Did Trump Call Neo-Nazis 'Very Fine People' After Charlottesville?
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Fact checker Snopes (Lean Left bias) has debunked the claim that former President Donald Trump referred to white supremacists and neo-Nazis at a 2017 protest that turned violent in Charlottesville, Virginia as "very fine people.”
For Context: In August 2017, the Unite the Right rally turned violent when those protesting the planned removal of a Confederate statue clashed with leftist counterprotesters. A white supremacist was charged with murder and hate crimes after driving his truck into a crowd, killing one. Trump delivered the remarks at a news conference a few days after the protests. Some of Trump’s critics, including political adversaries and some liberal media outlets, have used the statement against him since.
Snopes’ Verdict: (Trump said there were) “‘very fine people on both sides,’ referring to the protesters and the counterprotesters. He said in the same statement he wasn't talking about neo-Nazis and white nationalists, who he said should be ‘condemned totally.’”
Prior Fact Check: In 2020, USA Today Fact Check (Lean Left bias) examined the claim that “the media misquoted Trump's 'very fine people on both sides' statement,” and found it to be “partly false.”
How The Media Covered It: The story was very widely covered by the right. Aside from Snopes’ article, as of midday Monday, AllSides did not find coverage from the Center or Left. The Daily Caller (Right bias) led by saying Snopes “issued a correction,” though the outlet did not fact-check the claim previously.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
No, Trump Did Not Call Neo-Nazis and White Supremacists 'Very Fine People'![AllSides Media Bias Rating: Lean Left AllSides Media Bias Rating: Lean Left](https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/bias-leaning-left.png)
![](https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/styles/feature_image_300x200/public/trump_charlottesville_press_conf.jpg?itok=MyCJHb-P)
On Aug. 15, 2017, then-President Donald Trump called neo-Nazis and white supremacists who attended the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, "very fine people."
Rating: False
About this rating
In a news conference after the rally protesting the planned removal of a Confederate statue, Trump did say there were "very fine people on both sides," referring to the protesters and the counterprotesters. He said in the same statement he wasn't talking about neo-Nazis and white nationalists, who he said should be "condemned totally."
From the Right
Snopes Finally Corrects The Record On Notorious Trump Hoax — Seven Years Later![AllSides Media Bias Rating: Right AllSides Media Bias Rating: Right](https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/bias-right.png)
![](https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/styles/feature_image_300x200/public/GettyImages-2158787146-scaled-e1.jpg?itok=mgDno1Me)
Snopes, a fact-checking website, issued a correction for the infamous “very fine people” line Trump used, as well as had used against him — seven years later.
Trump delivered remarks at an Aug. 15, 2017 news conference following violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia over the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee the weekend prior. For years, Democrats latched onto a claim Trump called neo-Nazis and white supremacists “very fine people” by taking Trump’s comments out of context.
From the Right
Left wing fact-checker admits Trump never called Charlottesville neo-Nazis ‘very fine people’ in blow to Biden![AllSides Media Bias Rating: Right AllSides Media Bias Rating: Right](https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/bias-right.png)
![](https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/styles/feature_image_300x200/public/Donald-Trump-Guilty_08_1.jpg?itok=75SPAzx3)
The left-leaning fact-checking website Snopes acknowledged Saturday that former President Trump never called neo-Nazis "very fine people" during his press conference following the Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally in 2017.
Critics of Trump have claimed for years that he equated neo-Nazis with counterprotesters following the event. President Biden was chief among those critics, citing the supposed incident as a main reason for launching his 2020 campaign.
"While Trump did say that there were ‘very fine people on both sides,’ he also specifically noted that he was not talking about neo-Nazis and...
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