John McCain, Jeff Flake condemn 'white supremacy' in tweets

Amid the chaos of the Charlottesville, Virginia, riots, which as of Saturday afternoon had left one civilian dead and many more injured, Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake took to Twitter to condemn the violence.

“The #WhiteSupremacy in #Charlottesville does not reflect the values of the America I know,” Flake tweeted. “Hate and bigotry have no place in this country.”

Republican Sen. John McCain followed with a similar tweet, calling white supremacists traitors.

The protests, which began Friday night, were being led by hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan members. Throughout the day Saturday, the protests escalated into violence.

President Donald Trump was criticized Saturday for his response — initially for not responding at all, then for the words he used in tweets and then for the phrasing of statements in a news conference.

Specifically, Trump was criticized for not condemning white nationalism in his speech Saturday afternoon. Instead, he blamed “many sides.”

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides,” Trump said. “On many sides.”

Trump also tweeted about the protests earlier on Saturday.

Other Arizona public officials also weighed in on the riots — and Trump's response — via social media.

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