US President Donald Trump has been asked to delay a planned rally in Phoenix, Arizona, by that city's mayor, in a stark rebuke following the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Mayor Greg Stanton released a statement saying he was "disappointed that President Trump has chosen to hold a campaign rally" on August 22, as the nation was still healing with the aftermath of the neo-Nazi protest. Three people died on the day, Heather Heyer was killed when a car drove through a crowd, while two police officers overseeing the protest died in a helicopter crash.
Stanton also cautioned against any plan by Trump to pardon controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio of criminal contempt for defying a court order on detaining undocumented immigrants.
My statement on Trump's August 22 event at the @PhoenixConvCtr. pic.twitter.com/nPYIHX5eVg??? Greg Stanton (@MayorStanton) August 16, 2017
If that is the plan, Stanton said, "then it will be clear that his true intent is to enflame [sic] emotions and further divide our nation".
"It is my hope that more sound judgment prevails and that he delays his visit."
Trump has been roundly criticised for equating neo-Nazis with the anti-racist counter-protesters at the event last weekend.
His insistence that blame fell on "many sides" for the violence that occurred in Charlottesville over the weekend, which included the alleged killing of a woman by a white supremacist driving a car into a crowd of protesters, has infuriated many Americans, including Republicans.
At the same time, city officials across the country are nervously trying to figure out how to avoid the disorder seen at Charlottesville, as alt-right leaders and white nationalist groups vow to stage more rallies in coming days.
A group claiming it is advocating free speech has planned a rally for Saturday on the historic Boston Common, with a group advocating racial justice planning its own gathering in opposition. Boston officials said they have laid down strict conditions, including no sticks, weapons or backpacks.
"Make no mistake: We do not welcome any hate groups to Boston, and we reject their message," Mayor Marty Walsh said Wednesday.
A rally scheduled for August 26 in San Francisco has prompted House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and several California lawmakers to urge the National Park Service to rescind the permit to gather on federal park land there.
The fallout from the violence in Virginia has forced Trump to shut down his major business advisory councils after corporate leaders repudiated his comments on the violence in Charlottesville.
Trump announced the disbanding of the two councils - the Strategy & Policy Forum and the Manufacturing Council, which hosted many of the top corporate leaders in America - amid the growing uproar.
Stanton said his call for Trump to delay the event was not a call for Trump to abandon it entirely.
Discussing the use of the Phoenix Convention Centre for rally, Stanton wrote: "This is a public facility and open to anyone to rent" including the Trump campaign, which, in a break with tradition, is operating even with Trump in the White House.
"Our Constitution protects the right to free speech, even for those we disagree with or those who don't represent the values we hold dear as a community."
with Washington Post
