local officials declared the rally an "unlawful assembly," and attempted to disperse the crowds. Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency.

Later that day, police say, a man reported to be a Nazi sympathiser drove through a crowd of counter-protestors, injuring dozens and killing one – 32-year-old Heather Heyer.

Mr Trump on Tuesday called her death a "horrible, horrible thing," but refused to label it an act of terrorism.

“I think the driver of the car is a disgrace to himself, his family, and his country," he said. "You can call this terrorism, you can call it murder, you can call it whatever you want.”