about $12,000 of the $140,000 needed to move the statue has been donated and raised so far. the other thing officials here are keeping close tabs on is whether or not neo nazi groups and white nationalists have become intrigued by the statue. so far no evidence of that. >> ed, great to see you. thanks for joining us. "ac 360" starts now. good evening. tonight we're told that president trump has no regrets. no regrets about what he said yesterday. no regrets about putting neo nazis and members of the kkk on the same memorial meplane as th people that showed up to protest them. no regrets with comparing george washington and robert e. lee. tonight, we're told donald trump has no regrets about saying this. >> not all of those people were white supremacists by any stretch. those people were also there because they wanted to protest

the taking down of a statue, robert e. lee. there were people in that rally, and i looked the night before, if you look, there were people protesting very quietly. the taking down of the statue of robert e. lee. i'm sure in that group there were some bad once. the following day it looked like they had some rough, bad team. neo nazis, white nationalists, whatever you want to call them. >> so no regrets about those words we're told. the president claims he looked tat people who attended the rally on friday night. not all those people were nazis, he claims. not all those people were white supremacists. they were protesting very quietly the taking down of the robert e. lee statue the president claims. the president says he looks closely and that's what he saw friday night. the president of the united states is either blind or blinded by the white. consider for a moment if that were a crowd of muslim

protesters chanting "jews will not replace us." ask yourself would the president have had the same reaction? in a moment, we'll speak to a reporter who was in that crowd. but i think it's worth showing you thousand some of what she saw marching amidst the protesters, only some of whom the president says were bad ones. this was the group marching with it will torches, a symbol of the torches used in nazi rallies. listen to what hundreds were chanting. >> jews will not replace us. jews will not replace us. they also cried "blood and soil," a phrase used by the nazis. they called the people that

spoke against them faggots. would a good person march with them chanting nazi slogans? the president seems to think so. the president has no regrets. but heather heyer's mother does. she regrets losing her mother, murdered when a car plowed into her allegedly by a neo nazi. heather was remembered today in a memorial in charlottesville. her mother spoke at the memorial. she asked mourners to look for ways of making a difference in the world, ways of making it better. ways of making heather's murder and the emptiness her mom feels mean more than what it now is, the deepest would any parent can sustain. the president did not speak with susan today. he did not travel to charlottesville, though yesterday moments after his incendiary comments, he made sure to promote the fact that he has a winery there, one of the largest in the country. it's not. another lie the president told yesterday. president trump did tweet once about heather heyer today before

heading to his new jersey golf club. he also dissolved a pair of advisory boards. the president had claimed the ceos would be easily replaced, but that turned out to be not true. all heads of the military issued statement, reaffirming the values they hold. and john brenning said the president is putting national security at risk. bo we're told president trump tonight has no regrets. in just a moment, we'll show you more of that truly striking video from vice media of what it really looked like on the ground on the night the president referred to. we'll speak with the reporter on the street friday night what she heard. we begin with the president and politics. our jim acosta joins us now not far from the president's club. jim, how were the president and his team dealing with this

backlash over his comments yesterday? >> reporter: anderson, you did hear that comment. you were passing it along about the president has no regrets about what he said yesterday. for a president who has no regrets, and keep in mind we don't hear the president express regrets very often, we did not see much of him today. he was lying low, staying away from the cameras. we barely caught a glimpse of him as he was traveling out to his country club in bedminster. but we do understand by talking to a couple of white house sources, people in the white house are upset about what the president had to say yesterday. not everybody, but some people who are upset about it. i did talk to one adviser to the white house who said that the president's comments in this person's view, was not disqualifying. that is a pretty low bar to set for the president of the united states. >> you said there's some people in the white house upset. has any single one of them stood up and resigned? >> reporter: no. as a matter of fact, the

secretary of veterans affairs was over here at the press hotel, near bedminster earlier today, talking to reporters about care for veterans. he was asked specifically about the president's comments and he said that the president -- he was with the president on saturday, and that he observed president trump to be outraged and upset about what was going on in charlottesville. but when asked about, and when pressed on, the president's comments yesterday, secretary shulkin did not back those up and offer his opinion on those comments. it just goes to show you, anderson, not only are officials in the white house trying to avoid what their own boss is doing right now, cabinet secretaries are running away from this question. and the question becomes, as the days go forward, when you sit down or try to ask the question of one of these top administration officials, what are they going to say to try to justify the president's remarks? vice president pence was asked about this earlier today,

