President Donald Trump on Thursday night signed a joint congressional resolution condemning white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia last month, just hours after reviving a defense of his response that placed blame on "both sides."

The bipartisan resolution, sponsored by Virginia's two Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, along with Republican Sens. Cory Gardner of Colorado and Johnny Isakson of Georgia, specifically names the "white nationalists, white supremacists, the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, and other hate groups" that Trump had seemed reluctant to call out at the time.

The resolution passed both the Senate and House unanimously this week. The White House sent out a statement Thursday night announcing that Trump had signed it behind closed doors. There was no mention of the signing on the president's Twitter accounts.

"As Americans, we condemn the recent violence in Charlottesville and oppose hatred, bigotry, and racism in all forms," Trump said in a statement. "No matter the color of our skin or our ethnic heritage, we all live under the same laws, we all salute the same great flag, and we are all made by the same almighty God."

"We are a Nation founded on the truth that all of us are created equal," he continued. "As one people, let us move forward to rediscover the bonds of love and loyalty that bring us together as Americans."

The violence in Charlottesville stemmed from a protest against the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that drew white nationalists, white supremacists and neo-Nazis. Anti-fascists known as the antifa – a loosely organized group of far-left activists who have been known to use militant and intimidating tactics in response to ideologies, such as white supremacy, they consider inherently violent – were reportedly present as well. The situation devolved into fighting and chaos that eventually left one woman dead after a car plowed into a group of counterprotesters.

By putting forward a joint resolution, which is sent to the president for signature, rather than a non-binding resolution, the senators' had maneuvered to force the president's hand after he blamed "hatred, bigotry and violence – on many sides," equating the "bad dudes" in the antifa with neo-Nazis. He also said there were "some very fine people on both sides."

Those remarks set off a firestorm of criticism from both sides of the aisle. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the lone African-American GOP senator, met with Trump this week to express his disappointment with the president's response to Charlottesville and explain why white supremacist groups deserve unequivocal condemnation.

After Wednesday's meeting, Scott told reporters he was "encouraged and surprised" that Trump had mostly spent the session listening. He said the president "certainly tried to convey what he was attempting to say" with his Charlottesville remarks – "that there was an antagonist on the other side."

"My response was that, while that's true, I mean I think if you look at it from a sterile perspective, there was an antagonist on the other side," he said. "However, the real picture has nothing to do with who is on the other side."

But in spite of the seemingly encouraging meeting, on Thursday the president reverted to his original post-Charlottesville statements and told reporters he had been right to blame the antifa.

"I think especially in light of the advent of antifa, if you look at what's going on there, you have some pretty bad dudes on the other side also, and essentially that's what I said," he said.

"Now, because of what's happened since then with antifa, you look at, you know, really what's happened since Charlottesville, a lot of people are saying – in fact a lot of people have actually written – 'Gee, Trump might have a point,'" Trump added. "I said, 'You've got some very bad people on the other side also,' which is true."

Scott, reacting to the latest comments, seemed disappointed but unsurprised.