The Trump administration’s decision to cut federal funding for groups fighting right-wing violence has come under new scrutiny following the president's controversial response to violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend.
Trump, who faced a firestorm of criticism for not initially calling out white supremacists, the KKK and neo-Nazis on Saturday, explicitly denounced the hate groups by name on Monday and vowed to fight against violent extremism.
But the botched immediate response has some critics questioning the White House’s commitment to the issue, and they point to the funding cuts as evidence.
“It’s a disgrace that Trump is cutting out Countering Violent Extremism funds for white supremacists and neo-Nazis. We know that the domestic terror threat from them is as great as it from Islamic radicals. It’s a very serious situation,” said Heidi Beirich, director of the intelligence project for the Southern Poverty Law Center.
“I find the pattern of cutting this money to be typical for the Trump administration’s unwillingness to take seriously the threat posed by these people, whether they’re doing it intentionally or not.”
Trump slashed Obama funds for groups fighting white supremacists https://t.co/9V8pGiNtlz pic.twitter.com/noS2UUliQU
— The Hill (@thehill) 15 August 2017
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