traveling in south america. all he could say is he stands by the president and he danced around the question and only offered that kind of comment to reporters. >>acosta, thank you very much. part of the reason the president faces this gap is how he sees in charlottesville and how it played out. he sees friday's torch-it will march as full of good people, quietly protesting. not all of whom he said were neo nazis or white supremacists. it's as if this video never existed. replace us" ] >> elly reed was in the middle of that and joins us now. thanks for being with us. you were at this tiki torch march. explain what you saw and the chants you heard.

>> reporter: the most striking thing is how well organized it was. there are people doing crowd control, there was security. people handing out extra tiki torches. everyone who was there knew exactly what they were signing up for. >> when you say there was security, you mean security by the neo nazis, by the protesters? >> reporter: that's right. they have a circle of mostly iraq and afghanistan war veterans who do security for white national groups. >> when the president says there were good people at this march, that they were quietly there to protest the removal of the robert e. lee statue, that not all of them were white supremacists, is that true? >> reporter: no. everyone who was there knew what they were doing. they were shouting "jews will not replace us." it was very well coordinated. they had an order to the chants. there was no mistaking.

there's no innocent people accidently getting involved in this. >> there wasn't a consin gentti civil war history buffs who came later and happened to stumble in on this neo nazi march. everybody was there knew exactly what they were doing? >> reporter: that's right. they had a set time. they lined up. everyone got in line. they got their torches. we saw them snake all the way through the field. it was very clear that they had planned this. >> i just want to play another clip from your extraordinary reporting for our viewers. >> the car that struck a protester, that's unprovoked. >> that's not true, and you know it's not true. you've seen the video. >> i've seen a video. i don't know much about it. can you describe what the video appears to show? >> the video appears to show

someone striking that vehicle, when these animals attacked him again, and he saw no way to get away from them except to hit the gas. and sadly, because our rivals are a bunch of stupid animals who don't pay attention, they couldn't just get out of the way of his car. and some people got hurt. and that's unfortunate. >> so you think it was justified? >> i think it was more than justified. >> is that a sentiment that was commonly described? we have all seen the video, you know, the incident in which heather heyer was killed. and we'll play it right now. i mean, what was going through your mind when this guy is saying that? >> reporter: i was shocked. i couldn't believe it. i expected him to make excuses. i expected him to say mentally ill people show up to these things or accidents happen. but when he said it was justified, i didn't know what to say. just as a human being. >> in terms of the president's comments yesterday, i'm

wondering how they're being perceived by some of the neo nazis, the white people cysupre that you've been speaking with. >> reporter: they love it. the president continues to exceed the expectations of white nationalists. one texted me last night, my god, i love this man. he really has our back. >> so even though the president -- >> they are taking cues from him. >> even though the president said, you know, i condemn neo nazis, white nationalists, that's -- they don't believe he really believes that? >> no. they're saying that's for the media so the media will quiet down. but the real statement is that he's okay with them. at least in their interpretation. and that the real bad guys are the anti-fascists or the liberals. >> was it -- did you feel a danger being there? obviously this is a group that's not favorably disclosed to reporters a lot. >> reporter: yes. they called me a nazi term for

lying press. they said really misogynistic things to me. additionally, it was a thousand angry, foolish men with many, many guns. the man i interviewed carries three guns on his person at all times. in his hotel room, he had an ak and several other weapons he keeps as backups. >> it really depresses me that there are veterans of our great military providing security for one of these neo nazi -- i don't know if leaders is the right word, but spokes people, most prominent people. >> reporter: i've spoken to some of them. it's shocking to me, because people in the military must serve with people that come from different backgrounds. racism is not allowed. but they said that they were radicalized in iraq. that you couldn't bring democracy there.

