This revelation contradicts years of accusations from Trump's critics, who have consistently claimed that he equated neo-Nazis with counter-protesters following the event.
Among the most vocal critics was President Biden, who cited this alleged incident as a primary motivation for his 2020 campaign. However, Snopes has now clarified that while Trump did mention "very fine people on both sides," he explicitly stated that he was not referring to neo-Nazis and white supremacists, whom he said should be "condemned totally." As a result, Snopes has labeled this claim as 'False.'
This fact-check aligns with years of defense from Trump's camp, who have consistently argued, supported by transcript and video evidence, that his comments were taken out of context. Snopes also highlighted how this false claim about Trump's comments "spread like wildfire" among left-leaning circles, eventually becoming a cornerstone of Biden's election campaign.
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In his 2020 campaign announcement video, Biden's opening words were "Charlottesville, Virginia." He then accused the President of the United States of assigning a moral equivalence between those spreading hate and those standing against it. He claimed, "And in that moment, I knew the threat to this nation was unlike any I'd ever seen in my lifetime."
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This recent ruling by Snopes has effectively disarmed a significant aspect of Biden's argument, just days before his first debate with Trump. The two are scheduled to face off in a televised debate in Atlanta, hosted by CNN. While Biden has retreated to Camp David to prepare, Trump continues his campaign trail, planning to head to Atlanta later this week.
