Towering Inferno: In a passionately delivered press conference inside his New York tower, President Trump yesterday appeared to speak in defense of white supremacists objecting to the removal of Confederate statues in the South.

The violence in Charlottesville over the weekend began with a march against the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. “So this week, it is Robert E. Lee,” the President said. “I noticed that Stonewall Jackson is coming down. I wonder, is it George Washington next week? And is it Thomas Jefferson the week after? You know, you really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop?”

Trump pointed out that both Washington and Jefferson owned slaves.

The President also seemed to blame counter protesters for starting the violence Saturday. “There was a group on this side, you can call them the left. You have just called them the left, that came violently attacking the other group. So you can say what you want, but that’s the way it is.”

He said a few minutes later about removing statues, “You are changing history, you’re changing culture. You had people and I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists, because they should be condemned totally. You had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists. O.K.? And the press has treated them absolutely unfairly.”

Reporters questioned Trump about why he waited two days before condemning white racists and nationalists. “I would do it the same way,” he said, “because I want to make sure when I make a statement that the statement is correct. And there was no way of making a correct statement that early. I had to see the facts, unlike a lot of reporters.”

Trump said, “I’ll say it right now. You had a group on the other side that came charging in without a permit and they were very, very violent.”

In the wake of Trump’s initial equivocation over the incident, at least six CEOs resigned from the President’s manufacturing council. Asked why, he attacked, “If you look at some of those people that you are talking about, they are outside of the country. They are having a lot of their product made outside. If you look at Merck as an example, take a look — excuse me, excuse me — take a look at where their product is made. It’s made outside of our country.”

Asked whether race relations in the country are better or worse, Trump said, “I think they’ve gotten better or the same. Look they have been frayed for a long time. And you can ask President Obama about that because he would make speeches about it. But I believe that the fact that I brought in, it will be soon, millions of jobs, you see where companies are moving back into our country. I think that’s going to have a tremendous positive impact on race relations.”

The White Right: After a one day lapse, Trump won back the support of white racist leaders. Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke tweeted, “Thank You Mr. President & God Bless You for setting the record straight for ALL AMERICANS.
Richard Spencer of the alt-right said, “Trump’s statement was fair and down to earth.”

Considered the leaders of hate groups, Duke and Spencer have described their opposition as hate group, singling out Black Lives Matter, for which they use the shorthand “BLM,” and Antifa, the loosely organized faction of people who consider themselves anti-fascists. Representatives of Antifa have been increasingly present at rallies over racial issues.

Gone Baby, Gone: Overnight the city of Baltimore removed its four Confederate monuments, including statues of Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson.

Heart Attack: The price of the most popular healthcare plans will leap 20 percent next year if President Trump carries out his threat to stop paying subsidies that hold down co-pays and out-of-pocket costs for low-income people, according to an evaluation by the Congressional Budget Office.

Trump made his threat even before Senate Republicans failed on their promise to repeal and replace Obamacare.

Poor Appetite: After making a play to attract a younger, hipper clientele, the Applebee’s chain announced that it is closing 130 of its restaurants. Trying to be a bar and grill, the chain offered dishes like barbecue shrimp in sriracha-lime sauce, chicken wonton tacos, and a pork, ham and bacon sandwich.

Putting aside for a moment that pork, ham, and bacon are all the same thing, Millennials didn’t bite.

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