so that made them committed to this racist cause. >> it's a dumb question, but what are they so angry about? they have -- you know, they're a bunch of young, white males. what is it that they want, they just don't like black people and jewish people, they don't like gay people, they don't like anyone who is not who they are? >> reporter: as ridiculous as it sounds, they feel like they're the ones oppressed. cantwell almost started crying to me when he was tying race to iq, and how somebody called him racist and how hurtful that was, or how other people lost their jobs for being called racists. they feel like they're under assault and white western culture itself is under assault. >> elly, i appreciate you being with us. thank you very much. >> thank you. there's an update on christopher cantwell, who we've been talking about, you just saw

a moment ago. it's not really news to report that bullies are frequently also cowards. when elly spoke with him during the rally, he was happy to talk tough for the cameras. >> when the trayvon martin case happened, michael brown and tamir rice, every single case, it's something black [ bleep ] bhaifg w behaving like a savage. whatever problems i have with my fellow white people, they are generally not inclined to such behavior, and you have to take that into consideration when you think about how to organize your society. when guy to the gym, i'm trying to make myself more capable of violence. i'm here to spread ideas, talk in the hopes that somebody more capable will come along and do that. somebody like donald trump who does not give his daughter to a jew. >> so donald trump but more racist. >> a lot more racist than donald

trump. i don't think that you can feel about race the way i do, and watch that kushner bastard walk around with that beautiful girl. i came very well prepared for this thing today. .380 acp, 9 millimeter, ruger lc-9, also 9 millimeter. and there's a knife. i have another ak in that bag over there. i ain't saying it was worth it. we knew we were going to meet a lot of resistance. the fact that nobody on our side died, i would call that points for us. the fact that none of our people killed anybody unjustly is a plus for us. and i think that we showed -- we showed our rivals we won't be

cowed. >> that was then. now just a few days into the outcry over what cantwell and his thuggish friends inflicted on charlottesville and country, listen to him now. >> i want to be peaceful, i want to be law abiding. i'm watching cnn talk about this as violent white nationalist protests. we have done everything in our power to keep this peaceful. we've tried to do the right thing. and they just won't stop, you know? we have done everything in our power. we have used every peaceful and lawful means by which to redress our grievances. and our enemies just will not stop. we've been [ bleep ] assaulted. they are threatening us all over the place. and by the way, if the university of virginia was not a gun-free zone and i had my pistol, i would have stayed far away from that god damn melee. when i do not have a weapon on me, i feel it necessary to stop

threats before they get out of hand. when i have a weapon, i'm as cool as a cucumber. i do not [ bleep ] with people. you would have heard about it by now. if i was a violent guy you would have heard about it. everybody and their mother wants to [ bleep ] with my life, snok >> somewhere, the world's smallest violin is playing the smallest song. later, the striking parallels between the words of one white nationalists on charlottesville, what the president said just two hours later at yesterday's news conference. you'll see what drew grimp uncovered.

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anyone who calls it a hobby doesn't understand. we know that a person's passion is what drives them. [ clapping ] and that's why every memorial we create is a true reflection of the individual. only a dignity memorial professional can celebrate a life like no other. find out how at sanfranciscodignity.com. people in charlottesville are planning an answer tonight to friday's angry march. it will start on the university of virginia campus. organizers plan to retrace the path taken friday night by all the neo-nazis and white nationalists with their tiki torches. the aim, they say, tonight is to reclaim it and cover it with love and peace. i want to bring in my panel now. gloria, president trump and his administration has been

relatively mum since the presser yesterday, and today with all the fallout, we're hearing the president saying himself is without regret. frankly, for all the criticism by some republicans, nobody in this administration seems to be resigning in protest. a lot of the criticism suspect even using his name. >> no. you know, they're not resigning in protest. there are reports that they are privately upset. there are some republicans who have called him out by name, but not a majority of them. and look, this is a president who has no regrets. he lives in the world of no regret, because he never admits he makes a mistake. so he can't regret it. he didn't regret his remarks about the judge or kazir khan. so if you're working for donald trump, he's back to business as usual. and he wants to believe that it's business as usual. but it wasn't business as usual today with the ceos.

