Laura Ingraham: Politics to blame for 'newfound outrage' over Confederate statues

Conservative commentator Laura Ingraham said Tuesday that politics are clearly at the root of the string of protests surrounding the removal of Confederate statues.

On Saturday, one person was killed and more than a dozen others injured after a rally protesting the removal of a Confederate statue in Charlottesville, Virginia. Clashes between protesters and counter-protesters sparked a national outcry. Both sides of the political spectrum chimed in.

But it was politics, Ingraham said on “Hannity”, which caused the “newfound outrage” behind the removal of the statues.
“I understand that there’s this newfound outrage and level of offense that’s reached this fever pitch about these statues,” Ingraham said. “I think a lot of people have driven by these statues probably for decades and never thought twice about them. But now they’ve become a political symbol. And, if it’s a symbol that represents the racist past – or any vestige of a racist past of the south – then they’re going to be able to say, ‘well, then that has to go, too.’”
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What comes next after the protests, Ingraham says, is unknown. “I don’t know how far they want to take it,” she said. “I said this morning, maybe they’ll take it to certain books that they think are offensive or certain speakers on college campuses who are offensive. It’s a symbol and people can do what they want with symbols. They can vote to get rid of all of them then I think we have to ask the question: What next? How are we going to heal as a nation, condemn that which is evil and then come together as a country?”
Addressing the controversial remarks President Donald Trump gave on Tuesday afternoon -- in which he doubled down on his claim that “both sides” were responsible for the violence -- Ingraham said the left was hoping for more from the president.
“But there are some people out there that are just never going to be satisfied with what he (Trump) says,” Ingraham argued. “No matter what he says, in response to any crisis, they’re going to ridicule him, or satirize him or say he’s dumb or say he doesn’t really care or he’s an egomaniac or… you know, pick your poison. He’s not trying to satisfy them at this point.”