Trump Comments On Report On Old Claim
Snopes.com, the widely recognized fact-checking website, has finally debunked a long-standing myth surrounding former President Donald Trump's remarks about the 2017 Charlottesville rally.
For seven years, it was falsely claimed that Trump referred to neo-Nazis as "very fine people." This assertion played a significant role in President Joe Biden's 2020 election campaign. Biden had launched his campaign in April 2019, stating that Trump's supposed praise of neo-Nazis inspired him to run.
In reality, Trump had condemned the neo-Nazis and white supremacists, using the phrase “very fine people” to describe non-violent protesters on both sides of the debate over the removal of a Confederate statue. Despite efforts by commentators like Scott Adams and Steve Cortes to debunk the “very fine people” hoax, Biden and many in the media persisted in using this misquote.
Breitbart News confronted Biden in August 2019 at the Iowa State Fair, questioning his continued misquotation of Trump. Biden reacted angrily, repeating the false claim. The hoax was debunked publicly during the 2020 vice-presidential debate and again during Trump's second impeachment trial when his lawyers presented the full context of Trump's remarks.
Why don't they ever play the full video?
How can this lie still be perpetuated to this day?
3 years later and people still believe the "very fine people" lie. pic.twitter.com/TNaNuVJ3qz
— Josh Lekach (@JoshLekach) September 30, 2020
Despite this, Biden continued to reference the “very fine people” hoax into his presidency. However, facing a challenging re-election campaign, Snopes.com has now addressed the myth. In a post dated June 20, 2024, Snopes rated the claim that Trump called neo-Nazis “very fine people” as "false." They clarified that while Trump did say there were “very fine people on both sides,” he explicitly condemned neo-Nazis and white supremacists.
Snopes provided a transcript of Trump's full remarks for context. In an editor's note, Snopes emphasized that the fact check aimed to confirm what Trump actually said, not the truthfulness of his statement about “very fine people on both sides.” They acknowledged that while Trump was wrong in claiming that there were “very fine people on both sides,” he did not praise neo-Nazis.
The New York Times had also reported that there were non-violent, non-racist supporters of the Confederate statue at the Charlottesville rally. These individuals' cause was overshadowed by the presence of neo-Nazis and white supremacists, but they were there, as the Times noted.
The Snopes fact-check comes just days before Biden and Trump are set to meet for their first debate of the 2024 election on CNN on June 27. This development means that if Biden tries to use the “very fine people” hoax again, he may face renewed opposition and scrutiny. This correction by Snopes might influence the narrative and discourse during the upcoming debate, potentially altering the dynamics between the two candidates.