For more than a week, liberal media outlets and Trump's many critics have blasted him for appearing to equate white supremacists and neo-Nazis with anti-racist protesters. Trump once again called for unity and healing in his speech to the nation Monday night, Aug. 21. (Screen grab from C-SPAN)

(CNSNews.com) - "Was with great people last night in Fort Myer, Virginia. The future of our country is strong!" President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday morning, the day after he discussed his Afghanistan strategy in a prime-time speech.

But before he laid out his strategy, the president delivered a message to "all Americans" about unification, healing and remaining one nation under God.

"The young men and women we send to fight our wars abroad deserve to return to a country that is not at war with itself at home. We cannot remain a force for peace in the world if we are not at peace with each other," the president said.

This was yet another attempt by Trump to put the Charlottesville controversy behind him.



For more than a week, liberal media outlets and Trump's many critics have blasted him for appearing to equate white supremacists and neo-Nazis with anti-racist protesters, some of whom are also violent, the president said last Tuesday.

On Monday night, Trump hailed "American patriots," members of the U.S. military who fight for our freedom.

By following the heroic example of those who fought to preserve our republic, we can find the inspiration our country needs to unify, to heal, and to remain one nation under God. The men and women of our military operate as one team, with one shared mission, and one shared sense of purpose. They transcend every line of race, ethnicity, creed, and color to serve together -- and sacrifice together -- in absolutely perfect cohesion. That is because all servicemembers are brothers and sisters. They're all part of the same family; it's called the American family. They take the same oath, fight for the same flag, and live according to the same law. They are bound together by common purpose, mutual trust, and selfless devotion to our nation and to each other. The soldier understands what we, as a nation, too often forget that a wound inflicted upon a single member of our community is a wound inflicted upon us all. When one part of America hurts, we all hurt. And when one citizen suffers an injustice, we all suffer together. Loyalty to our nation demands loyalty to one another. Love for America requires love for all of its people. When we open our hearts to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice, no place for bigotry, and no tolerance for hate. The young men and women we send to fight our wars abroad deserve to return to a country that is not at war with itself at home. We cannot remain a force for peace in the world if we are not at peace with each other. As we send our bravest to defeat our enemies overseas -- and we will always win -- let us find the courage to heal our divisions within. Let us make a simple promise to the men and women we ask to fight in our name that, when they return home from battle, they will find a country that has renewed the sacred bonds of love and loyalty that unite us together as one.

Ryan: ‘I'm pleased with the things he just said tonight’

At a town hall meeting Monday night in Racine, Wisconsin, House Speaker Paul Ryan was questioned at length about Trump's divisive remarks from last week.

Ryan said Trump "could have done better" and "needed to do better" a week ago, when he made "morally ambiguous" and "confusing" comments about Charlottesville.

“I actually think what he did two days ago in commending the peaceful protests against the hate in Boston was a good start. And I think just what I heard, I don't know, 25 minutes ago, was exactly what a president needs to say and what we needed to hear.

“So I do believe that he messed up in his comments on Tuesday, when it – it sounded like a moral equivocation, or at the very least moral ambiguity, when we need extreme moral clarity."

Ryan said the issue of race and bigotry shouldn't be "some partisan issue." Regardless of one’s party, “every single one of us needs to unify and stand up against this repulsive, this repugnant, vile bigotry. That is so important," Ryan said.

“And so that's the kind of unity and that's the kind of moral clarity that each and every one of us need to display, including -- and, of course -- the president. I think we heard that this evening," Ryan said.

Ryan said he worries that people will get numbed and lose their sense of outrage against white supremacists by seeing the controversy over and over on TV. "But my point is, we've got to keep our moral outrage, and we all have to stand up and speak out against this kind of bigotry so that it is never normalized, so that we don't give these people oxygen that they're looking for.

“They are the fringe. Let's keep them at the fringe. And that's why I think we have to have this moral clarity. And I'm pleased with the things he just said tonight to add clarity to the confusion that I think he gave us on Tuesday."

In response to a question, Ryan said he would not support a resolution to censure the president based on his remarks that there is blame on "both sides" in Charlottesville.

"I will not support that," Ryan said. "I think that would be -- that would be so counterproductive. If we descend this issue into some partisan hack-fest, into some bickering against each other, and demean it down to some political food fight, what good does that do to unify this country? We want to unify this country against this kind of hatred and this kind of bigotry."