their support for him completely collapsed. his two outside groups collapsed. he tweeted then that he was getting rid of them, but actually they quit on him. and congress is out of town. and we'll have to see what happens, anderson, when they get back in town and whether the leaders, the republican leaders of the congress go down to the white house and say something to the president. i would like to believe that that would happen. but we just don't know. >> van, after all we've seen and heard the last couple of days, will anything change? >> well, something is changing right now, which is at the base level for both movements. you're seeing an energizing effect. in other words, for the racist movement, the white supremacists, et cetera, they understand very well that they are a small marginal force, but they grow through conflict and controversy. and so every time they're able to dominate a news cycle or get out there and do something crazy, they feel emboldened and they get the president's

support, they feel more emboldened. that is a change. the process of demarginalizing a racist, terrorist movement is under way with the support of the president. but also the response to that is gaining energy and momentum. so you see republicans, business leaders, faith leaders, students, intellectuals, most of the main stream media galvanizing and moving forward. so there's a process now under way by which this tug of war over the character of the country, the mix of the country in terms of its idealism, in terms of its demographic composition, that tug of war is moving to a new gear. this will not stop. this process is going to have to work its way out. the president could have shut it down. he didn't. so now we're going to go through a process. i think the weight is on the side of the anti-racist. but a lot of the energy is still

on the side of the racists who are newly empowered. this is a very unusual situation. it's not just about washington, d.c. it's about the country, it's about what is happening at kitchen tables, campuses and water coolers across the country right now. >> carl, how do you see this in terms of the president, his power and agenda? >> there's considerable evidence that there's a consensus developing in the military, at the highest levels, in the intelligence community, among republicans in congress, including the leaders in the business community that the president of the united states, donald trump, is unfit to be the president of the united states. that's the undercurrent. i've talked to you about it for weeks, that i've been hearing in washington. there is increasing talk about his emotional and mental stability. as david gergen referred to earlier. this is extraordinary. it's a dangerous moment in our history. trump is under siege. also from a special prosecutor, his family is under siege from a

special prosecutor. but more than anything else, i think there's a sense among military, congressional, business leaders that he's in a kind of freefall, and he made not have many parachutes left except for his base to land safely. and that's awful thin cushion. we've never seen anything like this. we don't know where it's going. we're in a presidential crisis of leadership, because his moral authority is gone with these constituencies that are essential for him to govern. >> van, carl's idea of him being in free fall, people are grabbing on to others can bring a lot of others down with them. free fall is not just happening in isolation. this could be very long, very drawn out and very ugly. >> well, big picture, the three big dangers i see for the country. internally, you have these divisions. listen, i think we sometimes

underestimate the heroism of our own cause as americans. the idea you're going to have 300 million people, every color, every gender, every faith, every kind of human ever born in one country and run it as a democracy is a little bit of a crazy idea. and it requires extraordinary leadership, extraordinary commitment to values and ideals, and the rule of law and institutions. and so we're in a situation where it turns out that everybody is not on board for this agenda. and so that's a big, big challenge that we are facing. so yes, there's some serious dangers of us spiraling away from each other and real damage happening. there are external threats as well. what i am heartened by is that, you know, there does seem to be a place beyond which the main stream republican party just will not follow him and will not apologize and is willing to speak out. not bold enough yet, but you're

beginning to see a possibility for him to become more isolated even within the conservative movement. that could set him up to be primaried. there's other opportunities to box him in beyond prosecution. >> gloria, does this have any effect on his agenda? plenty of folks support his agenda, but right now, he's having a hard time standing by him in other ways. >> scott jennings speaks for a lot of republicans. that's what -- i spoke with one republican today who said exactly that. i mean, republicans have been so excited at the beginning of this administration, and a lot of them didn't support donald trump. he didn't hike the establishment. he's always been an island in the republican party. but they were thrilled because they had control of the congress and the white house. and they were going to do great things. they were going to do health reform, tax reform, infrastructure, all the rest.

and that hasn't happened. and the reason that hasn't happened is because of donald trump. donald trump has not been the deal maker. donald trump has not been involved in the details. at every juncture, donald trump has created problem after problem for them. and while they shouldn't be surprised because they saw it during the campaign and many backed away from him, they wanted to get a fresh start. well, there is no fresh start with donald trump. so the question they're going to have to ask themselves, at what cost? at what cost to ourselves, to our country, to our conscience do we stick with this guy? and maybe they have to isolate him, and maybe in a perfect world they could actually get something done without him. but i think that these are conversations that are going on right now, and will continue when they come back into town in the fall. >> carl? >> i've talked to some of the military leaders, and what they

