"Trump had not, at the time, been talking about Robert E. Lee. Trump was grasping for a defense, furious about the bipartisan and nearly universal criticism of his earlier statements:: “Venting, his face red as he personally executed the defense of his own actions that no one else would; he Trump all but erased any good will he had earned Monday when he named racist groups and called them ‘repugnant to everything we hold dear" His argument did not reflect the reality of the situation—there were white supremacists shouting “white lives matter” and “Jews will not replace us.” Instead, he attempted to reduce this violent hatred to an issue of statue preservation."