Conservative commentator Paris Dennard tried to revise President Donald Trump's history of respect for racists in wake of the Charlottesville protests last year.
During a panel discussion with Republican commentator Tara Setmayer, Dennard incorrectly maintained that Trump never said that there were "very fine people on both sides."
"The facts are, he has done it," Dennard said when asked why Trump hasn't denounced the Unite the Right protesters. "So, whether or not you like the timing, whether or not you like the fact it wasn't within seconds or a millisecond, the facts are he did it. He did tweet about it yesterday in terms of once again denouncing hatred and violence, specifically going back to Charlottesville."
He went on to say that he thinks the president did the "right thing" and that staff wrote a statement for him.
"He shouldn't have to type out a statement to condemn white supremacists," said Setmayer. "That's the point here. The response, whether it was not immediate or not, matters. Most people, good and decent Americans, don't need someone or an adviser to come in and craft a statement to condemn white supremacists, neo-nazis. That's the problem here. So, the fact that it was initially scripted -- and yes, presidents do work with that, but something as innately simple as denouncing hatred and racism like this shouldn't require that level of advisers."
Host Ryan Nobles then noted that Trump did speak off script when delivering that statement last year from Trump Tower.
"Well, I think we should be accurate," Dennard said. "He was not at Trump Tower. He did not -- that wasn't the full statement. I think we should read the full statement. As I interpreted what he said, he was talking about the violence on both -- on many sides."
"That's not what he said," Setmayer replied. "We're still debating this? There's still a question that there are 'fine people on both sides?'"
"The president was referring to the fact that there was violence on both sides," Dennard claimed.
"He said 'very fine people on both sides,'" she shot back.
"Let's be accurate. Go back and read exactly what he said," Dennard instructed.
Luckily, in the digital age, a transcript isn't necessary, as there is a video. Here is President Donald Trump at Trump Tower, in the lobby, saying that there are "very fine people on both sides." Sarah Huckabee Sanders was then forced to try and explain away what he said.
You can see Dennard and Setmayer below:
