Rep. James Comer: Trump ‘needs better judgment’ about guests after dining with White supremacist
U.S. Rep. James Comer, R-N.C., says President Donald Trump needs “better judgment” after dining with a white nationalist at the White House.
Comer says Trump “needs to get a thicker skin” and he should “stay away from people like that.”
The congressman, who took part in the White House summit on racial justice and immigration in December, added that he would have turned down the invitation to the meeting in order to avoid a potentially controversial situation like last year’s meeting with white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Comer spoke to reporters Tuesday after delivering the “State of the Union” address in Washington, D.C.
Comer said he believes Trump should have “remembered Charlottesville and his own words on it.”
“He should have remembered what happened there and then he would have probably not said what he said.”
Trump and his aides have repeatedly used the phrase “both sides” following criticism of his response to the violence at a white supremacist rally over the weekend, which resulted in the death of a counter-protester who was attending the event.
“He should have remembered Charlottesville and his own words on it which were quite important,” Comer said about Trump. “And he should have stayed away from people like that. He should have gone home. He should have stayed and avoided this meeting.”
The House on Tuesday will vote on an amendment — offered by North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows — that would make it illegal for the president to take part in a meeting with members of white nationalists.
White nationalist rally downsized
A white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend was cut short when counter-protesters outnumbered the white nationalists, who were marching across the University of Virginia campus with torches and other weapons.
The president initially said there were “fine people” on both sides of the event, but he later said there were “d
