Pelosi renews call for firing Steve Bannon after Charlottesville violence

SAN FRANCISCO — Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement after President Trump’s latest comments on the Charlottesville violence perpetrated by white supremacist groups:

“The President’s statement on Saturday was a direct reflection of the fact that his chief strategist, Steve Bannon, is an alt-right white supremacist sympathizer and a shameless enforcer of those un-American beliefs. In his long overdue statement today, President Trump called white supremacists ‘repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans.’ If the President is sincere about rejecting white supremacists, he should remove all doubt by firing Steve Bannon and the other alt-right white supremacist sympathizers in the White House.

“From the beginning, President Trump has sheltered and encouraged the forces of bigotry and discrimination. President Trump’s failure to immediately denounce white supremacy is well in line with the unmistakable conduct of his Administration toward immigrants, Muslims, and communities of color.

“It shouldn’t take the President of the United States two days to summon the basic decency to condemn murder and violence by Nazis and white supremacists.”