I never expected Snopes to drop an atomic bomb on liberal America like this—but here we are. For years, one of the most persistent liberal myths about Donald Trump has been his alleged “both sides” comment after the Charlottesville event. The media and Democrats have long claimed that Trump referred to the neo-Nazis at the rally as “very fine people.” This rally left dozens injured and a woman dead when a white supremacist drove his car through a crowd of counter-protesters.
This falsehood even reportedly spurred Joe Biden to run for president. Biden’s debate team likely planned to use this attack line in the upcoming debates, but now they can’t. Snopes has dismantled this liberal talking point, rating it “false.” We’ve known it was false for years, and now it’s official: the ‘very fine people on both sides’ myth about Trump is dead (via Fox News).
The left-leaning fact-checking website Snopes admitted that Trump never called neo-Nazis “very fine people” during his press conference following the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally in 2017. Snopes wrote, “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 White supremacists and said they should be ‘condemned totally.’ Therefore, we have rated this claim ‘False.'”
This Snopes fact check aligns with years of arguments from Trump’s supporters, who have long stated, backed by transcript and video, that his comments were taken out of context. The false claim about Trump’s comments spread rapidly on the left, eventually becoming a cornerstone of Biden’s campaign. I’m curious how Snopes readers reacted to this article; they probably accused the outlet of treason.
Another myth busted about Trump relates to his comment referring to illegal aliens as rapists. This was debunked by Alberto Martinez, a Bernie Sanders supporter and Latino, who wrote in Salon in 2015, begging the media to stop trashing Trump over a lie. He explained that Trump did not say all Mexicans are rapists but was referring to some criminals crossing the border. Martinez noted that Trump’s rhetoric aligns more closely with existing federal immigration law, a stark contrast to the media’s portrayal.
In conclusion, if Biden brings up this debunked claim, Trump should respond by pointing out that even left-leaning fact-checkers have acknowledged it’s a lie. The first showdown between Biden and Trump is set for June 27, and it will be interesting to see how the truth fares against longstanding liberal myths.
