Trump to sign Charlottesville congressional resolution

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - President Donald Trump will sign a joint resolution by Congress condemning white supremacists in the wake of the largest hate rally the U.S. has seen in a decade, the White House confirmed Wednesday.

Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Trump will "absolutely" sign the resolution, which was overwhelmingly passed by Congress.

"He looks forward to doing so as soon as he receives it," Sanders said.

While it was likely that Trump would lend his signature to the bipartisan resolution, it was not certain.

The resolution calls on Trump to “speak out against hate groups that espouse racism, extremism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and White supremacy" and calls the car attack on a counter-protester, Heather Heyer, during the Aug. 12 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia a “domestic terrorist attack”.

The U.S. president has come under fire for his initial reaction to the hate rally and Heyer’s subsequent death, with many accusing Trump of equating the counter-protesters with those they rallied against.

In one of his initial statements after Charlottesville, Trump placed blame on "both sides" while condemning the violence that erupted during the rally.

In defending those comments, Trump cast blame on the media, saying they don't report on his statements.

The media consistently reported on his statements both on social media and those sent out by the White House as well as his spoken comments.

Earlier Wednesday, Trump met with Senator Tim Scott, the chamber's sole black Republican lawmaker who previously said Trump's "moral authority" was compromised by his response to Charlottesville.

"There's no question about that," Scott told Vice News.

In a readout of their Wednesday meeting, the White House said Trump is "committed to positive race relations" and seeks continued dialogue with Scott, the black community and "leaders from diverse communities across the country, all of which have a wealth of perspectives and experiences with respect to this issue".