08-17-2017, 07:14 PM
Quote:A White House adviser told Politico that while the majority of staffers called on the president to offer an unequivocal denunciation of neo-Nazis, in some ways Trump would "rather have people calling him racist than say he backed down the minute he was wrong" and that the comments may "turn into the biggest mess of his presidency because he is stubborn and doesn't realize how bad this is getting."Trump's top advisers are 'despondent and numb' after Charlottesville - Business Insider
Advisers worry that the remarks may damage any attempt for Trump to spearhead a legislative agenda as Congress returns this fall. Congress needs to raise the debt ceiling by September 29 to keep the US from defaulting on its debt, and Republicans are hoping to pass a budget and tax reform before the end of the year.
But while many White House employees have been disappointed by the president's remarks, Trump himself reportedly hasn't regretted his statements. According to the Times, Trump said he felt "liberated by his news conference," citing his comments as a "retort to the political establishment that he sees as trying to tame his impulses."