HARD LINE

Senate Resolution to Force Trump to Condemn Hate Groups

“This resolution...calls on us all, including President Trump, to do better as we combat acts of hate.”

A joint Senate resolution is being drafted to condemn the violence in Charlottesville and reject “white nationalists, white supremacists, the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and other hate groups”—and will require President Trump’s signature and official denunciation of hate groups if it passes, Politico reports. Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, along with Republican Sens. Cory Gardner and Johnny Isakson, will introduce the measure Wednesday. The Senate frequently passes non-binding commemoratory resolutions, but introducing the measure as a joint resolution means it would require the president’s signature. Trump’s statements after last month’s violence in Charlottesville attracted backlash after he blamed the “hatred, bigotry ,and violence” on “many sides.” “During the violent white-supremacist demonstrations in Charlottesville last month, our country lost three brave Virginians in Heather Heyer and Virginia State Police officers,Lieutenant Jay Cullen and Trooper Pilot Berke Bates,” Kaine said. “This resolution honors their lives while supporting the Charlottesville community as it heals and rightfully calls on us all, including President Trump, to do better as we combat acts of hate.”