are saying is extraordinary. they believe that this president traffics in racism. we're talking about a military in this country that's 30% non-white, 40% non-white if you include hispanics in the definition. they have no use for what they are seeing. they have given up on this president. >> the five heads of the militaries came out with a statement. >> the statements are so significant by the military leaders today. they have parted company. >> it's unprecedented. >> that's exactly right. donald trump knows the peril of where he's in, because he is cognizant of what he is facing, that he now knows that things are closing in on him, that he has lost the constituencies, the business leaders that he had to fire, as it were, or dismiss from an advisory council before. whoever heard in the history of this country, republican largely business leaders saying oh, no,

i've got to quit this council and then the president disbands the council? we are in territory we've never been in, and what we're hearing, and all reporters need to check their sources and find out what people on the hill, the military, the intelligence communities are saying. because of this element that david gergen said today, somebody who served in many white houses about the stability and mental condition of the president of the united states. this is something we haven't dealt with before. >> thank you all. the president has just tweeted, we'll tell you what he said next. america's top generals, five joint chiefs, they are publicly taking a stand against racial hatred and extremism after the president's remarks. are they sending a message to the commander in chief who reportedly has no regrets? we'll look at that ahead. what powers the digital world. communication.

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breaking news. the president has just tweeted about phoenix. why phoenix? the president says, join me at 7:00 p.m. tuesday in phoenix, arizona, at the phoenix convention center. tickets at, and that's a link.

the mayor of phoenix is asking the president to postpone in the wake of charlottesville. more now by america's top commanders. five u.s. joint chiefs are condemning hate groups after the deadly violence in charlottesville. all of them posted comments on twitter since saturday. three of them just today, less than 24 hours after the president's off the rails news conference. the army chief of staff wrote this morning, the army doesn't tolerate racism, extremism or hey dread in our ranks. it's against our values. a chief of staff of the air force posted this, i stand with my fellow service chiefs saying we're always stronger together, integrity, service, excellence, that's what the air force is about. the chief of the national guard tweeted his support for his fellow joint chiefs. and john breben wrote, mr.

president trump trump's words need to repudiate his ugly and dangerous comments. if allowed to continue, he'll do lasting harm to american society and standing in the world. he's putting our national security and our collective futures at grave risk. joining me now, two cnn military analysts, mark hurtling, and john kirby. admiral kirby, i've never heard of a case where they have weighed in on a domestic tragedy like this. is this unprecedented? >> i don't know if it's unprecedented but definitely unusual for them to all comment on something like this. they do that very, very carefully, if at all. you can tell their words were measured. this started with the navy, the head of the navy doing it even before the president had a chance to comment. they very much religiously abide by an apolitical code. they do not get involved in

politics. i will tell you having served with them, they don't believe what they did was weighing into politics. they believe what they did was an act of leadership, sending a strong message to their people, their families, to potential recruits and the american people what the military stands for, the values that we espouse and what you can expect from your military going forward. this was very much an important strategic moment to lay down a marker about what the u.s. military will and will not tolerate. >> do you see these tweets as repudiation of the way the president handled the event or more about military leaders feeling responsibility to do it because of the circumstances? they command african-american troops, gay troops, jewish troops. >> it's definitely the latter. i agree with john kirby on this one. they have a leadership responsibility. their mission is to train, lead, equip, and man the forces. so they have to keep the continual emphasis on values and

ethos. mark's comment about he specifically said, "our values since 1775." the army was established a year before the nation was. and the seven army values are continually emphasized in basic training and in units. three of those values are loyalty to one another, respect for each other, and personal courage to stand up when you see something going wrong. so as the chief of staff of the army and all the other chiefs as well, they're saying hey, there are some things going on in our country. don't get distracted by these things. you can debate them, but remember, you have an oath to defend the united states constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. you can't take sides in this fight. >> admiral kirby, these comments coming, some of them on the heels of the president and shortly after the president's off the rails press conference. it is hard not to, certainly for some people, to see these as a comment on what the president himself said or didn't say. >> no, sure, i understand.

