In a video released Thursday, Gov. Phil Scott says he's troubled by President Donald Trump's comments about the violence that took place in Charlottesville last weekend.
Trump has blamed both sides in the protest: the neo-Nazis and white supremacists, and the civil rights activists.
In the video published to Facebook, Scott noted that he is the son of a disabled World War II veteran who died of his injuries when Scott was 11 years old.
"I am personally troubled by the President’s comments,” said Scott. “There is no circumstance I can think of, where a president – or any elected official – should equate the hate speech of Nazis and white supremacists with the protests of Americans who confront them."
And Scott says Trump's comments were exactly the opposite of what they should have been.
"When an ember of hate starts to glow here in America, the President has an especially important role in making sure it is denied the fuel it needs to grow,” said Scott. “A president’s response must douse the flame, not fan it.”
Scott says it's important for Vermonters to continue to speak out against racism whenever it occurs.
