Misquotes his own Charlottesville remarks at Phoenix rally, omitting "many sides"

At a campaign-style rally in Phoenix, Trump read aloud from his August 12 statement on the Charlottesville violence but omitted the words that had drawn the most criticism, quoting himself as condemning "hatred, bigotry and violence" while leaving out his original "on many sides, on many sides." He did not mention that he had also blamed "both sides" or referred to "very fine people," and told the crowd "the words were perfect." Fact-checkers at FactCheck.org and NPR documented the selective quotation as a deliberate misrepresentation of what he had actually said. In the same speech he attacked the press covering the controversy as "very dishonest people." The episode fits what the project characterizes as reality abuse: reconstructing a factual record in front of an audience to erase his own documented words.

"We condemn in the strongest, possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence." Quote verified against source