Republican and Independent voters reacted favorably when former President Donald Trump pushed back on President Biden's narrative regarding the 2017 Charlottesville riots, according to a live second-by-second reaction among voters. 'Both of you know that story has been totally wiped out, because when you see the sentence, it said 100 percent exoneration on there.
He made up the Charlottesville story, and you’ll see it’s debunked all over the place. Every anchor has – every reasonable anchor - has debunked it,' Trump continued. 'And just the other day, it came out where it was fully debunked. It’s a nonsense story. He knows that,' Trump said as support spiked among Independent voters. 'And he didn’t run because of Charlottesville. He used that as an excuse to run.
The protests in Charlottesville in 2017, which played out across two days in August 2017, included White nationalists descending on the city who were met by hundreds of counter-protesters. 'We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides,' Trump said in August that year.
Biden has repeatedly pointed to Charlottesville as a moment of shame for the nation, including on the fourth anniversary, when the White House released a statement saying the rally was a 'battle for the soul of America was laid bare for all to see.'