you can look at the timing and suggest that. but consider the timing about what was happening in charlottesville. that's what really prompted him to do this, not the president's give and take with the press corps or the trouble that he's gotten into with his follow-on comments. it was about what they saw when they turned on the tv and saw that image and saw what was happening to people around the country. and of course, the whole debate over race and bigotry. it means a lot to them. this is a very visceral issue for the military, diversity is our strength. we go to war, we go to sea, we fly and fight with people from all walks of life. it's who we are. to see anybody want to use violence in that kind of vile language, to denigrate anybody else who also is an american, is agn anathema. people said maybe it was an act of defins.

it would have been an act of defiance if they didn't speak up and say something. >> if i can add to that. john brings up good point. a lot of people will claim how great the united states military is. some say it's the best it's ever been. that can be discussed. but here's the thing, the reason it's so good is because it's also diverse. it represents the country. there are all kinds of people in our services who are wearing the cloth of the nation. and because of that, it's challenging to put teams together. but that's what we do to defend the nations. there are some people that say, we sometimes turned into the sentinels at the baknalian feast. but you can't have any chinks in the armor when you do that. >> thank you very much. i appreciate it. coming up, the mayor of charlottesville was at the memorial today for heather heyer that was killed. we'll talk to the mayor next. ♪

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in a moment, we'll hear from the mayor of charlottesville about some media reports that allege the police didn't step in earlier to stop the violence because of a stand down order. he sets the record straight on that. first, the mayor was among those who gathered for the memorial

service today for heather heyer, the woman killed when a car ran into her and others standing up against the racist hate. h let's listen to what her mother had to say. >> i think whthe reason what happened to heather has struck a chord, we know what she did was achievable. we don't all have to die or sacrifice our lives. they killed my child to try to shut her up. guess what? you just magnified her. >> i spoke with the mayor of charlottesville just before airtime. mayor, first of all, i wonder how was heather heyer's memorial service today? >> anderson, it was one of the most extraordinary experiences i've had in public or private life. you know, charlottesville is an incredibly loving, warm city

that is creative and tolerant and very progressive. what happened today at that service was -- you saw the collision of what john mccain talked about recently where he said we are seeing a battle between our best angels and our worst demons. and the city of charlottesville was there. heather heyer was kind of the best that we have. >> mr. mayor, we were told that president trump today has no regrets on what he said yesterday. i'm wondering a, when you hear that, what do you think? and just what do you think of the remarks he made yesterday? >> well, i mean, i think they kind of spoke for themselves. we were visited by evil last week. you know, i said over and over the last few days this old saying of when you dance with the devil, you don't change the devil, the devil changes you. if we just watch and listen,

there's more and more evidence of this, and i do think that this all speaks to itself. i don't want to say much more about it. i think it's very clear as we watch all this why the country has moved on from this president. you see it in virtually every other aspect of the whole government apparatus. and i think they've moved toward what cities like charlottesville represent. >> you may be aware, and i want you to have a chance to respond if you want, that some right wing radio folks, tv hosts are suggesting that you and the governor issued a stand down order to mpolice in charlottesville. to be on the record, did you give a stand down order, was this a stand down order? >> so just to address -- i mean, we've seen the fact-free environment and the lies and the conspiracy theorys that are all over this universe. the alt-right universe.

we are in a city manager form of government in charlottesville. every virginia city and county other than richmond has a city manager form of government. the police chief does not report to me. if i wanted to issue a stand down order, i could not legally, a. and b, the police chief had a press conference yesterday where he stated categorically that no, no stand down order was issued. so this was conspiracy theory, false nonsense, and it's the job of you journalists, we in public life to navigate through these -- through these grenades that people with nothing better to do with their time, time, they're certainly not interested in achieving results through government or actually helping the working people in this country. i just have to kind of rise above it, because it's false. >> some of this is based -- i was trying to research where this comes from, and some of it came from an aclu of virginia tweet, that said, clash between protesters and

counter-protesters, police say, quote, will not intervene until given command to do so. >> right, which was unattributed. i mean, this is part -- i mean, we all pay a lot of attention to tweets. we can have a longer conversation about the fact that so much of not just dialogue but government in our country seems to be driven by what you can put in 140 characters. that was an unattributed tweet. >> has the president called you or have you heard from him in any way? >> he has not. i got a call on saturday that he was going to call, and an aide was in touch with me and said that i should expect a call and that never came. and i was asked on monday, sitting down with our congressman here, asked if i would take a call from the president. i said, of course, of course, i would, and still have not signr time. >> thank you. >> yesterday, drew griffin spoke with someone who called himself a white advocate. what this man said was very

