Gov. Scott sidesteps president's stance on racist clash

TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Rick Scott condemned white nationalists involved in the Saturday clash between protesters that left one woman dead, but he would not reject the equivocal stance taken on Tuesday by President Donald Trump.

“There’s no moral equivalency between the two sides,” Scott said on Wednesday. “Let’s remember what happened Saturday.”

Trump said a group of people he referred to as the "alt-left" violently attacked the white nationalist protesters in Charlottesville, Virgina on Saturday and blame could be found on both sides. 

“What about the ‘alt-left’ that came charging at, as you say, the ‘alt-right’?” Trump said during a Tuesday news conference. “Let me ask you this: What about the fact they came charging — that they came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs?

"Do they have any problem? I think they do."

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Scott said he would not speak to Trump's statements, but noted he did not serve in the military to support hatred. He referenced the killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer, struck by a speeding car driven by a suspected white nationalist who purposely plowed into counter-demonstrators.

“A white supremacist killed a woman as old as my daughter and injured 19 others,” Scott said. “And I did not serve to defend Neo-Nazis."

Scott called on elected leaders, including Trump, to focus on uniting the country.

“I urge all lawmakers at the state and federal level – especially the president – to focus on unity and how we come together, how we create more love and less hate,” Scott said. “We’ve got to eliminate this divisiveness in our country.”

Scott was one of the first high-profile Republicans to indicate his support of Trump's candidacy. He was appointed the chairman of the national political action committee that served Trump’s campaign and as a former hospital executive has advised the president on plans to change the Affordable Care Act.