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.’”
TRUMP DECRIES 'ALT-LEFT' IN CHARLOTTESVILLE: 'DO THEY HAVE ANY SEMBLANCE OF GUILT?'
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.”