America has watched police spray protesters with tear gas on a hot night in Phoenix after a controversial speech by President Donald Trump ripped open the wounds of Charlottesville and added some salt for good measure.

A day after reaching out to the establishment with a speech in Virginia setting out his case for extending the war in Afghanistan, Mr Trump has shown a very different face to his supporters in Arizona.

Mocking those same establishment figures and talking about how he went to better schools than them, and is richer than them, he blamed everyone but himself for America's divisions.

The President spent about 20 minutes ripping in to the media, saying his much-pilloried response to Charlottesville was all the fault of what he called very dishonest journalists — even mocking a respected news anchor's height.

There was no mention of what caused the anger — his comments that "many sides" were to blame and that there were "very fine" people among white nationalist protesters marching with torches.

If it was all the media why did corporate leaders rush to abandon him in such numbers that he had to disband two corporate advisory councils?

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He again conflated statues of confederate generals with removing monuments to George Washington and even Teddy Roosevelt.

There were also outright lies — like claiming the cameras were being turned off to censor his rant against the media even as American TV channels continued to show it live.

This was President Donald Trump in full campaign mode just seven months into his presidency — something he criticised Barack Obama for doing three years into his term.

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CNN anchor Don Lemon called it a "total eclipse of the facts".

However good it felt to swap opprobrium for the adulation of his supporters, it could be against his own interests.

Despite his claims he's achieved more than any other president, Mr Trump's legislative agenda is stalled and he needs mainstream Republican support.

Without mentioning them by name, he used the rally to attack Arizona's senators John McCain and Jeff Flake.

Earlier in the day, Republicans had hit back against the woman Mr Trump hopes will replace Senator Flake at next year's midterms, releasing an attack ad.

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The New York Times is also reporting Mr Trump's relationship with Republican Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell is so frosty the two aren't talking.

It'll all make for some difficult chats when politics returns in earnest after the August lull.