WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has called on President Donald Trump to apologize for his response to last week's violent events in Charlottesville, Virginia, claiming the president is facing a defining moment.
Romney said in a post on Facebook on Friday that Trump's comments suggesting both white supremacists and counter-protesters were to blame for the violence 'caused racists to rejoice, minorities to weep, and the vast heart of America to mourn.'
'Jews, blacks, Hispanics, Muslims are as much a part of America as whites and Protestants,' Romney wrote. 'But today they wonder. Where might this lead? To bitterness and tears, or perhaps to anger and violence?'
'The potential consequences are severe in the extreme,' he added. 'Accordingly, the president must take remedial action in the extreme. He should address the American people, acknowledge that he was wrong, apologize.'
Romney said Trump should state unequivocally that racists are 100 percent to blame for the violence in Charlottesville, testify that there is no conceivable moral equivalency between the white supremacists and the counter-protesters and definitively repudiate the support of former KKK leader David Duke and his ilk.
'This is a defining moment for President Trump. But much more than that, it is a moment that will define America in the hearts of our children,' Romney wrote. 'They are watching, our soldiers are watching, the world is watching. Mr. President, act now for the good of the country.'
Romney has been a frequent critic of Trump but was reportedly still under consideration to be nominated as Secretary of State.
(Photo: Gage Skidmore)
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