WASHINGTON _ House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said President Donald Trump "messed up" in responding to the neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Va., by saying both sides were to blame for violence between white supremacists and groups protesting them.
"He could have done better," Ryan said Monday at a CNN televised town hall.
"I do believe that he messed up in his comments."
Pressed on Trump's remarks, Ryan said that those marching with Nazi slogans and racist signs did not include, as Trump suggested in a combative news conference last week, "very fine people."
"You're not a good person if you're there," Ryan said.
Trump revisited the issue Monday evening during his speech to the nation on Afghanistan. Reading from prepared remarks, he called on Americans to find the courage to "heal our divisions."
"I just think he needs to do better," Ryan said after the speech, "and I think he just did today."
