Republicans lash out at US President Donald Trump for defending Confederate monuments

Fellow Republicans and white nationalists have slammed President Donald Trump for his Thursday's comments of removing the monuments to the pro-slavery Civil War Confederacy.  

Trump has alienated Republicans, corporate leaders and US allies, rattled markets and prompted speculation about possible White House resignations with his comments since Saturday's violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, during a white nationalist protest against the removal of a Confederate statue.

Republican Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, questioned Trump's capacity to govern.

"The president has not yet been able to demonstrate the ability or the competence that he needs to be successful," said Corker, who Trump had considered for the job of secretary of state. Corker said Trump needed to make "radical changes."

In a series of Twitter posts on Thursday, Trump unleashed attacks on two Republican US senators, Jeff Flake and Lindsey Graham, raising fresh doubts about his ability to work with lawmakers in his own party to win passage of his legislative agenda including tax cuts and infrastructure spending.

Trump took aim at the removal or consideration for removal of Confederate statues and monuments in a long list of cities in California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Tennessee, Virginia and Texas, as well as Washington, DC.

"Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments. You can't change history, but you can learn from it," Trump wrote on Twitter, refusing to move past the controversy.

"Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson - who's next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish!" Trump added. He was referring to two Confederate generals in the Civil War that ended in 1865, and to early US presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who owned slaves but whose legacies are overwhelmingly honoured.

Opponents call the statues a festering symbol of racism, while supporters say they honour American history. Some of the monuments have become rallying points for white nationalists but also have the support of some people interested in historical preservation.

Trump also denied he had spoken of "moral equivalency" between white supremacists, neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan, and the anti-racism activists who clashed in Charlottesville.

Cohn rumours

Amid the controversy, the White House knocked down rumours that Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn might resign. An official said Cohn "intends to remain in his position" as National Economic Council director at the White House.

Rumours of Cohn's impending departure had rattled the US stock market and dollar. World equity markets and US bond yields fell while gold rose on Thursday as investors favoured safe-haven investments amid growing skepticism that Trump can make good on his economic agenda.

On Wednesday, Trump announced the disbanding of two high-profile business advisory councils after the resignation of several corporate executives over his Charlottesville remarks. On Thursday, a White House official said another planned advisory council on infrastructure issues will not move forward.

In another indication of businesses not wanting to be associated with the president, a world renowned hospital, the Cleveland Clinic, cancelled a planned 2018 Florida fundraiser at Trump's Mar-a-Lago Florida resort, where it had held such events for seven straight years. Spokeswoman Eileen Sheil said the Cleveland Clinic considered "a variety of factors" in deciding to cancel an event that typically generates $1 million a year.

The clinic's chief executive, Toby Cosgrove, was a member of a one of the two councils that disbanded on Wednesday.

The Charlottesville violence erupted when white nationalists marched to protest the planned removal of a statue of Robert E Lee. A 32-year-old woman, Heather Heyer, was killed when a man described as a white nationalist crashed his car into the counter-protesters.

Trump has blamed the Charlottesville violence on not just the white nationalist rally organizers but also the counter-protesters, and said there were "very fine people" among both groups. Trump also expressed distaste for removing Confederate statues in a heated news conference on Tuesday.

'Hate-filled individuals'

After Trump blasted Graham on Twitter, the senator who was one of Trump's rivals for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination fired back.

"Because of the manner in which you have handled the Charlottesville tragedy you are now receiving praise from some of the most racist and hate-filled individuals and groups in our country. For the sake of our Nation - as our President - please fix this," Graham said. "History is watching us all."

Another Republican senator, Dan Sullivan, added on Twitter, "Anything less than complete & unambiguous condemnation of white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK by (Trump) is unacceptable. Period."

Graham on Wednesday had said Trump's remarks at Tuesday's news conference had suggested "moral equivalency" between the white nationalists and anti-racism demonstrators and called on the president to use his words to heal Americans.

"Publicity seeking Lindsey Graham falsely stated that I said there is moral equivalency between the KKK, neo-Nazis & white supremacists and people like Ms Heyer. Such a disgusting lie. He just can't forget his election trouncing. The people of South Carolina will remember!" Trump wrote.

In a separate tweet, Trump called Flake "WEAK on borders, crime and a non-factor in Senate. He's toxic!" and appeared to endorse Kelli Ward, Flake's Republican challenger in his 2018 re-election race.

Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in the US House of Representatives, called for the immediate removal of Confederate statues from the US Capitol. US Senator Cory Booker, also a Democrat, said he would introduce legislation so that could be done.

"There is no room for celebrating the violent bigotry of the men of the Confederacy in the hallowed halls of the United States Capitol or in places of honour across the country," Pelosi said in a statement.

A spokesman for Republican US House Speaker Paul Ryan said it was up to US states to determine which statues were displayed on their behalf in the Capitol building.