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the president has spoken publicly now three times about the racist tragedy in charlottesville. up with of those times was not like the others, the one where he was reading from a prepared statement. yesterday before the press conference, drew griffin spoke with a leader in the white nationalist movement and found striking similarities to the argument the president hilmself would present just two hours later. here's drew's report. >> to a member steeped in coded messages, the president's initial response to charlottesville -- >> -- violence on many sides, on many sides. >> reporter: was a sign the

president had their backs. he didn't attack us, wrote andrew england, other white nationalist posts included, he left the door open and clearly said, we are all equal under the law. >> racism is evil. >> reporter: monday, when president trump finally branded members of the kkk, neo-nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups who take part in violence as criminals and thugs, the alt-right viewed that as a double meaning. >> so was the president's second response, the delayed response, one that you believe he was pressured into and he doesn't believe? >> he was clearly pressured into it. now, i don't think donald trump is an advocate for white people. i think he probably is entirely sincere when he says neo-nazis, white supremacists, whoever those people are, are very bad and evil and go away. i think he entirely believes that. but his first statement was much more accurate. >> david taylor is editor of a

white advocate website called american renaissance. he tries to be a soft-spoken voice in what most americans call a hate movement. the southern poverty law center says taylor's group is racist with ideas that most would describe as crudely white supremacist. taylor calls himself as a white advocate. >> what is a white advocate? >> a white advocate is someone who speaks up for the legitimate interests of white people. white advocates just want to be left alone. they would rather have a nation which was overwhelmingly white. >> and taylor says the president understands this, have been if the press does not. it's why taylor backed trump during the presidential primary campaign, producing racially charged robo calls like this, that then candidate trump eventually had to denounce. >> we don't need muslims. we need smart, well-educated white people. >> i am a farmer and a white nationalist. support donald trump. >> this week, donald trump took a page from white nationalist's talking points. i interviewed jared taylor

tuesday afternoon, two hours before president trump's news conference in new york. the answers so similar it's almost as if the president was listening in. 2:00 p.m. -- >> and there would have been no violence, whatsoever, if there had not been counterprotesters showing up with baseball bats and helmets and masks. >> reporter: mr. trump, two hours later. >> let me ask you this. what about the fact that they came charging -- that they came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs. do they have any problem? i think they do. >> 2:00 p.m.? >> if those folks hadn't showed up, there would have been no violence. i believe they are much more hate motivated than the people who wanted to gather and talk about preserving the lee statue and preserving a white majority. >> reporter: 4:00 p.m.. >> but not all of those people were neo-nazis, believe me. not all of those people were white supremacists. by any stretch. >> well, what national -- >> those people were also there, because they wanted to protest the taking down of a statue,

robert e. lee. >> reporter: then this -- >> when are we going to rename the capital city, washington, d.c. he was a slave owner. when are we going to write out of history the first seven of nine presidents who owned slaves? are they all going to come down? >> george washington was a slave owner. was george washington a slave owner? so will george washington now lose his status? are we going to take down -- excuse me! are we going to take down -- are we going to take down statues to george washington? how about thomas jefferson. >> drew griffin joins me now. what exactly does someone like jared taylor, a so-called white advocate, want, exactly? >> an apartheid-style white-only america, where blacks and americans are pushed out of a white whites-only geographic zone, and if that means break up the united states, jared taylor said he's fine with that. >> and he thinks that many

americans agree with him? >> secretly, he says. secretly. he told me his movement is growing, but they base that on traffic to a website. there's no real membership he can point to. he also told me, anderson, his convention last year was a sell-out. a sign that strength is growing in the movement. but that they had to actually turn away people. i asked him exactly how many people attended. he said, 300. so not that many. >> where do us gays get to go? >> i don't know. >> do we get our own group or what? >> reporter: well, you would have to work that out amongst yourselves, i guess. anderson, i want to bring in one other note. "the new york times" just published this afternoon and this evening something that relates back to whether or not president trump is getting good information on this or not. and what "the times" is saying is that president trump's personal attorney on wednesday was forwarding an e-mail to conservative journalists, which basically, according to the times, echoes secessionist