White House defends Trump after comments on chaos in Virginia

The US President's office has tried to ease growing criticism of him over the violence in Virginia.

The US President will hold a press conference on the violence on August 14. Photo: CNN.

"The president has been very strong in his statement that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry and hatred. Of course, that includes white supremacists, racist groups and all extremist groups," AFP quoted a White House spokesman as saying on August 13.

The statement came after Mr Trump faced criticism for not naming these groups during the chaos and violence in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12, which left one person dead and 33 injured. The president blamed "many sides".

Nationalists in the US had planned to hold a march to protest against the Charlottesville city government's plan to remove a statue of General Robert E. Lee, the leader of the Confederacy, the defeated group in the American Civil War from 1861-1865. However, the march erupted into violence when supporters and opponents of the protest clashed.

Charlottesville Mayor Michael Signer condemned the president, saying he had created an atmosphere of “vulgarity, cynicism and bullying.” Several other Republicans also criticized Trump, including two of his former rivals in last year’s White House race, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.

According to VNE