I struggled all day with deciding whether to join the fray on the Charlottesville violence and specifically, our president’s response.  However, after watching the President’s presser and the resulting coverage, I could not restrain my voice any longer. He spoke the truth and I’m proud of him. 

The president is being accused of anything and everything by almost everyone: he waited too long to properly respond, he didn’t call out the “White Supremacists” and “Neo-Nazis” by name quick enough and he wasn’t as clear in his denouncement as he should have been, nor was he compassionate enough about the situation, and he dared blame both sides, etc.

{mosads}Well, let’s start with the hypocrisy of the left who never once criticized President Obama when he consistently refused to call out “Islamist Terrorists” by name, or the Black Lives Matter movement when they used violence on numerous occasions and chanted hate speech directed at the police. Where was the outrage?

Fact: President Trump did, after being fully briefed, call out by name the un-American perpetrators for the vile individuals they are and emphasized how their sick and abject ideology has no place in a civil society. However, because he also mentioned that there were violent wrongdoers on both sides, he infuriated the left. In fact, it led to false reports and allegations that he was blaming the left and comparing them to the KKK.

Any reasonable person, without a left-wing agenda who actually listened to the president’s words, would know that this outrage, ridiculous and baseless allegations are nothing more than fake news.  The president was very clear and was 100 percent correct when he said “those who spread violence in the name of bigotry strike at the very core of America.” He rightfully pointed out that the anti-protestors or those opposing the group with the permit, including the disgusting White Supremacists, came armed and ready for battle – they were there to do violence, not peacefully oppose the Nazi message.

As someone that has put his own life on the line for this country and the Constitution that makes this country great, I am beyond disappointed at the left, the weak Republicans and the unbiased media coverage.  Let me explain as clearly as I can: The KKK and every group with similar views are against everything I believe in, but I fought for their right to be heard! They have a right to espouse whatever they want in this country … it’s called the First Amendment. For those going on national TV to say it isn’t protected because it is hate speech – you are completely wrong! We wouldn’t need a First Amendment to protect speech that everyone likes, now would we?  

Once those disgraceful individuals either act violently or incite a riot, then they are violating the law and must be stopped. However, their words and beliefs are protected and this standard applies to everyone. The counter protestors who stand against these Nazis cannot show up armed with bats and resort to violence to shut down the “hate speech”. It doesn’t work that way. The violent counter protestors do not get a free pass for using violence simply because they oppose what any reasonable person would detest. No good American would support such racism and bigotry, but resorting to violence has never been the answer and shouldn’t be accepted for any reason.

The left, the counter protestor, who assaulted the innocent reporter on the scene was just as wrong in their action as any White Supremacist with respect to the similar use of force. Even though the Nazi’s had a vile message, the violent act toward a reporter or any bystander is still wrong and anyone engaged in the row should be held accountable. This doesn’t mean that I’m comparing that assailant to the KKK miscreants, but simply comparing the use of any type of violence and denouncing it all, which is exactly what President Trump did. The fact that a beautiful young woman died only exacerbates an already untenable situation and makes the deranged coward that killed her that much more heinous, ignorant and devoid of humanity, but it still doesn’t excuse anyone else from participating in any violence.  

Most politicians would have simply kowtowed to the extremely hostile press, but not our president; he stood strong. Although it wasn’t in the best interest of his PR plan, he proved once again that he will not be bullied by the fake news media that distorted his words. I for one am very proud of my President and I admire his courage. Trump spoke honestly and had the guts to speak his mind. 

What a breath of fresh air and what a threat to the establishment on both sides of the aisle.

Michael Grimm is a former FBI agent, businessman, attorney, and U.S. Marine, having served in the Persian Gulf War. Grimm also served in Congress from 2011 to 2015. In 2016 he completed a seven-month prison term for tax evasion.

The views expressed by this author are their own and are not the views of The Hill.