Bush presidents release a joint statement on Charlottesville after Trump's press conference

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August 16, 2017 5:55 PM

Presidents Bush — the only two living former GOP presidents — released a statement Wednesday on the white nationalist rallies in Charlottesville.

George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.

Presidents George W. and George H.W. Bush — the only two living former Republican presidents — released a joint statement Wednesday on the white nationalist rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend.

"America must always reject racial bigotry, anti-Semitism, and hatred in all forms," the Bushes' statement read.

"As we pray for Charlottesville, we are reminded of the fundamental truths recorded by that city's most prominent citizen [President Thomas Jefferson] in the Declaration of Independence: we are all created equal and endowed by our creator with unalienable rights. We know these truths to be everlasting because we have seen the decency and greatness of our country."

The statement came after President Donald Trump held a freewheeling press conference on Tuesday, during which he said that some of the ralliers who stood alongside the white nationalists at this weekend's protests were "very fine people."

Violent attacks in Charlottesville left one counterprotester dead after a white supremacist drove his car into a crowd of people, injuring roughly 20 additional people. White nationalists came to Charlottesville to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert. E. Lee.

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