Donald Trump’s press conference in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York has been branded his most jaw-dropping yet. The US President managed to plug his winery while claiming blame should be shared by both sides for the violence in Charlottesville.

Mr Trump’s extraordinary conference, in which he defended the far-right extremists who descended on the Virginia city over the weekend, has sparked widespread condemnation from across the political spectrum.

A former speechwriter to President Barack Obama is one of those who has taken aim at the president. Cody Keenan, who worked for Obama from 2007 and 2017, joked a bad presidential press conference used to simply mean wearing a tan suit.

This is a reference to a White House press briefing delivered by Obama in 2014 in which he was was widely mocked for wearing a tan-coloured suit. Some joked it was not an appropriate colour to wear for delivering a statement on the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and Russia’s intervention in Ukraine whereas others joked it looked like Obama was on holiday.

Mr Keenan said: "Simpler times, when this was classified as a press conference disaster".

President Trump received a barrage of questions from reporters about why he did not immediately condemn the actions of the neo-Nazis, skinheads, and members of the Ku Klux Klan who assembled in Charlottesville for a white nationalist rally on Saturday and instead insisted the blame was on “many sides”.

Although he read another statement approximately 48 hours after the violence in which he specifically said "racism is evil" and condemned “white Supremacists, KKK, neo-nazi and all extremist groups” he performed a drastic U-turn at yesterday’s conference and doubled down on his initial comments.

Addressing reporters, he said: “I’m not putting anybody on a moral plane. You had a group on one side and group on the other and they came at each other with clubs – there is another side, you can call them the left, that came violently attacking the other group. You had people that were very fine people on both sides.

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.

“Not all those people were neo-Nazis, not all those people were white supremacists. Many of those people were there to protest the taking down of the statue of Robert E Lee. So this week, it is Robert E Lee. I noticed that Stonewall Jackson is coming down. I wonder, is it George Washington next week? And is it Thomas Jefferson the week after? You know, you really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop?”

While repeatedly calling the gathered press "fake media”, he also asked reporters: “What about the alt-left that came charging at the - as you say, the alt-right? Do they have any semblance of guilt? What about the fact they came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs? Do they have any problem? I think they do. As far as I am concerned, that was a horrible, horrible day.”